[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2411 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2411

To amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to provide 
 financial assistance for the improvement of the health and safety of 
  firefighters, promote the use of life saving technologies, achieve 
  greater equity for departments serving large jurisdictions, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 11, 2004

    Mr. Dodd (for himself, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Daschle, Mr. McCain, Mr. 
    Hollings, Mr. Warner, Mr. Levin, Ms. Collins, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. 
    Specter, Mr. Biden, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Graham of South 
   Carolina, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Smith, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Gregg, Mr. 
  Lieberman, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Baucus, Mr. 
 Schumer, Mr. Reid, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Johnson, 
  Mr. Kerry, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Reed, Mr. 
 Carper, and Mr. Dayton) introduced the following bill; which was read 
     twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                             Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to provide 
 financial assistance for the improvement of the health and safety of 
  firefighters, promote the use of life saving technologies, achieve 
  greater equity for departments serving large jurisdictions, 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 ``Assistance to Firefighters Act of 
2004''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY FOR FIREFIGHTER 
              ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (b)(1) of section 33 of the Federal 
Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229) is amended by 
striking ``Director'' in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) and 
inserting ``Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the 
Administrator,''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Such section is further amended by 
striking ``Director'' each place it appears and inserting ``Secretary 
of Homeland Security''.
    (c) Technical Amendment.--The heading of subsection (b)(8) of such 
section is amended by striking ``Director'' and inserting 
``Secretary''.

SEC. 3. GRANTS TO VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS.

    (a) Authority To Award Grants to Volunteer Emergency Medical 
Service Squads.--Paragraph (1)(A) of section 33(b) of the Federal Fire 
Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229(b)) is amended by 
inserting ``or to volunteer emergency medical service organizations'' 
after ``fire departments''.
    (b) Use of Grant Funds.--Paragraph (3)(F) of such section is 
amended by inserting ``or volunteer emergency medical service 
organizations that are not affiliated with a for-profit entity'' after 
``fire departments''.
    (c) Special Rule for Applications for Volunteer Emergency Medical 
Services.--Paragraph (5) of such section is amended by adding at the 
end, the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) Special rule for volunteer emergency medical 
                services.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
                permit an applicant seeking grant funds for volunteer 
                emergency medical services under paragraph (3)(F) to 
                use the same application form to seek grant funds for 
                one or more of the other purposes set out in 
                subparagraphs (A) through (O) of paragraph (3).''.

SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR DEVICES.

    Paragraph (3) of section 33(b) of the Federal Fire Prevention and 
Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229(b)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(O) To obtain automated external defibrillator 
                devices.''.

SEC. 5. CRITERIA FOR REVIEWING GRANT APPLICATIONS.

    Paragraph (2) of section 33(b) of the Federal Fire Prevention and 
Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229(b)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(2) Criteria and review of applications.--
                    ``(A) Preliminary review criteria.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Secretary of 
                        Homeland Security shall establish specific 
                        criteria for the preliminary review of an 
                        application submitted under this section. If an 
                        application does not meet such criteria, the 
                        application may not receive further 
                        consideration for a grant under this section.
                            ``(ii) Annual review of criteria.--Not less 
                        often than once each year, the Secretary of 
                        Homeland Security, in consultation with the 
                        Administrator, shall convene a meeting of 
                        individuals who are members of a fire service 
                        and are recognized for expertise in 
                        firefighting or in emergency medical services 
                        provided by fire services, and who are not 
                        employees of the Federal Government for the 
                        purpose of reviewing and proposing changes to 
the criteria established under clause (i).
                    ``(B) Selection through review by experts.--
                            ``(i) Requirement for review.--The 
                        Secretary of Homeland Security shall award 
                        grants under this section based on the review 
                        of applications for such grants by a panel of 
                        fire service personnel appointed by a national 
                        organization recognized for expertise in the 
                        operation and administration of fire services.
                            ``(ii) Role of the secretary.--The 
                        Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide 
                        for the administration of the review panel 
                        described in clause (i) and shall ensure that 
                        an individual appointed to such panel is a 
                        recognized expert in firefighting, medical 
                        services provided by fire services, fire 
                        prevention, or research on firefighter 
                        safety.''.

SEC. 6. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR FIREFIGHTER SAFETY PROGRAMS.

    (a) Authority.--Paragraph (1)(B) of section 33(b) of the Federal 
Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229(b)) is amended 
by inserting ``and firefighter safety'' after ``prevention''.
    (b) Expansion of Existing Program.--
            (1) Firefighter safety assistance.--Paragraph (4) of such 
        section is amended--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking 
                ``organizations that are recognized'' and all that 
                follows and inserting ``organizations eligible under 
                subparagraph (B) for the purposes described in 
                subparagraph (C).''; and
                    (B) by striking subparagraph (B), and inserting the 
                following new subparagraphs:
                    ``(B) Eligibility for assistance.--An organization 
                may be eligible for assistance under subparagraph 
                (A)(ii), if such organization is a national, State, 
                local, or community organization that is not a fire 
                service and that is recognized for experience and 
                expertise with respect to programs and activities that 
                promote--
                            ``(i) fire prevention or fire safety; or
                            ``(ii) the health and safety of 
                        firefighting personnel.
                    ``(C) Use of funds.--Assistance provided under 
                subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be used--
                            ``(i) to carry out fire prevention 
                        programs; or
                            ``(ii) to fund research to improve the 
                        health and safety of firefighting personnel.
                    ``(D) Priority.--In selecting organizations 
                described in subparagraph (B) to receive assistance 
                under this paragraph, the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security shall give priority--
                            ``(i) to organizations that focus on 
                        preventing injuries from fire to members of 
                        groups at high risk of such injuries, with an 
                        emphasis on children; and
                            ``(ii) to organizations that focus on 
                        researching methods to improve the health and 
                        safety of firefighting personnel.
                    ``(E) Allocation of funds.--Not less than 66 
                percent of the total amount of funds made available in 
                a fiscal year to carry out this paragraph shall be made 
                available of the programs described in subparagraph 
                (A)(ii).''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--The heading of such paragraph is 
        amended to read as follows:
            ``(4) Fire prevention and firefighter safety programs.--''.
    (c) Availability of Funds for Fire Prevention and Firefighter 
Safety Programs.--Paragraph (4)(A) of such section, as amended by 
subsection (b), is further amended in the matter preceding clause (i), 
by striking ``5 percent'' and inserting ``6 percent''.

SEC. 7. ASSISTANCE FOR APPLICATIONS.

    Paragraph (5) of section 33(b) of the Federal Fire Prevention and 
Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229(b)), as amended by section 3(c), is 
further amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(D) Assistance to prepare an application.--The 
                Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide assistance 
                with the preparation of applications for grants under 
                this section.''.

SEC. 8. REDUCED REQUIREMENTS FOR MATCHING FUNDS.

    (a) Amount Required.--Paragraph (6) of section 33(b) of the Federal 
Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229(b)) is amended 
by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following:
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraphs (B) and 
                (C), the Secretary of Homeland Security may provide 
                assistance under this subsection only if the applicant 
                for such assistance agrees to match 20 percent of such 
                assistance for any fiscal year with an equal amount of 
non-Federal funds.
                    ``(B) Requirement for small community 
                organizations.--In the case of an applicant whose 
                personnel--
                            ``(i) serve jurisdictions of 50,000 or 
                        fewer residents, the percent applied under the 
                        matching requirement of subparagraph (A) shall 
                        be 10 percent; or
                            ``(ii) serve jurisdictions of 20,000 or 
                        fewer residents, the percent applied under the 
                        matching requirement of subparagraph (A) shall 
                        be 5 percent.''.
    (b) Exception.--Such paragraph, as amended by subsection (a), is 
further amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) Exception.--No matching funds may be required 
                under this subsection for assistance provided under 
                subparagraph (A)(ii) of paragraph (4) to an 
                organization described in subparagraph (B) of such 
                paragraph.''.
    (c) Special Rule for Requests for Automated External Defibrillator 
Devices.--Section 33(b) of such Act is further amended by adding at the 
end the following new paragraph:
            ``(13) Special rules for grants for automated external 
        defibrillator devices.--
                    ``(A) Limitations.--The Secretary of Homeland 
                Security shall reduce the percentage of non-Federal 
                matching funds for a grant as described in subparagraph 
                (B) if--
                            ``(i) the applicant is requesting grant 
                        funds to obtain one or more automated external 
                        defibrillator devices, as authorized by 
                        paragraph (3)(O);
                            ``(ii) the award of such grant will result 
                        in the applicant possessing exactly one such 
                        device for each first-due emergency vehicle 
                        operated by the applicant;
                            ``(iii) the applicant certifies to the 
                        Secretary of Homeland Security that the 
                        applicant possesses, at the time such 
                        application is filed, a number of such devices 
                        that is less than the number of first-due 
                        emergency vehicles operated by the applicant 
                        and that the applicant is capable of storing, 
                        in a manner conducive to rapid use, such 
                        devices on each such vehicle; and
                            ``(iv) the applicant has not previously 
                        received a grant under this subsection to 
                        obtain such devices.
                    ``(B) Matching requirements.--If an applicant meets 
                the criteria set out in clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and 
                (iv) of subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security shall reduce the percentage of non-Federal 
                matching funds required by paragraph (6) by 2 
                percentage points for all assistance requested in the 
                application submitted by such applicant.
                    ``(C) First-due defined.--In this paragraph, the 
                term `first-due' means the firefighting and emergency 
                medical services vehicles that are utilized by a fire 
                service for immediate response to an emergency 
                situation.''.

SEC. 9. GRANT RECIPIENT LIMITATIONS.

    (a) Limitations on Grant Amounts.--Subparagraph (A) of section 
33(b)(10) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 
U.S.C. 2229(b)(10)) is amended to read as follows:
                    ``(A) Limitations on grant amount.--
                            ``(i) General limitation.--Subject to 
                        clause (ii), a recipient of assistance under 
                        this section may not receive in a fiscal year 
                        an amount of such assistance that exceeds the 
                        greater of $2,250,000 or the amount equal to 
                        0.5 percent of the total amount of funds 
                        appropriated for such assistance for such 
                        fiscal year.
                            ``(ii) Limitations on basis of 
                        population.--Subject to clause (iii), a 
                        recipient of assistance under this section that 
                        serves a jurisdiction of less than 1,000,000 
                        individuals may not receive more than 
                        $1,500,000 of such assistance for a fiscal 
                        year, except that such a recipient that serves 
                        a jurisdiction of less than 500,000 individuals 
                        may not receive more than $1,000,000 of such 
                        assistance during a fiscal year.
                            ``(iii) Waiver.--With respect to assistance 
                        provided in a fiscal year before fiscal year 
                        2007, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
                        consultation with the Administrator, may waive 
                        the limitations set out in clause (ii) if the 
                        Secretary determines that a waiver is warranted 
                        by an extraordinary need for assistance for 
                        fire suppression activities by a jurisdiction, 
                        whether such need is caused by the likelihood 
of terrorist attack, natural disaster, destructive fires occurring over 
a large geographic area, or some other cause.''.
    (b) Limitations on Grants for Volunteer Emergency Medical 
Services.--Such section, as amended by subsection (a), is further 
amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) Limitations on expenditures for volunteer 
                emergency medical services.--Not more than 3.5 percent 
                of the funds appropriated to provide grants under this 
                section for a fiscal year may be awarded to volunteer 
                emergency medical service organizations.''.

SEC. 10. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.

    Section 33(b) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 
1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229(b)), as amended by section 8, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(14) Other considerations.--In providing assistance under 
        this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall--
                    ``(A) consider the extent to which the recipient of 
                such assistance is able to enhance the daily operations 
                of a fire service and to improve the protection of 
                people and property from fire; and
                    ``(B) ensure that such assistance awarded to a 
                volunteer emergency medical service organization will 
                not be used to provide emergency medical services in a 
                geographic area if such services are adequately 
                provided by a fire service in such area.''.

SEC. 11. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    (a) Study and Report on Assistance to Firefighters.--
            (1) Study.--The Secretary, in conjunction with the National 
        Fire Protection Association, shall conduct a study--
                    (A) to assess the types of activities that are 
                carried out by fire services;
                    (B) to determine whether the level of Federal 
                funding made available to fire services is adequate;
                    (C) to assess categories of services, including 
                emergency medical services, that are not adequately 
                provided by fire services on either the national or 
                State level; and
                    (D) to measure the effect, if any, of the 
                assistance provided under section 33 of the Federal 
                Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 
                2229) on the needs of fire services identified in the 
                report submitted to Congress under section 1701(b) of 
                the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act 
                for Fiscal Year 2001 (as enacted into law by Public Law 
                106-398; 114 Stat. 1654A-363).
            (2) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
        report on the findings of the study described in paragraph (1).
    (b) Report by GAO.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to Congress a report on--
            (1) the administration of the assistance provided under 
        section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 
        1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229); and
            (2) the success of the Secretary in administering the 
        Federal Emergency Management Agency.
    (c) Report on Waiver of Amount Limitations.--Not later than 18 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
submit to Congress a report on the instances, if any, of the use of the 
waiver authority set out in section 33(b)(10)(A)(iii) of the Federal 
Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 
2229(b)(10)(A)(iii)), as added by section 9.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Fire service.--The term ``fire service'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 4 of the Federal Fire 
        Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2203).
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Homeland Security.

SEC. 12. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.

    (a) Repeal of Duplicative Definition.--Subsection (d) of section 33 
of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229) 
is repealed.
    (b) Redesignations Necessitated by Duplicative Numbering.--The 
sections 33 and 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 
1974 (15 U.S.C. 2230 and 2231) that were added by sections 105 and 106 
of Public Law 106-503 (114 Stat. 2301) are redesignated as sections 34 
and 35, respectively.

SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Firefighter Assistance Programs.--Section 33(e) of the Federal 
Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229(e)) is amended 
by striking the first sentence and inserting ``There are authorized to 
be appropriated for the purposes of this section $900,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2005, $950,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, and $1,000,000,000 
for each of the fiscal years 2007 through 2010.''.
    (b) Study on Assistance to Firefighters.--There are authorized to 
be appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland Security $300,000 for 
fiscal year 2005 to carry out the requirements of section 11(a).
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