Representatives Chris Dush and Jim Struzzi say they have successfully pushed the Wolf Administration to reverse course to get grant money flowing again to fire and EMS companies.
Dush says that last week they began investigating why some local fire and ambulance companies were receiving their grants, but others were not. They found that Wolf had deemed the Office of the State Fire Commissioner “non-essential,” sending the office’s staff members home without having completed the distribution of grants.
Struzzi and Dush got the House leadership involved and the administration then put staffers back on duty in a work-from-home format. They should be online this week and the money should start flowing again soon after.
Struzzi says they were honored to do whatever was necessary to get the first responders their crucial funding. The money for the grants comes from slot machine gaming, not the state’s General Fund, which uses tax dollars.
Dush said snafus such as this are a prime example of the need to involve the legislature in decisions which have a significant impact on people’s lives and livelihoods. The Wolf Administration implemented almost all of its Covid-19 policies without consulting or informing the legislature
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