[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1152 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.1152

                       One Hundred Eighth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
           the seventh day of January, two thousand and three


                                 An Act


 
  To reauthorize the United States Fire Administration, and for other 
                                purposes.

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

       TITLE I--UNITED STATES FIRE ADMINISTRATION REAUTHORIZATION

SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``United States Fire Administration 
Reauthorization Act of 2003''.
    SEC. 102. RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITION OF UNITED STATES FIRE 
      ADMINISTRATOR.
    Section 1513 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 553) 
does not apply to the position or office of Administrator of the United 
States Fire Administration, who shall continue to be appointed and 
compensated as provided by section 5(b) of the Federal Fire Prevention 
and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2204(b)).

SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 17(g)(1) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 
1974 (15 U.S.C. 2216(g)) is amended by striking subparagraphs (A) 
through (K) and inserting the following:
        ``(A) $63,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, of which $2,266,000 
    shall be used to carry out section 8(f);
        ``(B) $64,850,000 for fiscal year 2006, of which $2,334,000 
    shall be used to carry out section 8(f);
        ``(C) $66,796,000 for fiscal year 2007, of which $2,404,000 
    shall be used to carry out section 8(f); and
        ``(D) $68,800,000 for fiscal year 2008, of which $2,476,000 
    shall be used to carry out section 8(f).''.

            TITLE II--FIREFIGHTING RESEARCH AND COORDINATION

SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``Firefighting Research and 
Coordination Act''.

SEC. 202. NEW FIREFIGHTING TECHNOLOGY.

    Section 8 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 
(15 U.S.C. 2207) is amended--
        (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (g); and
        (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
    ``(e) Assistance to Other Federal Agencies.--At the request of 
other Federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture and the 
Department of the Interior, the Administrator may provide assistance in 
fire prevention and control technologies, including methods of 
containing insect-infested forest fires and limiting dispersal of 
resultant fire particle smoke, and methods of measuring and tracking 
the dispersal of fine particle smoke resulting from fires of insect-
infested fuel.
    ``(f) Technology Evaluation and Standards Development.--
        ``(1) In general.--In addition to, or as part of, the program 
    conducted under subsection (a), the Administrator, in consultation 
    with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Inter-
    Agency Board for Equipment Standardization and Inter-Operability, 
    the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the 
    Directorate of Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland 
    Security, national voluntary consensus standards development 
    organizations, interested Federal, State, and local agencies, and 
    other interested parties, shall--
            ``(A) develop new, and utilize existing, measurement 
        techniques and testing methodologies for evaluating new 
        firefighting technologies, including--
                ``(i) personal protection equipment;
                ``(ii) devices for advance warning of extreme hazard;
                ``(iii) equipment for enhanced vision;
                ``(iv) devices to locate victims, firefighters, and 
            other rescue personnel in above-ground and below-ground 
            structures;
                ``(v) equipment and methods to provide information for 
            incident command, including the monitoring and reporting of 
            individual personnel welfare;
                ``(vi) equipment and methods for training, especially 
            for virtual reality training; and
                ``(vii) robotics and other remote-controlled devices;
            ``(B) evaluate the compatibility of new equipment and 
        technology with existing firefighting technology; and
            ``(C) support the development of new voluntary consensus 
        standards through national voluntary consensus standards 
        organizations for new firefighting technologies based on 
        techniques and methodologies described in subparagraph (A).
        ``(2) Standards for new equipment.--(A) The Administrator 
    shall, by regulation, require that new equipment or systems 
    purchased through the assistance program established by the first 
    section 33 meet or exceed applicable voluntary consensus standards 
    for such equipment or systems for which applicable voluntary 
    consensus standards have been established. The Administrator may 
    waive the requirement under this subparagraph with respect to 
    specific standards.
        ``(B) If an applicant for a grant under the first section 33 
    proposes to purchase, with assistance provided under the grant, new 
    equipment or systems that do not meet or exceed applicable 
    voluntary consensus standards, the applicant shall include in the 
    application an explanation of why such equipment or systems will 
    serve the needs of the applicant better than equipment or systems 
    that do meet or exceed such standards.
        ``(C) In making a determination whether or not to waive the 
    requirement under subparagraph (A) with respect to a specific 
    standard, the Administrator shall, to the greatest extent 
    practicable--
            ``(i) consult with grant applicants and other members of 
        the fire services regarding the impact on fire departments of 
        the requirement to meet or exceed the specific standard;
            ``(ii) take into consideration the explanation provided by 
        the applicant under subparagraph (B); and
            ``(iii) seek to minimize the impact of the requirement to 
        meet or exceed the specific standard on the applicant, 
        particularly if meeting the standard would impose additional 
        costs.
        ``(D) Applicants that apply for a grant under the terms of 
    subparagraph (B) may include a second grant request in the 
    application to be considered by the Administrator in the event that 
    the Administrator does not approve the primary grant request on the 
    grounds of the equipment not meeting applicable voluntary consensus 
    standards.''.

SEC. 203. COORDINATION OF RESPONSE TO NATIONAL EMERGENCY.

    (a) In General.--Section 10 of the Federal Fire Prevention and 
Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2209) is amended--
        (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and
        (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
    ``(b) Mutual Aid Systems.--
        ``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall provide technical 
    assistance and training to State and local fire service officials 
    to establish nationwide and State mutual aid systems for dealing 
    with national emergencies that--
            ``(A) include threat assessment and equipment deployment 
        strategies;
            ``(B) include means of collecting asset and resource 
        information to provide accurate and timely data for regional 
        deployment; and
            ``(C) are consistent with the Federal Response Plan.
        ``(2) Model mutual aid plans.--The Administrator shall develop 
    and make available to State and local fire service officials model 
    mutual aid plans for both intrastate and interstate assistance.''.
    (b) Report on Strategic Needs.--Within 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the United States Fire 
Administration shall report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee 
on Science on the need for a strategy concerning deployment of 
volunteers and emergency response personnel (as defined in section 6 of 
the Firefighters' Safety Study Act (15 U.S.C. 2223e)), including a 
national credentialing system, in the event of a national emergency.
    (c) Report on Federal Response Plan.--Within 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Department of Homeland Security 
shall transmit a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation, the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, and 
the House of Representatives Committee on Science describing plans for 
revisions to the Federal Response Plan and its integration into the 
National Response Plan, including how the revised plan will address 
response to terrorist attacks, particularly in urban areas, including 
fire detection and suppression and related emergency services.

SEC. 204. TRAINING.

    (a) In General.--Section 7(d)(1) of the Federal Fire Prevention and 
Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2206(d)(1)) is amended--
        (1) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon in subparagraph 
    (E);
        (2) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (N); and
        (3) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following:
            ``(F) strategies for building collapse rescue;
            ``(G) the use of technology in response to fires, including 
        terrorist incidents and other national emergencies;
            ``(H) response, tactics, and strategies for dealing with 
        terrorist-caused national catastrophes;
            ``(I) use of and familiarity with the Federal Response 
        Plan;
            ``(J) leadership and strategic skills, including integrated 
        management systems operations and integrated response;
            ``(K) applying new technology and developing strategies and 
        tactics for fighting forest fires;
            ``(L) integrating the activities of terrorism response 
        agencies into national terrorism incident response systems;
            ``(M) response tactics and strategies for fighting fires at 
        United States ports, including fires on the water and aboard 
        vessels; and''.
    (b) Consultation on Fire Academy Classes.--The Superintendent of 
the National Fire Academy may consult with other Federal, State, and 
local agency officials in developing curricula for classes offered by 
the Academy.
    (c) Coordination With Other Programs To Avoid Duplication.--The 
Administrator of the United States Fire Administration shall coordinate 
training provided under section 7(d)(1) of the Federal Fire Prevention 
and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2206(d)(1)) with the Attorney 
General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the heads of 
other Federal agencies--
        (1) to ensure that such training does not duplicate existing 
    courses available to fire service personnel; and
        (2) to establish a mechanism for eliminating duplicative 
    training programs.
    (d) Courses and Training Assistance.--Section 7(l) of the Federal 
Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2206(l)) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: ``The Superintendent shall offer, 
at the Academy and at other sites, courses and training assistance as 
necessary to accommodate all geographic regions and needs of career and 
volunteer firefighters.''.

SEC. 205. FIREFIGHTER ASSISTANCE GRANTS PROGRAM.

    (a) Administration.--The first section 33 of the Federal Fire 
Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229) is amended--
        (1) by striking subsection (b)(2) and inserting the following:
        ``(2) Administrative assistance.--The Director shall establish 
    specific criteria for the selection of recipients of assistance 
    under this section and shall provide grant-writing assistance to 
    applicants.''; and
        (2) by striking ``operate the office established under 
    subsection (b)(2) and'' in subsection (e)(2).
    (b) Maritime Firefighting.--Subsection (b)(3)(B) of the first 
section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 
U.S.C. 2229(b)(3)(B)) is amended by inserting ``maritime 
firefighting,'' after ``arson prevention and detection,''.
    (c) Firefighting in Remote Areas.--The first section 33 of the 
Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229) is 
amended--
        (1) by inserting ``equipment for fighting fires with foam in 
    remote areas without access to water, and'' after ``including'' in 
    subsection (b)(3)(H); and
        (2) by inserting ``Of the amounts authorized in this paragraph, 
    $3,000,000 shall be made available each year through fiscal year 
    2008 for foam firefighting equipment.'' at the end of subsection 
    (e)(1).

SEC. 206. NATIONAL FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS FOUNDATION.

    (a) Members.--Section 151303(b) of title 36, United States Code, is 
amended--
        (1) by striking ``9'' in paragraph (2) and inserting ``12'';
        (2) by striking ``six'' in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2) 
    and inserting ``nine''; and
        (3) by striking ``3 members'' in paragraph (3) and inserting 
    ``4 members''.
    (b) Compensation.--Section 151304(b)(3) of title 36, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting ``15 percent above'' after ``more than''.
    (c) Period of Authorized Assistance.--Section 151307 of title 36, 
United States Code, is amended in subsection (a)(1), by striking 
``During the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of 
the Fire Administration Authorization Act of 2000, the'' and inserting 
``The''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.