Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Passage Of The Fire Grants And Safety Act

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on Senate passage of the bipartisan Fire Grants and Safety Act. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks:

Our firefighters are the people who protect us – we need to protect them.

Equipment has gotten more and more expensive to save their lives and save the lives of the people they're protecting. And yet for many smaller communities, rural, small town, even suburban, there's not the money to afford this equipment. And so we have stepped up to the plate—I helped author this legislation with Senator Dodd back in 2002—to help them.

We desperately need this legislation. We need it for firefighters, both paid and volunteer, around the country. But particularly, as I said, in the smaller communities where they desperately need the equipment. We have to get it done.

The second point is this: this is the second bill we have done in a very strong bipartisan way. Our colleagues came to us with a list of amendments. It wasn't dilatory. Some of them were difficult for us. But we agreed to the amendments, and in turn, our colleagues voted to move forward. This, again, is how we can run the Senate in a very good and productive way.

And I hope to do that in every opportunity, where we can come to agreement on amendments, move forward, and pass good legislation. This is good and needed legislation. I hope we get an overwhelming vote for it.

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