Bills Help Real People Address Real Problems

One of my goals for my Congressional Fellowship was to observe examples of how legislation affects people's lives in a significant way. We learned about the process of how a bill becomes a law in class (remember the School House Rock song, "I'm Just a Bill"?). But sometimes I think it's hard to really appreciate the reality of the process. Textbooks are excellent tools for explaining how government works, but they don't do a very good job of helping us to understand that what government does has real consequences for real people in our community. I want to take this blog entry to explain to you a superb example of why government matters and why you need to know and understand how it works.

Last Wednesday I had the opportunity to attend a Press Conference held by Senator Bob Casey and Representative Jason Altmire. It was held in the Russell Senate Office Building. On the way to the room, I passed both Senator John Kerry's office and Senator Ted Kennedy's office. This was exciting because Senator Kennedy had just returned to the Senate briefly that day. In the Press Conference room, there were six cameras lined up in the back behind the chairs. Remember how we learned that in order for a bill to become a law, it has to pass through both the Senate and the House? Sometimes, a bill can be introduced in both chambers simultaneously. This is what Senator Casey and Representative Altmire did.

Senator Casey spoke first and explained the new bill. It is called the "Supporting America's Volunteer Emergency Services Act of 2008" (SAVES Act) and would help volunteer fire companies and volunteer EMS services cover the rising cost of fuel prices. Senator Casey's office originally got the idea for this Act after reading an article in the Wall Street Journal explaining the cutbacks volunteer fire companies had to make as the result of rising fuel prices. Congressman Altmire's office added volunteer EMS services to the bill. Volunteer fire companies like to make sure a fire truck has at least 3/4 of its gas tank full at night in case they get a call to go to a fire a long distance away. With the rising cost of fuel prices, fire companies were being forced to only keep their gas tanks half-full and were not able to respond to emergencies with all the necessary equipment.

The SAVES Act would provide federal grants to volunteer fire departments and other emergency service providers to be reimbursed up to 75% for the increase in the price of fuel beyond the average price baseline of 2007. The Press release explains, "Between June 2003 and June 2008, regular gasoline prices have risen 171% and diesel prices have risen 229%. Volunteer fire companies have reported that they are not able to respond to fire emergencies with the amount of trucks and equipment recommended under guidelines provided by the National Fire Protection Association. [Pennsylvania has 1,700 volunteer fire companies which] serve over 9 million Pennsylvanians and account for 97% of Pennsylvania's fire departments." In Congressman Altmire's district, there are 164 total fire departments, only 7 of which are not volunteer. The SAVES Act has a long way to go before it becomes law, but they are hoping for it to take effect by the end of 2009.

The SAVES Act addresses a clear need in our local community, across Pennsylvania, and across the country. Without it, high fuel costs make it difficult for fire departments and emergency service providers to, as Congressman Altmire explained, "provide local families with the help they need." This is why we learn about "how a bill becomes a law" in Civics class, and why, as an educated citizen, you need to know about how government works and what it can do.