Washington, DC – The U.S. Senate’s Appropriations Committee is expected to approve funding for the Regenhard Center for Emergency Response Studies at John Jay College, according to a statement released this week by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), who sits on a key subcomittee which already has endorsed the project.
The center is named after probationary FDNY firefighter Christian Regenhard, who died at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Senator Clinton indicated that she expects the measure funding the center to pass the full Senate. If a House-Senate conference committee then agrees to include the project in the final Commerce, Justice, Science budget bill for 2007, a specific dollar amount would be announced and allocated, assuming the appropriations bill is passed by Congress and signed by President Bush.
“With his brave brothers from the FDNY, Christian Regenhard was a true hero, making the ultimate sacrifice to save others on September 11,” Senator Clinton said. “The Regenhard Center will be a great asset to first-responder communities around the country, providing an integrated, comprehensive approach to the study of disaster emergency response.”
The funds, when determined, will help John Jay College of Criminal Justice establish the Regenhard Center as a research entity and information clearinghouse for the study of emergency responses to large-scale disasters. The center also will create an internet-based digital data archive to support public policy recommendations, training and educational programs, seminars and workshops, as well as the identification of emergency responder technology and equipment needs.
Since its founding in New York City in 1964, John Jay College of Criminal Justice has devoted a diverse variety of academic programs and research capabilities to the study of emergency and law enforcement organizations such as the fire service, police departments, emergency management offices, and security concerns.