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John Kerry & Firefighters
HAMPTON, N.H. (AP) - Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry
said Wednesday he'd replace President Bush's "broken promises" to
firefighters with a pledge of his own to put 100,000 more of them
on the streets.
The proposal, modeled after the Clinton administration COPS
program for police officers, earned the senator from Massachusetts
a standing ovation at the annual meeting of the Professional
Firefighters of New Hampshire.
"What we need is an administration that understands how you
make America stronger," he said.
Kerry said Bush likes to talk about the heroic firefighters who
lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, but has failed to ensure that
their surviving peers across the country get the training and
equipment they need.
The result is that bridges, nuclear plants and other possible
targets of terrorism aren't being as well protected as they should,
Kerry said.
"There isn't one of you as professional firefighters - people
who put your lives on the line- who doesn't understand what it
means to realize promises have been broken," he said.
In March, Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge announced $750
million in grants to help rural, urban and suburban fire
departments better train, prepare and equip for the war on
terrorism. In the latest round of grants, four New Hampshire
communities received $73,000 earlier this month.
The announcement more than doubled last year's Assistance to
Firefighters grants, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency
distributed more than $334 million through 5,316 grants to help
America's firefighters prepare to respond to fires and other
disasters. FEMA is part of the Homeland Security Department.
Ridge had recommended that leaders pool their resources in
mutual aid agreements between neighboring cities, or to develop new
training programs and buy equipment.
But Kerry compared the firefighters to the troops in post-war
Iraq, whom he said are not being protected well enough as they
struggle to bring about peace. "You have a bunch of troops who
trained for something else," he said. "Every day some kid walks
into a store to get a Coke and gets blown away."
Berlin firefighter Peter Donovan asked Kerry how he would help
rural communities likes his, where a scarcity of jobs puts a strain
on social services and makes him fearful of cuts to his department.
"These rural communities, not just in New Hampshire, have
problems," Donovan said. "But after the voting's done, we're
forgotten."
Kerry answered by outlining several job creation proposals, from
expanding high-speed Internet to rural areas to putting people to
work rebuilding schools, roads and airports.
"There's no excuse for not putting America back to work
tomorrow, but if your priority is feeding the rich and country
clubs, it's going to be tough," he said in a swipe at Bush's tax
cut plan.
Donovan said he liked what he heard. Though he usually votes
Republican, he said he would keep an open mind about Kerry and the
eight other Democrats seeking the nomination. "I think he answered
very well," he said. "He didn't beat around the bush."
Later, Kerry met with public health workers in Nashua, where he
explained his $80 billion-a-year plan to expand health care
coverage and reduce the price of insurance in part by requiring the
federal government to pick up the costs of catastrophic care.
The plan also would require companies who benefit from the plan
to offer wellness programs for their workers.
"We don't even talk about diet in America," Kerry said. "We
have a health care system almost devoid of connecting people to
wellness."
Maria Gilmartin, a public health nurse, told Kerry she sees many
patients who work but don't make enough to afford health insurance.
"There's no preventive care," she said. "Their kids don't
have anyone looking at their development."
Kerry said early education programs should start before a child
is born, teaching pregnant women about nutrition.
"If you start with kids at age zero... you can bring a kid to
first grade who's ready to learn," he said.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
said Wednesday he'd replace President Bush's "broken promises" to
firefighters with a pledge of his own to put 100,000 more of them
on the streets.
The proposal, modeled after the Clinton administration COPS
program for police officers, earned the senator from Massachusetts
a standing ovation at the annual meeting of the Professional
Firefighters of New Hampshire.
"What we need is an administration that understands how you
make America stronger," he said.
Kerry said Bush likes to talk about the heroic firefighters who
lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, but has failed to ensure that
their surviving peers across the country get the training and
equipment they need.
The result is that bridges, nuclear plants and other possible
targets of terrorism aren't being as well protected as they should,
Kerry said.
"There isn't one of you as professional firefighters - people
who put your lives on the line- who doesn't understand what it
means to realize promises have been broken," he said.
In March, Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge announced $750
million in grants to help rural, urban and suburban fire
departments better train, prepare and equip for the war on
terrorism. In the latest round of grants, four New Hampshire
communities received $73,000 earlier this month.
The announcement more than doubled last year's Assistance to
Firefighters grants, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency
distributed more than $334 million through 5,316 grants to help
America's firefighters prepare to respond to fires and other
disasters. FEMA is part of the Homeland Security Department.
Ridge had recommended that leaders pool their resources in
mutual aid agreements between neighboring cities, or to develop new
training programs and buy equipment.
But Kerry compared the firefighters to the troops in post-war
Iraq, whom he said are not being protected well enough as they
struggle to bring about peace. "You have a bunch of troops who
trained for something else," he said. "Every day some kid walks
into a store to get a Coke and gets blown away."
Berlin firefighter Peter Donovan asked Kerry how he would help
rural communities likes his, where a scarcity of jobs puts a strain
on social services and makes him fearful of cuts to his department.
"These rural communities, not just in New Hampshire, have
problems," Donovan said. "But after the voting's done, we're
forgotten."
Kerry answered by outlining several job creation proposals, from
expanding high-speed Internet to rural areas to putting people to
work rebuilding schools, roads and airports.
"There's no excuse for not putting America back to work
tomorrow, but if your priority is feeding the rich and country
clubs, it's going to be tough," he said in a swipe at Bush's tax
cut plan.
Donovan said he liked what he heard. Though he usually votes
Republican, he said he would keep an open mind about Kerry and the
eight other Democrats seeking the nomination. "I think he answered
very well," he said. "He didn't beat around the bush."
Later, Kerry met with public health workers in Nashua, where he
explained his $80 billion-a-year plan to expand health care
coverage and reduce the price of insurance in part by requiring the
federal government to pick up the costs of catastrophic care.
The plan also would require companies who benefit from the plan
to offer wellness programs for their workers.
"We don't even talk about diet in America," Kerry said. "We
have a health care system almost devoid of connecting people to
wellness."
Maria Gilmartin, a public health nurse, told Kerry she sees many
patients who work but don't make enough to afford health insurance.
"There's no preventive care," she said. "Their kids don't
have anyone looking at their development."
Kerry said early education programs should start before a child
is born, teaching pregnant women about nutrition.
"If you start with kids at age zero... you can bring a kid to
first grade who's ready to learn," he said.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
)Wonder if any of those 100,000 are volunteers. Takers?
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