[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 413 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 413

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                        April 26, 1994.
    Resolved, That, upon adoption of this resolution, the bill (H.R. 1727) to 
establish a program of grants to States for arson research, prevention, and 
control, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, shall be 
considered to have been taken from the Speaker's table, and the same are hereby 
agreed to with an amendment as follows: In lieu of the matter proposed to be 
inserted by the Senate, insert the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Arson Prevention Act of 1994''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) arson is a serious and costly problem, and is responsible for 
        approximately 25 percent of all fires in the United States;
            (2) arson is a leading cause of fire deaths, accounting for 
        approximately 700 deaths annually in the United States, and is the 
        leading cause of property damage due to fire in the United States;
            (3) estimates of arson property losses are in the range of 
        $2,000,000,000 annually, or approximately 1 of every 4 dollars lost to 
        fire;
            (4) the incidence of arson in the United States is seriously 
        underreported, in part because of the lack of adequate participation by 
        local jurisdictions in the National Fire Incident Reporting System 
        (NFIRS) and the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program;
            (5) there is a need for expanded training programs for arson 
        investigators;
            (6) there is a need for improved programs designed to enable 
        volunteer firefighters to detect arson crimes and to preserve evidence 
        vital to the investigation and prosecution of arson cases;
            (7) according to the National Fire Protection Association, of all 
        the suspicious and incendiary fires estimated to occur, only \1/3\ are 
        confirmed as arson; and
            (8) improved training of arson investigators will increase the 
        ability of fire departments to identify suspicious and incendiary fires, 
        and will result in increased and more effective prosecution of arson 
        offenses.

SEC. 3. ARSON PREVENTION GRANTS.

    The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 is amended by inserting 
after section 24 (15 U.S.C. 2220) the following new section:

``SEC. 25. ARSON PREVENTION GRANTS.

    ``(a) Definitions.--As used in this section:
            ``(1) Arson.--The term `arson' includes all incendiary and 
        suspicious fires.
            ``(2) Office.--The term `Office' means the Office of Fire Prevention 
        and Arson Control of the United States Fire Administration.
    ``(b) Grants.--The Administrator, acting through the Office, shall carry out 
a demonstration program under which not more than 10 grant awards shall be made 
to States, or consortia of States, for programs relating to arson research, 
prevention, and control.
    ``(c) Goals.--In carrying out this section, the Administrator shall award 2-
year grants on a competitive, merit basis to States, or consortia of States, for 
projects that promote one or more of the following goals:
            ``(1) To improve the training by States leading to professional 
        certification of arson investigators, in accordance with nationally 
        recognized certification standards.
            ``(2) To provide resources for the formation of arson task forces or 
        interagency organizational arrangements involving police and fire 
        departments and other relevant local agencies, such as a State arson 
        bureau and the office of a fire marshal of a State.
            ``(3) To combat fraud as a cause of arson and to advance research at 
        the State and local levels on the significance and prevention of fraud 
        as a motive for setting fires.
            ``(4) To provide for the management of arson squads, including--
                    ``(A) training courses for fire departments in arson case 
                management, including standardization of investigative 
                techniques and reporting methodology;
                    ``(B) the preparation of arson unit management guides; and
                    ``(C) the development and dissemination of new public 
                education materials relating to the arson problem.
            ``(5) To combat civil unrest as a cause of arson and to advance 
        research at the State and local levels on the prevention and control of 
        arson linked to urban disorders.
            ``(6) To combat juvenile arson, such as juvenile fire-setter 
        counseling programs and similar intervention programs, and to advance 
        research at the State and local levels on the prevention of juvenile 
        arson.
            ``(7) To combat drug-related arson and to advance research at the 
        State and local levels on the causes and prevention of drug-related 
        arson.
            ``(8) To combat domestic violence as a cause of arson and to advance 
        research at the State and local levels on the prevention of arson 
        arising from domestic violence.
            ``(9) To combat arson in rural areas and to improve the capability 
        of firefighters to identify and prevent arson initiated fires in rural 
        areas and public forests.
            ``(10) To improve the capability of firefighters to identify and 
        combat arson through expanded training programs, including--
                    ``(A) training courses at the State fire academies; and
                    ``(B) innovative courses developed with the Academy and made 
                available to volunteer firefighters through regional delivery 
                methods, including teleconferencing and satellite delivered 
                television programs.
    ``(d) Structuring of Applications.--The Administrator shall assist grant 
applicants in structuring their applications so as to ensure that at least one 
grant is awarded for each goal described in subsection (c).
    ``(e) State Qualification Criteria.--In order to qualify for a grant under 
this section, a State, or consortium of States, shall provide assurances 
adequate to the Administrator that the State or consortium--
            ``(1) will obtain at least 25 percent of the cost of programs funded 
        by the grant, in cash or in kind, from non-Federal sources;
            ``(2) will not as a result of receiving the grant decrease the prior 
        level of spending of funds of the State or consortium from non-Federal 
        sources for arson research, prevention, and control programs;
            ``(3) will use no more than 10 percent of funds provided under the 
        grant for administrative costs of the programs; and
            ``(4) is making efforts to ensure that all local jurisdictions will 
        provide arson data to the National Fire Incident Reporting System or the 
        Uniform Crime Reporting program.
    ``(f) Extension.--A grant awarded under this section may be extended for one 
or more additional periods, at the discretion of the Administrator, subject to 
the availability of appropriations.
    ``(g) Technical Assistance.--The Administrator shall provide technical 
assistance to States in carrying out programs funded by grants under this 
section.
    ``(h) Consultation and Cooperation.--In carrying out this section, the 
Administrator shall consult and cooperate with other Federal agencies to enhance 
program effectiveness and avoid duplication of effort, including the conduct of 
regular meetings initiated by the Administrator with representatives of other 
Federal agencies concerned with arson and concerned with efforts to develop a 
more comprehensive profile of the magnitude of the national arson problem.
    ``(i) Assessment.--Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of 
this subsection, the Administrator shall submit a report to Congress that--
            ``(1) identifies grants made under this section;
            ``(2) specifies the identity of grantees;
            ``(3) states the goals of each grant; and
            ``(4) contains a preliminary assessment of the effectiveness of the 
        grant program under this section.
    ``(j) Regulations.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 
this subsection, the Administrator shall issue regulations to implement this 
section, including procedures for grant applications.
    ``(k) Administration.--The Administrator shall directly administer the grant 
program required by this section, and shall not enter into any contract under 
which the grant program or any portion of the program will be administered by 
another party.
    ``(l) Purchase of American Made Equipment and Products.--
            ``(1) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that any 
        recipient of a grant under this section should purchase, when available 
        and cost-effective, American made equipment and products when expending 
        grant monies.
            ``(2) Notice to recipients of assistance.--In allocating grants 
        under this section, the Administrator shall provide to each recipient a 
        notice describing the statement made in paragraph (1) by the 
        Congress.''.

SEC. 4. VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER TRAINING.

    Section 24(a)(2) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 
U.S.C. 2220(a)(2)) is amended by inserting before the semicolon the following: 
``, with particular emphasis on the needs of volunteer firefighters for improved 
and more widely available arson training courses''.

SEC. 5. CPR TRAINING.

    The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 is amended by adding at 
the end the following new section:

``SEC. 32. CPR TRAINING.

    ``No funds shall be made available to a State or local government under 
section 25 unless such government has a policy to actively promote the training 
of its firefighters in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.''.

SEC. 6. FEDERAL EMPLOYEE HOUSING EXCEPTIONS.

    Section 31(c)(1) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 
U.S.C. 2227(c)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``No Federal'' and inserting in 
        lieu thereof ``Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, no 
        Federal''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
    ``(C) Housing covered by this paragraph that does not have an adequate and 
reliable electrical system shall not be subject to the requirement under 
subparagraph (A) for protection by hard-wired smoke detectors, but shall be 
protected by battery operated smoke detectors.
    ``(D) If funding has been programmed or designated for the demolition of 
housing covered by this paragraph, such housing shall not be subject to the fire 
protection requirements of subparagraph (A), but shall be protected by battery 
operated smoke detectors.''.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 17 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 
2216) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(h) In addition to any other amounts that are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated to 
carry out this Act--
            ``(1) $500,000 for fiscal year 1995 for basic research on the 
        development of an advanced course on arson prevention;
            ``(2) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1996 for the expansion of arson 
        investigator training programs at the Academy under section 24 and at 
        the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, or through regional 
        delivery sites;
            ``(3) $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1995 and 1996 for carrying 
        out section 25, except for salaries and expenses for carrying out 
        section 25; and
            ``(4) $250,000 for each of the fiscal years 1995 and 1996 for 
        salaries and expenses for carrying out section 25.''.

SEC. 8. SUNSET.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, no funds are authorized to 
be appropriated for any fiscal year after fiscal year 1996 for carrying out the 
programs for which funds are authorized by this Act, or the amendments made by 
this Act.
            Attest:






                                                                          Clerk.