[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 176 (Thursday, December 12, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H8087]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HELPING WEST WEBSTER FIREFIGHTERS

  (Ms. SLAUGHTER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, during the early morning hours of 
December 24, 2012, the town of West Webster, New York, suffered a 
horrible tragedy as a troubled individual set his sister on fire, along 
with her house, and then lay in wait until the firefighters arrived. He 
shot and killed two firemen and wounded two more.
  In the days and weeks that followed, the town of West Webster, the 
city of Rochester, and our entire region responded with an outpouring 
of support for the families whose lives had been irrevocably changed 
because of the attack.
  Donations poured into the nonprofit, volunteer West Webster Fire 
Department in hopes that they would reach the families whose loved ones 
had been killed. Unfortunately, the fire department was in no position 
to deal with the complex legalities of delivering these donations to 
the intended families. As a result, the majority of that money has 
still not been able to reach the families.
  For almost a year now, I have worked with the people of West Webster, 
particularly West Webster Fire Chief Ken Smith, to finally deliver the 
charitable donations. And thanks to the generous efforts of Chairman 
Camp and our allies in the Senate, we will finally be able to help 
these families today.
  The assistance of Chairman Camp and his staff, in particular, has 
been vital to resolving this issue once and for all. His commitment 
over the recent months to helping West Webster firefighters and their 
loved ones is a testament to his dedication to public service.
  Today's vote is terribly important to the recipients. There are no 
words that can heal the wounds that were suffered by Ted Scardino and 
Joe Hofstetter, and nothing we can do will ever bring back Mike 
``Chip'' Chipparini and Tomasz Kaczowka. But passing today's 
legislation can help to lessen their burden, hopefully to ease their 
pain, and to prove that even in our darkest hours, our country will be 
there to support our public servants, their families, and communities 
in need.

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