[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2389 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2389

 To provide additional assistance for fire and emergency services, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 11, 2000

   Mr. Roth introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide additional assistance for fire and emergency services, and 
                          for other purposes.

    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 Emergency 
Services Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Agency.--The term ``Agency'' means the Federal 
        Emergency Management Agency.
            (2) Burn program.--The term ``burn program'' means the Burn 
        Services Grant Program established by section 3(a).
            (3) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Agency.
            (4) Fire program.--The term ``fire program'' means the 
        ``Fire Services Grant Program'' established under section 4(a).

SEC. 3. BURN SERVICES GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established within the Agency a grant 
program to be known as the ``Burn Services Grant Program''.
    (b) Competitive Grants.--The Director may make a grant under the 
burn program, on a competitive basis, to--
            (1) a safety organization that has experience in conducting 
        burn safety programs, for the purpose of assisting the 
        organization in conducting or augmenting a burn prevention 
        program;
            (2) a hospital that serves as a regional burn center, for 
        the purpose of conducting acute burn care research; or
            (3) a governmental or nongovernmental entity, for the 
        purpose of providing after-burn treatment and counseling to 
        individuals that are burn victims.
    (c) Program Office.--The Director shall establish within the Agency 
an office to--
            (1) establish criteria for use by the Director in awarding 
        grants under the burn program; and
            (2) administer grants awarded under the burn program.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000, to remain available 
until expended.

SEC. 4. FIRE SERVICES GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Director shall establish within the Agency 
a grant program known as the ``Fire Services Grant Program'' to award 
grants to volunteer, paid, and combined volunteer-paid departments that 
provide fire and emergency medical services.
    (b) Use of Funds.--A grant awarded under the fire program may be 
used to--
            (1) acquire--
                    (A) personal protective equipment required for 
                firefighting personnel by the Occupational Safety and 
                Health Administration; and
                    (B) other personal protective equipment for 
                firefighting personnel;
            (2) acquire additional firefighting equipment, including 
        equipment for communication and monitoring;
            (3) establish wellness and fitness programs for 
        firefighting personnel to reduce the number of injuries and 
        deaths related to health and conditioning problems;
            (4) promote professional development of fire code 
        enforcement personnel;
            (5) integrate computer technology to improve records 
        management and training capabilities;
            (6) train firefighting personnel in--
                    (A) firefighting;
                    (B) emergency response; and
                    (C) arson prevention and detection;
            (7) enforce fire codes;
            (8) fund fire prevention programs and public education 
        programs on--
                    (A) arson prevention and detection; and
                    (B) juvenile fire setter intervention; and
            (9) modify fire stations, fire training facilities, and 
        other facilities to protect the health and safety of 
        firefighting personnel.
    (c) Applications.--An applicant for a grant awarded under the fire 
program shall submit to the Director an application that includes--
            (1) a demonstration of the financial need of the applicant;
            (2) evidence of a commitment by the applicant to provide 
        matching funds from non-Federal sources for the project that is 
        the subject of the application in an amount that is at least 
        equal to the amount of funds requested in the application;
            (3) a cost-benefit analysis linking the funds requested to 
        improvements in public safety; and
            (4) a commitment by the applicant to provide information to 
        the National Fire Incident Reporting System for the period for 
        which the grant is received.
    (d) Audits.--The Director shall conduct audits of grant recipients 
to ensure that grant funds are used for the purposes for which the 
grant is awarded.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $80,000,000, to remain available 
until expended.

SEC. 5. COOPERATIVE FORESTRY ASSISTANCE.

    The Secretary of Agriculture shall use the funds, facilities, and 
authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out paragraphs 
(1) through (3) of section 10(b) of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance 
Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2106(b)), not to exceed $10,000,000, to remain 
available until expended.
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