Remarks by Secretary Ridge To the National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner

Release Date: 05/01/03 00:00:00

For Immediate Release

Office of the Press Secretary

April 30, 2003

SECRETARY RIDGE:  Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.  Thank you.

(Applause.)

SECRETARY RIDGE:  David, I certainly want to thank you for that very generous introduction and thank all of you for that very warm reception.  It's quite an evening.  And I tell you, as I take a look out and think of - a couple of pictures come to my mind - and I remember Curt Weldon running around the floor of the House of Representatives signing people up for the Caucus.  And he was joined in a bipartisan effort with people like Rob Andrews and Steny Hoyer  and Sherry Boehlert and senators on both sides of the aisle.  And a lot of things have changed. You're now up to 320 members, and Hal Bruno has your dinner down from four hours to three.  So things are really moving along.

(Laughter.)

And it's really great to be with you this evening. I'm honored and privileged you would give me a few moments tonight to share a couple of thoughts with you. I want to recognize Hal, his leadership, his passion about what you do, his strong advocacy.  He was the - as I get looking toward debate commentators, or better yet, participants, he monitored the first debate I had with my counterpart on the other side of the aisle in the 1994 gubernatorial campaign.  Prior to that time I watched him a lot on television and got to know him, and I certainly appreciate the work he does and the passion he brings to what you do.  It's very important.

To William Jenaway (phonetic), a doc from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania -- the applause from the Pennsylvanians wasn't as loud as I had hoped it would be.  (Applause.)  But that's okay.  Congratulations to you, I just had a chance to meet Chief Compton.  I love the title of his work - what was it - "Lead, Follow, or Get out of the Way."  That's a great attitude.  And my sense has been since the day I began working with firefighters and the emergency services, it's - you bring that attitude to your work and to your mission every single day; and the country is a lot stronger and safer because of it.  And I thank David, again, for his kind introductory remarks.

As a former member of the Fire Services Caucus I thank you for the invitation, congratulate you on the success of this evening's event, and congratulate you on your success in your annual dealings and work with the Congress of the United States.  For every friend that fire and emergency responders now have in Washington, and you have a lot of them -- you have them on both sides of the aisle, Republicans and Democrats alike, Senate and the House, 320 strong -- this organization deserves enormous credit.

My colleagues and friends -- Mike Burns some of you know, David introduced me -- like to remind me of what's truly important about homeland security.  Every once in awhile you can hear them say it in unison, "Governor, it's about saving lives."  On September 11th, 2001, 347 of your colleagues died with the collapse of the World Trade Center, but 99 percent -- 99 percent of the people below the crash lines got out alive.  Ninety-nine percent of all those people got out alive thanks to firefighters and emergency responders.  I think it really speaks, not only to the work that you did that day but the preparation that the fire services and emergency responders did with the owners and occupants of that building prior to that day. I am told that in the early '90s it took them, in an exercise, eight to ten hours to evacuate.  But you got involved, they listened.  And because of your professionalism and the time of the crisis and the preparation and the training they had and you had with them before the crisis, 99 percent of those below got out.  Now, our citizens count on you to keep them safe. But we cannot allow your safety to be compromised.  We need to work together and to be concerned about your safety as well.

That's why I'd like to start by talking about our strong support in the Department for the assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.  Fire responders will be receiving $750 million in direct fire act assistance; signed, sealed, delivered and on the way.  You know, you compare that to $100 million in 2001, just over $350 million in 2002, it is the largest amount, ever, for firefighters.  

(Applause.)

You know how critical it is, and you know the kind of needs to which it will be applied.  And half the applications have been for fire, safety and operations.  Interesting, a recent U.S. Fire Administration study found that one-third of firefighters do not have up-to-date breathing apparatus, one-third; nearly 60,000 lack adequate protective clothing; and there are portable radios for only half of the firefighters in a given shift.  These are basic needs, and they need to be met.

Your responsibilities expanded after 9/11. You know that better than most.  And you know that they will not be contracted after 9/11.  If you listen to Fire Captain Mike Mohler, Fairfax County, 26-year veteran, he said, "We used to run to house fires, auto accidents and heart attacks.  And we still do those things," he says, "but now in addition my job has evolved into the areas of hazardous materials and weapons of mass destruction.  Operating the same way it was 26 years ago will get us killed."  And if you're not there to help who will be there to help.

One of the hallmarks of the Fire Act is that decisions are made by firefighters, for firefighters, and with firefighters needs in mind; peer reviewed, rated, and given directly to the local fire department.  And that's one of the reasons that 97 percent of the fire grants have been actually used.  And I must tell you, from the day that I became the assistant to the President for Homeland Security, got to work with this program – obviously, our Pennsylvania firefighters certainly benefited by it -- but I've heard from men and women, both parties, both chambers, "it's a good program, don't change the program."  

(Applause.)

You convinced me.  I tell you, I like that.  I'm going to say that again and see if I get the same response.  (Laughter)  I think as importantly, the President of the United States is committed to the continuation of the program.  And to that end, he has proposed an additional $500 million in grants for the 2004 budget.  At a time when we need more training for our firefighters, not less, we will also see to it that the National Fire Academy training classes continue.  I know this is a high priority.

(Applause.)  

I've had a wonderful evening, I'm going to quit while I'm ahead.  I'm going to leave right now.  

(Laughter.)  

But the fact of the matter is, this group, organizations represented by your members, and Dave Paulson and others, and Marko Bourne in our shop came to us and said, "We've got a monetary shortfall."  And I said, "Restart the classes, we'll find the money.  Let's get going."  And that's exactly what we're going to do.  

(Applause.)

I will tell you that I also believe, and this is something we will work on together, that the U.S. Fire Administer must be a Presidential appointment.  

(Applause.)

And I certainly view that critical to the partnership that we already have.  We need to sustain it.  And I think it's very important for the new Department and for this Administration and future administrations to have that capacity and that ability.  

It is incumbent upon policy makers, whether they're in Congress or in the new Department, to understand the every-day challenges and pressures of the firehouse before we make decisions that affect it.  And at the same time, we need you to help ensure that the new resources are spent wisely, consistent with the state plan, with real needs, and in recognition of the continuing need to combat the terrorist threat.  

We must start by building up our dual-use capabilities.  We need to measure our progress by outcomes, not inputs.  I had a fascinating conversation with a couple firemen in Cincinnati, Ohio, several months ago.  And one of the firemen said, "We know we're asking for a lot of money.  One," he said, "we deserve it; but two, those are my tax dollars too."  And he said, "I pay taxes, I want some of my money back.  And by the way, test us, and we'll show you that it's a good investment.  We're concerned about inputs, but we'll show you it's worth the investment because we'll have good outcomes for you and the rest of the country."  I think that's a good approach.  We ought to apply that approach to every federal dollar.  And I know you're prepared to take the test, because you're confident that you'll get straight" A's" and I believe that.

That's why the Department of Homeland Security is so critically important.  By creating this department, we create a framework to multiply the force strength of first responders.  It was built on an already strong foundation, Mike Brown, Dave Paulson and other dedicated men and women of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the United States Fire Administration.  As you know, we're taking an all hazards approach, pooling our talent to battle any disaster, whether caused by man or Mother Nature, the forces of evil, or the forces of nature.

And we're developing a national incident management system that emphasizes mutual aid.  And this is something we need to stress over and over again, a plan that emphasizes mutual aids across jurisdictional and geographic lines, centered on an incident command system you develop and use across the nation.  And again, we need to take a look at some of our colleagues around the country, take a look at the mutual aid systems that they have in California, in Florida, and other states that actually have state-wide mutual aid agreements.  We need to work together to make sure all 50 states have state-wide mutual aid agreements.  

At the state and the local level we've worked to bring first responders and public officials to the same table to agree on one comprehensive anti-terrorism plan for each state.  We need to do this to eliminate duplication and confusion.  And yes, I know some of you are legitimately concerned about the dollars that you will get through some of the grant programs we have, you're concerned not only about the amount -- there will be plenty of dollars -- but you want to make sure you get it in a timely basis.  And I understand that.  And we're going to work with your colleagues on the Hill, again, bipartisan way to make sure that whatever we do, whatever the formula is, you get it in a timely way.  I've got great confidence in our ability to work out something like that that will satisfy your needs in that regard.

Helping first responders stay safe and effective and alive is our department's goal. Whether by analyzing the vulnerabilities of our critical infrastructure, enhancing hospitals capacity to treat victims of bioterrorisim, informing communities through our threat advisory system, or encouraging the next generation of homeland security products and technology.  One of those is Project Safecom.  This is our effort to ensure wireless interoperability so firefighters and other emergency responders can communicate with one another in any crisis.

We got a big boost last week, I don't know if you know it, but the FCC doubled the amount of airwaves available for homeland security.  It's great news for first responders, and we have to figure out a way to take advantage of it.  For its part, FEMA is working to provide more than $75 million in funding to the states for model projects in an attempt to solve the interoperability problem.  It is imperative that we provide ways for you to communicate across jurisdiction lines.  It doesn't necessarily mean that everybody will be able to talk to everybody else at the same time, we don't want that at a time of crisis, but those that need to be connected, particularly back to the command post and to critical centers around the event, need to be part of a system that is progressive and redundant and better than we've ever designed before.  With the right structure and strategy in place I think we can focus on providing the right resources.

We put together a strong financial package for 2003, again, with strong support in Congress; one that is now flowing to the states, cities and counties across the country.  In addition to the fire grants, $750 million strong, and we'll get those dollars out the door -- we do like the program -- approximately $1.3 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations will go for anti-terrorism planning, equipment, and training.  Now, you've got a call on some of that money, you've got a call on some of that money.  By the way, the access to that money, the applications went up on our website today.  And I just encourage you again, through your organizations, working with your states and with your regions, to apply for it.  By the way, it was also -- the Congress said 20 percent of that money can state in the state capitals, but 80 percent of it has to go down to the local communities.  So, you know you've got allies on the Hill.  

(Applause.)

Seven hundred million dollars more will be released specifically to cities that qualify as a high-threat, high-priority areas.  And we're working on that.  I also want to thank you for the work some of you did across the country to support Operation Liberty Shield.  Many of you were called upon to do some additional work.  And you responded as you would expect, with the same kind of passion and commitment to public service that you always do.  

Another $165 million will be available in the category of Emergency Management Performance Grants.  I'm very familiar with this program, and I just assure you as long as we control the dollars these grants will be available to states and local communities.

The Department of Homeland Security has funded another capability that will benefit the entire country, $60 million for 28 urban search and rescue teams, which performed so well alongside first responders in New York and at the Pentagon, again, with special team training to counter weapons of mass destruction.  Obviously, we're going to release billions of dollars to improve our public health system.  And there is just a variety of other initiatives that we're going to undertake to assist you in the job and the work you do everyday.

Yesterday, I outlined the Department's progress over our first 100 days.  And by any measure, I think it's been considerable.  We’ve got a lot of allies in public service in our department.  We've got about 180,000 people who protect our borders, our airports, our waterways, our financial and telecommunications systems, energy and chemical facilities and the list goes on and on.  They're like you are; they're mission every single day is to make their country and their community safer and more secure.

But we know that if another attack should occur it will come down to one basic need, the need to save lives.  And I think the President's national strategy for homeland security said it best, he understands that of all the people engaged nationally in this effort, America's first line of defense is the first responder community.  It's a simple equation.  When we take good care of firefighters, we take good care of the homeland.  And when you secure the hometown through your firefighters and others, then the homeland is secure.  It's a mission worthy of all of us.  And I'm confident that together that's the mission we will accomplish.

Thank you very much for letting me join you tonight.

This page was last modified on 05/01/03 00:00:00