Assemblyman Brian Manktelow (R,C,I,Ref-Lyons) is pleased to announce the Assembly Minority Conference has introduced a bill calling for financial aid to be given to volunteer firefighters and EMS workers who have been working tirelessly during the COVID-19 outbreak. Manktelow and the Assembly Minority Conference have also written a letter to the president and the congressional delegation of New York to request funding in order to help cover the astronomical costs in acquiring equipment necessary to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Here we have people who are willingly putting their lives on the line in order to fight back against a terrible virus,” said Manktelow. “While times are tough financially, we should be providing frontline workers like volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel with federal and state funding. These are volunteer driven departments, which rely heavily on donations and fundraising to function, both of which are limited at this time. This is a step in the right direction in helping some of the hardest working groups of people.”

With this bill, the conference is calling for the federal reimbursement of personal protective equipment (PPE) and for federal aid to be given to first responders who have been put in quarantine due to being exposed to COVID-19 or have lost wages due to not being able to work at their primary jobs. The Assembly Minority Conference is also introducing legislation, which would create the New York State Volunteer Fire Protection Emergency Reimbursement Account. This would allow for volunteer fire companies, districts and departments, as well as EMS, to be reimbursed for expenses in trying to procure PPE, or for revenues lost due to the municipal budget cuts or restrictions on fundraising opportunities.

Find the letter here.