While I understand the desire to get Volunteer firefighters health insurance coverage (I was a volunteer firefighter for years), without a federal plan that SIGNIFICANTLY supplements or outright provides insurance for the volunteers, this would quite literally shut many departments down (a majority of departments cannot afford basic safety and firefighting equipment, let alone provide insurance). This reeks of Republican attempts to force a showdown on the ACA claiming, at the expense of the public, that the act is penalizing Rural Fire Departments, not a legitimate concern for any firefighters or the communities who might be at risk by the bills passing.