On Monday, the White House released President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget proposal. The $4.4 trillion spending plan includes $46 billion in funding for the Department of Homeland Security. While Congress has yet to complete work on the Fiscal Year 2018 spending package , committees in the House and Senate will begin reviewing the Administration’s spending requests for the next fiscal year. 

The spending plan requests $688,688,000 for the Assistance to Firefighters and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant programs, split evenly between the two programs. This is the same amount the Administration requested in its Fiscal Year 2018 budget proposal, and a slight reduction from the $690 million Congress appropriated for the programs in Fiscal Year 2017. The budget proposal also requests $43,493,000 for the United States Fire Administration (USFA), with an additional $1,500,000 targeted for infrastructure improvements at USFA’s Emmitsburg, MD campus. Congress appropriated $44 million for USFA in Fiscal Year 2017.

The President’s plan proposes the same amount for the State Homeland Security Grant Program and the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) as the FY18 budget request: $349.4 million and $448.8 million. If enacted, funding for both programs would be reduced by 25% compared to actual Fiscal Year 2017 funding levels. 

The White House is proposing to fund the Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) grant program at $11.02 million and State Fire Assistance (SFA) at $65.93 million. These programs provide assistance to states and local fire departments for wildland fire prevention, detection, and suppression. In Fiscal Year 2017, the programs were funded at $15 million and $78 million respectively.

The release of the White House budget proposal is the first step in the Fiscal Year 2019 budget process. Once Congress completes its work on the Fiscal Year 2018 funding bills, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will begin drafting Fiscal Year 2019 funding bills for the individual federal agencies. CFSI will continue to provide updates throughout the process. 

DALLAS - The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) is now accepting nominations for the following awards for the 2018 year: the Henry S. Parmelee award, the Fire Sprinkler Advocate of the Year award, and the Young Professional of the Year award. The awards will be presented during AFSA37: Convention, Exhibition & Apprentice Competition in Washington, D.C. and the recipients will be featured in Sprinkler Age magazine.

The Henry S. Parmelee award is AFSA's highest honor. Instituted in 1983 and given annually in recognition of an outstanding individual who has dedicated himself or herself to the professional advancement of the fire sprinkler industry and to the goal of fire safety through automatic sprinklers. The nomination deadline is June 30, 2018.

The Fire Sprinkler Advocate of the Year award was created to honor individuals not directly involved in the fire sprinkler industry whose efforts have had a national impact in advancing the fire protection industry and automatic fire sprinklers. The deadline for nominations for this award is March 31, 2018. 

Lastly, the Young Professional of the Year award was designed to honor the contributions of promising fire protection specialists and serves to: reaffirm the growing importance of fire sprinkler knowledge in the world of business and construction management among the next generation of industry leaders, promote the emergence of young, talented professionals in the field of fire protection; and inspire fire protection companies and the fire protection community to invest in the development and excellence of the profession. The nomination deadline is March 31, 2018.

Nominations can be submitted by AFSA members in a number of different ways. Nominees do not need to be a member of AFSA to be eligible. Nominations can be submitted to AFSA via fax at (214) 343-8898, emailed to AFSA President Frank Mortl III, CAE at frankm@firesprinkler.org, or mailed to:

AFSA
Attn: Award Nominations
12750 Merit Drive, Suite 350
Dallas, TX 75251

A letter stating which award the nomination is for, the nominee's name and contact information, and a brief statement of why he or she is deserving is all that is required.

About AFSA

Established in 1981, the American Fire Sprinkler Association is an international association representing fire sprinkler contractors. AFSA is dedicated to the educational and professional advancement of the automatic fire sprinkler industry. Visit firesprinkler.org.

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