[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1118 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1118

           To establish the SAFER Firefighter Grant Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 6, 2003

 Mr. Boehlert (for himself, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Quinn, and Mr. Green of 
    Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                          Committee on Science

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
           To establish the SAFER Firefighter Grant Program.

    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 ``Staffing for Adequate Fire and 
Emergency Response Firefighters Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. OFFICE OF GRANT MANAGEMENT.

    The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2201 
et seq.) is amended by redesignating the second section 33 and section 
34 as sections 35 and 36, respectively, and by inserting after the 
first section 33 the following new section:

``SEC. 34. GRANT AUTHORITY.

    ``(a) Authority To Make Grants.--(1) The Administrator shall make 
grants directly to career, volunteer, and combination fire departments, 
in consultation with the chief executive of the State in which the 
applicant is located, for the purpose of increasing the number of 
firefighters to help communities meet industry minimum standards to 
provide adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards, 
including acts of terrorism.
    ``(2)(A) Grants made under paragraph (1) shall be for 4 years and 
be used for programs to hire new, additional firefighters.
    ``(B) Grantees are required to commit to retaining for at least 1 
year beyond the termination of their grants those firefighters hired 
under paragraph (1).
    ``(3) In awarding grants under this section, the Administrator may 
give preferential consideration to applications that involve a non-
Federal contribution exceeding the minimums under paragraph (5).
    ``(4) The Administrator may provide technical assistance to States, 
units of local government, Indian tribal governments, and to other 
public entities, in furtherance of the purposes of this section.
    ``(5) The portion of the costs of hiring firefighters provided by a 
grant under paragraph (1) may not exceed--
            ``(A) 90 percent in the first year of the grant;
            ``(B) 80 percent in the second year of the grant;
            ``(C) 50 percent in the third year of the grant; and
            ``(D) 30 percent in the fourth year of the grant.
    ``(6) The authority under paragraph (1) of this section to make 
grants for the hiring of additional firefighters shall lapse at the 
conclusion of 10 years from the date of enactment of this section. 
Prior to the expiration of this grant authority, the Administrator 
shall submit a report to Congress concerning the experience with and 
effects of such grants. The report may include any recommendations the 
Administrator may have for amendments to this section and related 
provisions of law.
    ``(b) Applications.--(1) No grant may be made under this section 
unless an application has been submitted to, and approved by, the 
Administrator.
    ``(2) An application for a grant under this section shall be 
submitted in such form, and contain such information, as the 
Administrator may prescribe.
    ``(3) At a minimum, each application for a grant under this section 
shall--
            ``(A) explain the applicant's inability to address the need 
        without Federal assistance;
            ``(B) explain how the applicant plans to meet the 
        requirements of subsection (a)(2)(B) and (5);
            ``(C) specify long-term plans for retaining firefighters 
        following the conclusion of Federal support provided under this 
        section; and
            ``(D) provide assurances that the applicant will, to the 
        extent practicable, seek, recruit, and hire members of racial 
        and ethnic minority groups and women in order to increase their 
        ranks within firefighting.
    ``(c) Limitation on Use of Funds.--(1) Funds made available under 
this section to fire departments of a State for salaries and benefits 
to hire new, additional firefighters shall not be used to supplant 
State or local funds, or, in the case of Indian tribal governments, 
funds supplied by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but shall be used to 
increase the amount of funds that would, in the absence of Federal 
funds received under this section, be made available from State or 
local sources, or in the case of Indian tribal governments, from funds 
supplied by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
    ``(2) Funds appropriated by the Congress for the activities of any 
agency of an Indian tribal government or the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
performing firefighting functions on any Indian lands may be used to 
provide the non-Federal share of the cost of programs or projects 
funded under this section.
    ``(3)(A) Total funding provided under this section over 4 years for 
hiring a firefighter may not exceed $100,000.
    ``(B) The $100,000 cap shall be adjusted annually for inflation 
beginning in fiscal year 2005.
    ``(d) Performance Evaluation.--The Administrator may require a 
grant recipient to submit any information the Administrator considers 
reasonably necessary to evaluate the program.
    ``(e) Revocation or Suspension of Funding.--If the Administrator 
determines that a grant recipient under this section is not in 
substantial compliance with the terms and requirements of an approved 
grant application submitted under this section, the Administrator may 
revoke or suspend funding of that grant, in whole or in part.
    ``(f) Access to Documents.--(1) The Administrator shall have access 
for the purpose of audit and examination to any pertinent books, 
documents, papers, or records of a grant recipient under this section 
and to the pertinent books, documents, papers, or records of State and 
local governments, persons, businesses, and other entities that are 
involved in programs, projects, or activities for which assistance is 
provided under this section.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to audits and 
examinations conducted by the Comptroller General of the United States 
or by an authorized representative of the Comptroller General.
    ``(g) Definitions.--In this section, the term--
            ``(1) `firefighter' has the meaning given the term 
        `employee in fire protection activities' under section 3(y) of 
        the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 203(y)); and
            ``(2) `Indian tribe' means a tribe, band, pueblo, nation, 
        or other organized group or community of Indians, including an 
        Alaska Native village (as defined in or established under the 
        Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)), 
        that is recognized as eligible for the special programs and 
        services provided by the United States to Indians because of 
        their status as Indians.
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--
    ``There are authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of 
carrying out this section--
            ``(1) $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;
            ``(2) $1,030,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;
            ``(3) $1,061,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;
            ``(4) $1,093,000,000 for fiscal year 2007;
            ``(5) $1,126,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
            ``(6) $1,159,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and
            ``(7) $1,194,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.''.
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