A bill that would permit the continuation of initiatives designed to retain and attract volunteer firefighters and EMS providers was introduced in the Senate in March. The Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Reauthorization Act would extend and increase federal-level tax exemptions for state and local government property tax exclusions and certain monetary benefits granted to volunteer responders.
These exemptions and benefits, which are designed to make volunteering more appealing, were ruled to be taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service in 2002, resulting in the need for this congressional action. If extended, the legislation would continue the amendment to the Internal Revenue Code that makes local property tax abatements exempt from federal taxation through 2013. It would also allow up to $600 per year in volunteer personnel compensation, up from the current $350. The original bill was enacted in 2007 and expires at the end of 2010.
The Reauthorization Act was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. A companion bill, pending in the House of Representatives since September 2009, remains in the House Ways and Means Committee.
Interagency coordination problems could affect the success of the Emergency Communications Preparedness Center (ECPC), a creation of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Emergency Communications (OEC), according to a new Government Accounting Office (GAO) report to Congress. The GAO studied the actions taken by the OEC to establish the center and interviewed agency officials who reported problems that could affect interagency coordination through the ECPC.
The ECPC charter defines the agency’s mission as supporting and promoting the capability of emergency response providers and government officials to communicate in anticipation of, and in response to, national disasters, acts of terrorism and other disasters, and to promote and support interoperable emergency communications. The ECPC is designed to serve as the focal point for federal interagency efforts and a clearinghouse for intergovernmental emergency communications information. Current ECPC efforts include, in accordance with its charter, working to refine its mission; identifying short- and long-term action items; and implementing tasks associated with ECPC-related milestones in the National Emergency Communications Plan.
Potential roadblocks to success reported by OEC and ECPC officials include an inability to reach member consensus on group decisions; gain stakeholder acceptance for promoting a strategy to achieve interoperable communications; mature as an interagency body; and define its relationships with other organizations with similar goals and objectives.
The GAO did not make recommendations for congressional consideration or action in this report to Congress, which is mandated by law. Homeland Security officials did not provide written comments in response to GAO findings to include in the report.
The full report is at gao.gov/new.items/d10463r.pdf
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has issued a user advisory notice for certain NIOSH-certified N95 respirators. Some Champak Enterprise Co. respirators produced prior to February 2010 may, in limited situations, not meet the filtration efficiency requirements specified in Title 42, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 84, due to faults in internal testing procedures. The agency advises discontinued use, until further notice, of respirators with the following approval numbers: TC-84A-4363; TC-84A-4364; TC-84A-4394; and TC-84A-4665.
Instead of these devices, the International Association of Fire Fighters recommends that emergency responders use P-100 respirators with a filter efficiency consistent with NIOSH recommendations for emergency response to biological agent incidents. (For more information on this, visit cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2009-132.)
NIOSH provides a link to the Champak customer notification letter at www.champak.com.tw/english/News_04.htm.
An examination of federal, state and local governments’ ability to respond to a medical surge following a natural disaster, pandemic or terror attack is now available online. Such an examination was the subject of a Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) workshop held in June 2009.
Forum participants included federal policy makers, state and local public health providers, and leaders in the medical and public health fields. The ASPR, through its Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP), is charged with ensuring that the nation’s health care system has the capability to respond to mass-casualty incidents and medical surge.
Participants discussed the need for:
- A definition of medical surge, standards and metrics
- An integrated approach to an alternate care system and facilities
- Support to local and federal governments that provide preparedness for medical surge operations and situational awareness during operations
- Facilitation of strategies to improve surge capability
- The addressing of issues related to financing surge preparedness and response
A key theme that emerged from the workshop is the need to involve the public in some of the difficult decision-making involved in medical surge planning and implementation. Workshop participants also urged the HPP to include in its grant guidance requirements for regional planning, sustained funding for pre- and post-disaster activities, and recognition and identification of the current constraints of the private health care system.
“Medical Surge Capacity: Workshop Summary,” which is designed to encourage regional cooperation, spread knowledge of existing best practices and publicize the workshop presentations and discussions, is available for purchase at nap.edu/catalog/12798.html.
