[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4229 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4229

  To authorize a Federal grant program to local governments to better 
  enable them to protect public safety against fire and fire-related 
                                hazards.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 15, 1998

 Mr. Pascrell (for himself, Mr. Andrews, and Mr. Hoyer) introduced the 
     following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To authorize a Federal grant program to local governments to better 
  enable them to protect public safety against fire and fire-related 
                                hazards.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``21st Century Fire and Public Safety 
Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Authority.--Subject to subsections (b) and (c), the 
Administrator of the United States Fire Administration (in this Act 
referred to as the ``Administrator'') may make grants on a competitive 
basis to local governments to enable them to better protect public 
safety against fire and fire-related hazards.
    (b) Matching Requirement.--The Administrator may make a grant under 
subsection (a) for a fiscal year only on the condition that the local 
government receiving the grant matches for the fiscal year--
            (1) 10 percent of the Federal funds, if the local 
        government represents a community of 25,000 residents or fewer;
            (2) 15 percent of the Federal funds, if the local 
        government represents a community of more than 25,000 but not 
        more than 100,000 residents; and
            (3) 25 percent of the Federal funds, if the local 
        government represents a community of more than 100,000 
        residents.
    (c) Community Size.--In making grants for a fiscal year under 
subsection (a), the Administrator shall ensure that grants are made to 
local governments representing communities of each size described in 
subsection (b) for which there are eligible applicants.
    (d) Use of Grant Funds.--A grant made to a local government under 
subsection (a) may only be used--
            (1) to hire additional firefighters;
            (2) to acquire additional fire trucks and other 
        firefighting equipment;
            (3) to train firefighters in rescue and first aid 
        procedures;
            (4) to fund the creation of rapid intervention teams to 
        protect firefighters at the scenes of fires and other 
        emergencies;
            (5) to enforce fire codes;
            (6) to certify fire inspectors;
            (7) to train fire department personnel in arson prevention 
        and detection;
            (8) to educate the public about arson prevention and 
        detection;
            (9) to fund emergency medical services provided by fire 
        departments;
            (10) to acquire personal protective equipment required for 
        firefighters by the Occupational Safety and Health 
        Administration, and other personal protective equipment for 
        firefighters;
            (11) to fund fire prevention programs for youth and the 
        elderly;
            (12) to train firefighters in the handling of hazardous 
        materials; or
            (13) to train people to provide any of the training 
        described in this subsection.
    (e) Limitation on Administrative Costs.--A local government 
receiving a grant under subsection (a) may use not more than 10 percent 
of the total amount of the grant in each fiscal year for the 
administrative costs of carrying out this section.
    (f) Report to the Administrator.--Each local government receiving a 
grant under subsection (a) shall transmit a report to the Administrator 
with respect to each fiscal year for which a grant was received. The 
report shall describe how the grant funds were used.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    For the purposes of carrying out this Act, there are authorized to 
be appropriated to the Administrator $1,000,000,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 1999 through 2004.
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