This month, Barack Obama takes his oath of office just days after the 111th U.S. Congress convenes. What will the new administration, and the strongly Democratic Congress, mean for the fire service?
Many think an Obama administration bodes well; as a senator, Obama (D-Ill.) supported legislation including FIRE and SAFER Act grants and a law that tracks the health of first responders who respond to national emergencies.
The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) endorsed Obama’s campaign–but only after a hard look at all candidates records. Barry Kasinitz, IAFF’s director of government affairs, recalls, “Our endorsement was originally for Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.); he has an outstanding record of support for firefighters. When he dropped out of the race, we stayed neutral for a long time and waited to see what shook out.”
When the election came down to Obama and John McCain (R-Ariz.), the IAFF examined each senator’s record on fire service legislation. “We’re a very bipartisan organization and never go by party lines,” Kasinitz states. “The difference was Barack Obama’s support of firefighters in their professional capacity, he was a strong supporter of giving firefighters collective bargaining rights, and of protecting our healthcare benefits.”
A Fire-Service Wish List
What does the IAFF hope to see accomplished under the Obama administration? “A top priority of ours is collective bargaining rights for all firefighters across the nation, Kasinitz says. “Barack Obama has been very supportive of this.”
Another IAFF priority is significant change in the U.S. healthcare system, something Obama has promised over and over again. “We hope Obama will see the unique healthcare needs of firefighters,” Kasinitz says. “Generally, we have good benefits, but there needs to be cost containment.”
Another reason that firefighters should watch for healthcare reform–namely, expanding healthcare coverage to all Americans–is the impact this would have on their EMS calls. “When people lose their access to healthcare benefits, they come to rely on the 911 system for medical care; providing benefits to more people would be a tremendous boon to emergency services,” Kasinitz points out. “Then we could go back to doing what we were meant to do: provide emergency care.”
Tough Times
However, with the U.S. economy in crisis, not to mention two wars to juggle, how realistic is it to expect these fire service issues to be addressed any time soon? Will anything get done? “I think so, because so many of these things dovetail,” Kasinitz says. “We’ll be actively looking at the proposed economic stimulus package, because one of our concerns is cities not having enough resources to provide adequate services. That’s one of the things the package is supposed to address. As for healthcare, Kasinitz says, “we need to get a handle on the costs and coverage of care, or it will continue to create an economic drain.”
Only time will tell how the Obama administration and the 111th Congress will treat important fire service funding and legislation. But based on proven track records and national priorities, 2009 and beyond looks promising for firefighters.
