Vermont recieves $10.45 million in new first-responder grants

(12/08/2009)

TIMES ARGUS STAFF

MONTPELIER -- Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., today announced $10.45 million in new first-responder grants to Vermont. The grants will be used to address the planning, equipment, training and exercise needs of first responders across the state the senator's office said in a release.

The new funding includes $6.6 million through the State Homeland Security Grant Program that Leahy authored in 2001. Leahy's all-state minimum funding formula, modified in recent years, ensures that smaller states like Vermont are able to participate in the program, and it has brought nearly $100 million in grants to Vermont's first responders since 2002.

Leahy said in the release, “Our first responders are a community's lifeline in an emergency. We count on them being ready at a moment's notice, and they should be able to count on support like this for the resources they need to answer the call. This is an investment in Vermont's readiness.”

Source: Times Argus