[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4846 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4846

    To amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to 
authorize the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration to 
     provide grants for infrastructure improvements to fire first 
                              responders.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 19, 2007

Ms. Richardson introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on Science and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to 
authorize the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration to 
     provide grants for infrastructure improvements to fire first 
                              responders.

    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 ``First Line of Defense Infrastructure 
Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM FOR INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS 
              TO FIRE FIRST RESPONDER STATIONS.

    The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2201 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 37. GRANTS TO IMPROVE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE INCIDENT RESPONSE 
              AND FIREFIGHTER LIVABILITY THROUGH INFRASTRUCTURE 
              IMPROVEMENTS TO FIRE STATIONS.

    ``(a) Establishment of Grant Program.--In order to improve first 
responder incident response and firefighter livability by making 
improvements to the infrastructure of fire stations, the Administrator 
shall establish a competitive grant program and shall award grants in 
each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013 to eligible fire services.
    ``(b) Use of Grant Funds.--A recipient of a grant awarded under 
this section shall use the funds to make improvements to the 
infrastructure of a specified fire station--
            ``(1) by repairing such station if the condition of the 
        infrastructure of such station prevents the fire service from 
        performing incident response duties in a timely manner because 
        such station is either decaying or contains structural 
        impairments that impede egress of fire service equipment or 
        personnel from the fire station; or
            ``(2) by renovating such station if it does not properly 
        accommodate all personnel in the fire service through the use 
        of gender-equitable facilities, including restroom and shower 
        facilities and sleeping areas.
    ``(c) Prohibited Uses.--A recipient of a grant awarded under this 
section shall not use the funds for activities related to the planning 
or design of infrastructure improvements.
    ``(d) Eligibility.--In order to be eligible to receive a grant 
under this section, a fire service shall submit an application to the 
Administrator at such time, in such form, and with such information and 
assurances as the Administrator may require.
    ``(e) Selection Priorities.--In selecting a fire service to receive 
a grant under this section, the Administrator shall give priority to a 
fire service seeking assistance for a fire station that is located not 
more than 25 miles from--
            ``(1) a facility that produces nuclear power;
            ``(2) a facility that produces, treats, or refines more 
        than 20,000 barrels of oil per day; or
            ``(3) a location with at least 1 critical infrastructure, 
        such as an international seaport, airport, refinery, or 
        treatment plant.
    ``(f) Grant Program Specifications.--
            ``(1) Amount of grant.--The Administrator shall not award a 
        grant under this section in an amount that is more than 40 
        percent of the reasonable cost of carrying out the project 
        proposed by the fire service to be funded by the grant.
            ``(2) Grant condition.--As a condition of receipt of a 
        grant under this section, the fire service shall be responsible 
        for funding, using non-Federal funds, the remaining amount of 
        the reasonable cost of carrying out such project.
    ``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `critical infrastructure' has the meaning 
        given such term in the Critical Infrastructures Protection Act 
        of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 5195c).
            ``(2) The term `incident response' means a response by a 
        fire service to--
                    ``(A) a terrorist attack, including such an attack 
                that utilizes a weapon of mass destruction;
                    ``(B) a release of a hazardous material;
                    ``(C) a natural disaster; or
                    ``(D) any other emergency for which a response by a 
                fire service is appropriate.
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to any other 
amounts authorized to be appropriated under this Act, there are 
authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator for grants under 
this section such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 
2009 through 2013.''.
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