Public health emergency preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement funding provided through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides approximately $700 million annually to states and localities throughout the country to build and strengthen their abilities to respond to public health incidents.
With its new five-year cooperative agreement taking effect this month, the CDC has released “Public Health Preparedness Capabilities: National Standards for State and Local Planning” to provide guidance in identifying preparedness gaps, accelerating planning, determining specific jurisdictional priorities, and developing plans for building and sustaining capabilities. The agency views the guidance as more important than ever in the face of declining federal funding, claiming there is much work left to be completed by states and localities.
The guidance covers six categories and identifies 15 public health preparedness capabilities, including emergency operations coordination, fatality management, mass care, medical surge, public health biosurveillance, epidemiological investigation, and responder safety and health.
The guidance is at cdc.gov/phpr/capabilities/Capabilities_March_2011.pdf.
New Life for Responder Funding
After experiencing severe cuts in the House Appropriations Subcommittee, the Assistance to Firefighters Grants and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants found friends who rallied to support them when the bill moved to the full House.
One amendment approved when the bill went before the full body raised the funding levels for the two grant programs to $670 million, up from the $350 million approved by the subcommittee. The money would be equally divided to fund the two programs at $335 million each.
A second amendment also approved the extension of waivers permitting fire departments to use SAFER funds to avoid firefighter layoffs and rehire laid-off firefighters, among other activities.
The amended bill was sent to the Senate, where it was referred to the Appropriations Committee.
Volunteer Tax Benefits Act Reintroduced
Allowed to die in the final days of the 111th Congress, the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Reauthorization Act (VRIPRA) may have a new lease on life. The bill was reintroduced in the Senate of the new Congress in May and would restore certain federal income tax exemptions on benefits received by volunteer emergency responders for their service. These benefits serve as a valuable incentive used by departments to help recruit and retain volunteers.
The proposed legislation would reinstate tax exemptions on any property tax benefit and up to $600 in other types of benefits received by volunteer firefighters or EMTs. This represents an increase from the previous maximum of $360 in benefits. The tax exclusion would be in effect through 2013.
The bill was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. There is not yet a corresponding House bill.
Firefighters Freeze Political Funds
International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) officials are so frustrated over the state of affairs in the nation’s capital, they announced they will withhold important political action committee (PAC) contributions to federal officeholders and candidates. They accuse the Republicans of undermining their interests through budget cuts in important programs, adding that too few Democrats have stood up in their defense.
Organization officials say they expended FIREPAC contributions of almost $15 million in the last election cycle to candidates of both political parties who supported their issues. The freeze sends the message that support must be earned and friends must stand up in the face of current efforts to cut fire and other important programs and demonstrate leadership that brings results, officials add.
With firefighters, paramedics and other public workers facing attacks on pensions and other benefits, FIREPAC officials plan to take the offensive in state-level elections with their PAC money. Support from the IAFF is much sought after by candidates for federal office, as it usually includes both monetary contributions and campaign workers.
Coming Soon to a Mobile Phone Near You: Personalized Alert Text Messages
Mobile phones are the latest addition to the national emergency alert system. With the launch of the Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN), officials will be able to send emergency alerts directly to cell phones in threatened areas.
The new system, with cooperation from wireless providers, will push text messages to geographically specific areas warning of imminent danger in that location, even in heavy user areas. For example, the program will notify visitors to Chicago if an event occurs there, but native Chicagoans out of town will not receive a notification on their telephones.
PLAN complements the existing Emergency Alert System, which is implemented by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Emergency Management Agency through broadcasters and other media service providers. The Warning, Alert and Response Network (WARN) Act of 2006 requires participating wireless carriers to activate PLAN technology by an FCC-established deadline of April 2012. A PLAN alert will be accompanied by a unique attention signal and vibration. PLAN will be rolled out nationwide in stages, beginning with New York City at the end of 2011.
