[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 544 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 544

           To establish the SAFER Firefighter Grant Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 5, 2003

Mr. Dodd (for himself, Mr. Warner, Mr. Hollings, Mr. Reed, Mr. Daschle, 
Mr. Lieberman, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Sarbanes, and Ms. Landrieu) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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. OFFICE OF GRANT MANAGEMENT.

    ``(a) Establishment.--A new office within the United States Fire 
Administration shall be established to administer the SAFER Firefighter 
grant program under this section.
    ``(b) Authority To Make Grants.--(1) The Administrator may make 
grants directly to career, voluntary, and combination fire departments 
of a State, in consultation with the chief executive of the State, for 
the purpose of substantially increasing the number of firefighters so 
that communities can meet industry minimum standards to provide 
adequate protection from acts of terrorism and hazards.
    ``(2)(A) Grants made under paragraph (1) shall be for 4 years and 
be used for programs to hire new, additional career firefighters.
    ``(B) Grantees are required to commit to retaining for at least 1 
year beyond the termination of their grants those career firefighters 
hired under paragraph (1).
    ``(3) In awarding grants under this section, the Administrator may 
give preferential consideration, where feasible, to applications for 
hiring and rehiring additional career firefighters 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 a program, project, or activity 
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,
unless the Administrator waives, wholly or in part, the requirement 
under this paragraph of a non-Federal contribution to the costs of a 
program, project, or activity.
    ``(6) The authority under paragraph (1) of this section to make 
grants for the hiring of additional career 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.
    ``(c) 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 by regulation or guidelines.
    ``(3) In accordance with the regulations or guidelines established 
by the Administrator, each application for a grant under this section 
shall--
            ``(A) include a long-term strategy and detailed 
        implementation plan that reflects consultation with community 
        groups and appropriate private and public agencies and reflects 
        consideration of the statewide strategy;
            ``(B) explain the applicant's inability to address the need 
        without Federal assistance;
            ``(C) outline the initial and ongoing level of community 
        support for implementing the proposal including financial and 
        in-kind contributions or other tangible commitments;
            ``(D) specify plans for obtaining necessary support and 
        continuing the proposed program, project, or activity following 
        the conclusion of Federal support; and
            ``(E) 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.
    ``(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, in 
relation to applications under this section of units of local 
government or fire districts having jurisdiction over areas with 
populations of less than 50,000, the Administrator may waive 1 or more 
of the requirements of paragraph (3) and may otherwise make special 
provisions to facilitate the expedited submission, processing, and 
approval of such applications.
    ``(d) Limitation on Use of Funds.--(1) Funds made available under 
this section to States or units of local government for salaries and 
benefits to hire new, additional career 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 career firefighter may not exceed $100,000, unless the 
Administrator grants a waiver from this limitation.
    ``(B) The $100,000 cap shall be adjusted annually for inflation 
beginning in fiscal year 2005.
    ``(e) Performance Evaluation.--(1) Each program, project, or 
activity funded under this section shall contain a monitoring 
component, developed pursuant to guidelines established by the 
Administrator. The monitoring required by this subsection shall include 
systematic identification and collection of data about activities, 
accomplishments, and programs throughout the life of the program, 
project, or activity and presentation of such data in a usable form.
    ``(2) Selected grant recipients shall be evaluated on the local 
level or as part of a national evaluation, pursuant to guidelines 
established by the Administrator. Such evaluations may include 
assessments of individual program implementations. In selected 
jurisdictions that are able to support outcome evaluations, the 
effectiveness of funded programs, projects, and activities may be 
required.
    ``(3) The Administrator may require a grant recipient to submit to 
the Administrator the results of the monitoring and evaluations 
required under paragraphs (1) and (2) and such other data and 
information as the Administrator considers reasonably necessary.
    ``(f) Revocation or Suspension of Funding.--If the Administrator 
determines, as a result of the activities under subsection (e), or 
otherwise, that a grant recipient under this section is not in 
substantial compliance with the terms and requirements of an approved 
grant application submitted under subsection (c), the Administrator may 
revoke or suspend funding of that grant, in whole or in part.
    ``(g) 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.
    ``(h) Definitions.--In this section, the term--
            ``(1) `firefighter' has the meaning given the term 
        `employee in fire protection activities' under section 3(a) 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.
    ``(i) 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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