Advocates for EMS are seeking responders' help to ask senators to support funding for the Rural EMS Training and Assistance Grants program in the FY 2004 Labor HHS Appropriations Bill.  

This program was authorized by Congress in the Health Care Safety Net Act that became law Oct. 26, 2002, but has not yet been funded in the appropriations bills.  If funded, the program would be administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration.

The House passed its version of the FY 2004 Labor HHS Appropriations bill (HR 2660) on July 10, 2002.  The House bill includes no funding for the Rural EMS Training and Equipment Grants program.

 The Senate version of the bill (S 1356) has been drafted by the Appropriations Committee and is heading to the Senate Floor.  While it is likely that the full Senate will consider this bill sometime in September, there is also a slight possibility it could be considered on the Senate Floor next week.  The current Senate bill also contains no funding for Rural EMS Training and Equipment Assistance.

 Senator Kent Conrad (N.D.) is seeking support for an amendment on the Senate Floor to add $1 million - $2 million to initiate this program.  

Please contact your senators and request that they contact the Labor HHS Appropriations Chairman, Senator Arlen Specter (Pa.) and ranking democrat, Senator Tom Harkin (Iowa) in support of a Senate floor amendment to add several million dollars to initiate the Rural EMS Training and Equipment Assistance program.

On the NAEMSE Web site www.naemse.org/news/default.htm#Funding is a link to a program fact sheet and a April 2 letter signed by 12 senators requesting $25 million for this program in the FY 2004 appropriations bill. While the initial request of these senators and advocates for EMS was $25 million, at this point in the process that level of funding is not viewed as an obtainable goal. The current strategy is to seek a smaller appropriation,  $1 million — $2 million, to establish the program develop program guidance and build a base program for next year’s appropriation.