William Webb is executive director of the Congressional Fire Services Institute. He recently spent some time with FIRE CHIEF magazine forecasting the legislative landscape for 2008.

What will be the key legislation in 2008?

There's legislation that will important to individual organizations. The union will have its collective-bargaining bill. The volunteers will have legislation providing more incentives for volunteers. Chiefs certainly have their legislative agenda as well. But funding for the grant programs and reauthorization for the U.S. Fire Administration are going to be key pieces of legislation that we will be looking at.

Do you have any sense as to how that's going to play out?

Not at this point. We are still waiting for Congress to act on the appropriations bills for this fiscal year. By the time you print this article, we'll know the outcome. But it is hard to get a sense of what will happen next year, let alone what's going to happen next week in Congress. The challenge that we will face in 2008 is the funding level requested by the administration that will be submitted in January. We are hearing reports that the White House will zero fund both SAFER and FIRE — zero dollars. That's what's floating around the rumor mill right now. That's very drastic, that's Draconian. This is the first time since the program was initiated that the White House has zero funded it.

If it is zero funded, what is the next step?

Going to our allies on Capitol Hill on both sides of the political aisle and working with them to ensure that there is money in the appropriation bills for 2009. In previous years, Congress has always come in with higher figures in the appropriation bills than what was proposed by the White House. Hopefully this trend will continue.

What are the key factors in getting this done?

Spending priorities. This is the last year of the administration and the last budget that will be submitted by the president. It is unclear what his priorities will be. This administration, as any other administration, is focusing on legacy. With this administration, they want to end on a note of conservative spending. But the White House proposes, Congress disposes. The budget is a blueprint. We would like to see the programs funded at the amount authorized. But who are we trying to kid?

Are there major regulatory issues that will be addressed in 2008?

Not on our radar screen. We've been addressing the Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act since it was proposed in 2003, which would accelerate the depreciation for sprinkler systems. That is a legislative priority for our organization. We also are looking at the issue of novelty lighters with the National Association of State Fire Marshals and how we can address this with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to prohibit their sale and distribution.

Are there any sleeper issues that may surface in 2008?

You might see some focus on the wildland-urban interface issue on Capitol Hill. The Forest Service issued a report that talked about placing more of the financial burden for suppression on state and local jurisdictions. That got a lot of people's attention. A lot of the Forest Service's budget that should normally go into mitigation is now being shifted over into suppression. The suppression costs have gotten so expensive that it is just busting their budget. The Forest Service is starting to talk about it because these fires are not starting on federal lands. Somebody is going to have to get the stakeholders together to talk about practical, sensible solutions to mitigating these fires. That's going to create some tension and heated discussions between the various stakeholders, such as developers, environmentalists, and even the suppression field.

What can local departments do to get involved with this process?

The best piece of advice is to first understand the issue. The best way to understand the issue is to visit the Web sites of the national organizations. It is important that when you talk to members of Congress that you understand the issue inside and out so you don't provide any misinformation. When were working these initiatives collectively, we are trying to speak in one voice. What hurts us is when a firefighter goes to his member of Congress and says something that deviates from our message. That kind of muddies up the situation for us. Check the Web sites or give the organization a call and find out what the message should be. That has been key to our success in Washington.