Congressional EMS Caucus Takes Form
Three co-chairs have agreed to lead the Congressional EMS Caucus.
They include Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Maryland; Tim Walz, D-Minnesota; and Charles Boustany, R-Louisiana.
To date, 10 Congressmen have joined the new caucus. And, there's a campaign underway to recruit others.
During a meeting Wednesday morning at EMS Expo, people were asked to join the effort, and encourage their representatives to get involved.
Since EMS issues are handled by so many different committees in Congress, it's essential that a caucus be established, said Lisa Meyer, of Cornerstone Government Affairs.
"The louder our voice, the better our chances," she said, adding that work on forming a caucus started a few years ago.
Advocates for EMS President Kurt Krumperman said while the Institute of Medicine report was critical of EMS on a number of levels, very little has been done federally to address the issues.
"This is a dialogue we have to have," Krumperman said, speaking of the importance of Congressional representatives becoming familiar with the EMS functions.
Organizers stress that they are not in competition with the fire service which has had a very successful caucus for many years.
"They are fearing that their money will go to EMS. We're not asking to take money away from fire," said Nathan Williams, an Adocates' director.
Krumperman pointed out that a minuscule amount of federal funding has been earmarked for EMS. That's why it's essential that members of Congress understand that crews across the country are facing.
Traditionally, EMS agencies received only four percent of DHS funding. Now, states are required to provide justification if they are spending less than 10 percent of grants on EMS.
It's a start. However, organizers say there are a multitude of issues to be addressed.
Current members of the EMS Caucus include Bruce Braley, D-Iowa; Tom Latham, R-Iowa, Davie Loebsack, D-Iowa, Jim Ramstad, R-Minnesota; Mike McNulty, D-New York; Jason Altmire, D-Pennsylvania; and Chris Carney, D-Pennsylvania.
