During the August 16 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Bill O'Reilly mocked Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich's (D-OH) proposal to increase funding for first responders. Of Kucinich's four-point plan to increase national security, O'Reilly stated: “Number three: Fund first responders in the U.S.A. That means after you're dead, have enough ambulances to carry your corpse to the funeral home.”

The National Commission on Terror Attacks Upon the United States, commonly referred to as the 9-11 Commission, had a different opinion of the importance of first responders. It described first responders, such as members of fire, police, emergency medical service, building safety, and similar units as "the last best hope for the community of people working in or visiting the World Trade Center" and as the "front line[]" of emergency response. The 9-11 Commission report noted:

The lesson of 9/11 for civilians and first responders can be stated simply: in the new age of terror, they -- we -- are the primary targets. The losses America suffered that day demonstrated both the gravity of the terrorist threat and the commensurate need to prepare ourselves to meet it.

The first responders of today live in a world transformed by the attacks on 9/11. Because no one believes that every conceivable form of attack can be prevented, civilians and first responders will again find themselves on the front lines. We must plan for that eventuality. A rededication to preparedness is perhaps the best way to honor the memories of those we lost that day.

The 9-11 Commission reiterated the significance of first responders in the event of a terrorist attack in making its recommendations to Congress, urging Congress to “support pending legislation which provides for the expedited and increased assignment of radio spectrum for public safety purposes.” In addition, the Commission implored Congress to place “high priority” on funding “signal corps units to ensure communications connectivity between and among civilian authorities, local first responders, and the National Guard” in “high-risk urban areas such as New York City and Washington, D.C.”

Following up on their recommendations in December 2005, then-9-11 Commission chairman Thomas H. Kean (R) and then-vice chairman Lee Hamilton (D) criticized Congress and the Bush administration for, according to CNN, giving “short shrift” to “many of the commission's most important recommendations for strengthening U.S. security,” specifically first responders, and the inadequate allocation of funding for first responders in high-risk urban areas. As CNN reported:

Among their top concerns: first responders still cannot communicate with each other in an emergency because no part of the radio spectrum has been allocated for their use, the two men said.

“It really approaches scandal to think that, four years after 9/11, the police and the fire cannot talk to one another at the scene of the disaster,” said Hamilton.

“They could not do it on 9/11, and as a result of that, lives were lost. They could not do it at Katrina. They still cannot do it.”

Congress is considering a bill to establish such a radio frequency, but even if it passes, “the best hope we have is a bill that fixes it by 2009,” said Kean, former governor of New Jersey.

The two men, and the other members of the former commission, also want funding for first responders to be distributed based on risk -- with more likely targets receiving a bigger chunk of the funding -- rather than on a per capita or geographical basis.

“We've had some of this money spent to air condition garbage trucks. We've had some of the money spent for armor for dogs. This money is being distributed as if it's general revenue sharing,” said Kean.

From the August 16 broadcast of Westwood One's The Radio Factor:

O'REILLY: If you watched last night, we had Dennis Kucinich on. He had a four-plan strategy to fight terror. Number one: Withdraw from Iraq immediately. That was number one. And then I said to him, “Well, then Iran doubles in power, creates a sphere of influence there, controls most of the oil coming out of the Middle East.” And he wouldn't answer the question -- dodged it, three, four times. You saw it, right?

LIS WIEHL (co-host): I saw it. Yeah.

O'REILLY: Would he answer the question?

WIEHL: No, he didn't.

O'REILLY: OK. Second strategy was to talk to Iran and Syria and all these other [Inaudible], talk. Chat with them. Now, again, I'll send Lis Wiehl, E.D. Hill right over. They can talk all day long. Come up with something, come back and tell me. Does anybody have any confidence Iran's going to talk straight to you? Did North Korea talk straight to Bill Clinton? No.

OK, strategy number two: After we run away from Iraq, we talk to them. Yeah, we'll have a great conversation while they laugh at us. Number three: Fund first responders in the U.S.A. That means after you're dead, have enough ambulances to carry your corpse to the funeral home. And number four, what was the number four thing? Oh, our allies. Re-energize our allies to come help us. So, I don't know what that means. Buy more cheese and wine from France? I don't -- that was Kucinich's strategy to fight terror.