• Home
• Listen to Ron
• Ag News
• Markets
• Calendar
• Auctions
• Weather
• Email Archives
• Agri-Innovations
• Beef Buzz
• RON Radio Affiliates
• Contact Us

advertisements
   
   
   
   

   

Agricultural News

Inhofe Praises Agreement to Save Program Aiding Oklahoma's Firefighters

Thu, 10 Jul 2014 03:09:20 CDT

Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and senior member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) committee, has praised the agreement reached by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) that will allow local fire and law enforcement agencies to continue receiving surplus military equipment. The Senator's office released the following statement on Thursday afternoon:


"I applaud the DOD and EPA for coming to an agreement on a 25-year-old rule that the Department of Defense (DOD) recently decided to start enforcing to the detriment of a program supporting Oklahoma's local fire departments and their ability to fight wildfires. This quick resolution would not have been possible without the rapid criticism from many Members of Congress and the coordinated effort with Governor Fallin's office. Today the agencies decided to extend the national security exemption for this vital program on the grounds that the vehicles' titles remain under DOD after being repurposed in order to ensure the vehicles are eventually destroyed. This new agreement will create more red tape for our local fire departments by requiring the roughly 17,000 pieces of surplus equipment around the state to now be tracked and returned once they are no longer in use. This is the best short term answer to maintain the program with the DOD, and I will be working with my colleagues to address the unnecessary regulation created by the agreement. Since Thursday, I have been in contact with both agencies about this issue and I appreciate their responsiveness to my staff and me on this urgent matter. "


Each year, Oklahoma's fire departments receive and rely on $13 million to $15 million worth of surplus equipment from the DOD. The cost of new vehicles falls between $150,000 and $200,000, but the departments are able to take these surplus vehicles and equip them for as low as $30,000.


   

 

WebReady^TM Powered by WireReady® NSI

 

Top Agricultural News

Oklahoma Youth Expo Sale of Champions Sale Order Available Here- Sale Set for 4 PM Friday  Fri, 17 Mar 2023 04:50:54 CDT

Rural Voters Dominated Vote to Defeat Recreational Marijuana March 7th  Fri, 10 Mar 2023 07:13:05 CST

Ron Hays Talks to Israeli Ag Tour Guide Colin Lotzof About the Miraclel of Ag in Israel  Wed, 22 Feb 2023 22:11:04 CST

OALP Members Experience First Hand View of Cutting Edge Drip Irrigation Technology as Israel Travel Ends  Wed, 22 Feb 2023 10:51:49 CST

OALP Members Get First Hand View of Cutting Edge Drip Irrigation Technology as Israel Travel Ends  Wed, 22 Feb 2023 10:50:10 CST

Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program Sees Fruit, Beef and Dairy Production North of the Sea of Galilee in Israel  Mon, 20 Feb 2023 21:56:02 CST

Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program Sees Diverse Farm Operations in Jordan River Valley of Israel  Sun, 19 Feb 2023 21:17:30 CST

Israeli Tour Guide Mark Kedem Talks About The Cultural Aspects of What Class XX of OALP is Experiencing   Sat, 18 Feb 2023 22:17:23 CST

More Headlines...