[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 620 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 620

 To amend title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for 
    fire sprinkler systems, or other fire suppression or prevention 
technologies, in public and private college and university housing and 
dormitories, including fraternity and sorority housing and dormitories.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 13, 2003

Mr. Edwards (for himself, Mr. Lautenberg, and Mr. Levin) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for 
    fire sprinkler systems, or other fire suppression or prevention 
technologies, in public and private college and university housing and 
dormitories, including fraternity and sorority housing and dormitories.

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

SECTION 1. COLLEGE FIRE PREVENTION ASSISTANCE.

    Title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1133 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

              ``PART E--COLLEGE FIRE PREVENTION ASSISTANCE

``SEC. 771. SHORT TITLE.

    ``This part may be cited as the `College Fire Prevention Act'.

``SEC 772. FINDINGS.

    ``Congress makes the following findings:
            ``(1) On Wednesday, January 19, 2000, a fire occurred at a 
        Seton Hall University dormitory. Three male freshmen, all 18 
        years of age, died. Fifty-four students, 2 South Orange 
        firefighters, and 2 South Orange police officers were injured. 
        The dormitory was a 6-story, 350-room structure built in 1952, 
        that housed approximately 600 students. It was equipped with 
        smoke alarms but no fire sprinkler system.
            ``(2) On Mother's Day 1996 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 
        a fire in the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity House killed 5 college 
        juniors and injured 3. The 3-story plus basement fraternity 
        house was 70 years old. The National Fire Protection 
        Association identified several factors that contributed to the 
        tragic fire, including the lack of fire sprinkler protection.
            ``(3) It is estimated that between 1980 and 1998, an 
        average of 1,800 fires at dormitories, fraternities, and 
        sororities, involving 1 death, 70 injuries, and $8,000,000 in 
        property damage were reported to public fire departments.
            ``(4) Within dormitories, fraternities, and sororities the 
        number 1 cause of fires is arson or suspected arson. The second 
        leading cause of college building fires is cooking, while the 
        third leading cause is smoking.
            ``(5) New dormitories are generally required to have 
        advanced safety systems such as fire sprinklers. But such 
        requirements are rarely imposed retroactively on existing 
        buildings.
            ``(6) In 1998, 93 percent of the campus building fires 
        reported to fire departments occurred in buildings where there 
        were smoke alarms present. However, only 34 percent had fire 
        sprinklers present.

``SEC. 773. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part 
$80,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2008.

``SEC. 774. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.

    ``(a) Program Authority.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
United States Fire Administration, is authorized to award grants to 
States, private or public colleges or universities, fraternities, and 
sororities to assist them in providing fire sprinkler systems, or other 
fire suppression or prevention technologies, for their student housing 
and dormitories.
    ``(b) Matching Funds Requirement.--The Secretary may not award a 
grant under this section unless the entity receiving the grant 
provides, from State, local, or private sources, matching funds in an 
amount equal to not less than one-half of the cost of the activities 
for which assistance is sought.

``SEC. 775. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.

    ``(a) Application.--Each entity desiring a grant under this part 
shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time and in such 
manner as the Secretary may require.
    ``(b) Priority.--In awarding grants under this part, the Secretary 
shall give priority to applicants that demonstrate in the application 
submitted under subsection (a) the inability to fund the sprinkler 
system, or other fire suppression or prevention technology, from 
sources other than funds provided under this part.
    ``(c) Limitation on Administrative Expenses.--An entity that 
receives a grant under this part shall not use more than 4 percent of 
the grant funds for administrative expenses.

``SEC. 776. DATA AND REPORT.

    ``The Comptroller General shall--
            ``(1) gather data on the number of college and university 
        housing facilities and dormitories that have and do not have 
        fire sprinkler systems and other fire suppression or prevention 
        technologies; and
            ``(2) report such data to Congress.

``SEC. 777. ADMISSIBILITY.

    ``Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any application for 
assistance under this part, any negative determination on the part of 
the Secretary with respect to such application, or any statement of 
reasons for the determination, shall not be admissible as evidence in 
any proceeding of any court, agency, board, or other entity.''.
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