[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 23, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5015-S5016]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. Cardin):
  S. 2214. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
a better defined recruitment and retention incentive program for 
volunteer emergency service workers; to the Committee on Finance.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a bill with my friend 
and colleague from Maryland, Senator Cardin, that will benefit the 
brave women and men who volunteer as emergency personnel: The Volunteer 
Emergency Services Recruitment and Retention Act.
  Across our Nation, volunteer emergency personnel play a critical role 
in ensuring the safety of our communities and the well-being of our 
neighbors. They serve as the firefighters, EMS, and other first 
responders that we depend on in our times of need. The State of Maine, 
for example, has approximately 9,785 firefighters who serve the State's 
1.3 million citizens. Maine is largely a rural State, and more than 90 
percent of firefighters are volunteers. Without these dedicated 
volunteers, many smaller communities would be unable to provide 
firefighting and other emergency services at all.
  Often, communities seek to recruit and retain volunteers by offering 
modest benefits. One of the most common benefits are Length of Service 
Award Programs or LOSAPs. These are retirement accounts provided to 
volunteer emergency responders. The legislation we are introducing 
today would support these efforts by helping to ensure that these 
nominal benefits to volunteers are not entangled in bureaucracy or 
needlessly held back by regulations. Specifically, the Volunteer 
Emergency Services Recruitment and Retention

[[Page S5016]]

Act would simplify how LOSAPs are taxed without increasing or reducing 
Federal spending or taxes. It would do this by eliminating burdensome 
and confusing IRS requirements that make it unnecessarily difficult for 
volunteer emergency personnel to receive benefits and for departments 
to administer plans.
  Mr. President, we should take care to protect our volunteer emergency 
personnel who serve this country with such bravery. Our legislation 
would help us achieve that goal, and I urge my colleagues to join us in 
supporting this bill.

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