[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3028 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3028

     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
   Assistance Act to establish a grant program to assist innovative 
   natural disaster first responder programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 24, 2009

 Mr. Thompson of Mississippi introduced the following bill; which was 
     referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
   Assistance Act to establish a grant program to assist innovative 
   natural disaster first responder programs, 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 ``First Responder Innovation and 
Support Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM.

    Title II of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:

``SEC. 205. FIRST RESPONDER INNOVATION AND SUPPORT GRANT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) In General.--The President may make grants to eligible 
entities to assist innovative natural disaster first responder programs 
in accordance with this section.
    ``(b) Application.--To be eligible for a grant under this section, 
an eligible entity shall submit an application to the President. Such 
application shall include, at a minimum, a description of each of the 
following:
            ``(1) The purpose for which the grant is sought and the 
        reason Federal assistance is needed for such purpose.
            ``(2) The innovation with respect to natural disaster first 
        responders to be achieved with the grant.
            ``(3) The plans, if any, of the eligible entity to allocate 
        amounts from the grant to local governments and federally 
        recognized Indian tribes.
            ``(4) A budget for the expected expenditure of the grant 
        amounts.
    ``(c) Selection Criteria.--The President shall issue regulations 
establishing selection criteria for making grants under this section. 
Such criteria shall include consideration of the following:
            ``(1) The severity and frequency of natural disasters that 
        affect the eligible entity applying for the grant.
            ``(2) Whether existing natural disaster first responder 
        systems would be improved by the grant.
            ``(3) Whether the grant would provide natural disaster 
        first responder support for special populations, including 
        children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the disabled.
            ``(4) Whether the activity assisted by the grant is 
        sustainable with non-Federal amounts after such grant is made.
    ``(d) Timing and Number of Grants.--The President shall make grants 
under this section annually and an eligible entity may apply for 
multiple grants under this section each year. An eligible entity is not 
limited in the number of grants such entity may receive under this 
section.
    ``(e) Competitive Basis.--The President shall make grants under 
this section on a competitive basis subject to the requirements of this 
section.
    ``(f) Regulations.--Not later than one year after the date of 
enactment of this section, the President shall issue regulations 
necessary to carry out this section.
    ``(g) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions 
apply:
            ``(1) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means 
        any of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, any federally 
        recognized Indian tribe, and any territory or possession of the 
        United States that has an approved mitigation plan under 
        section 322.
            ``(2) First responder.--The term `first responder' means an 
        individual who in the early stages of an incident is 
        responsible for the protection and preservation of life, 
        property, evidence, and the environment, including emergency 
        response providers (as such term is defined under section 2 of 
        the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)) and emergency 
        management, public health, clinical care, public works, and 
        other skilled support personnel, including equipment operators, 
        that provide immediate support services during prevention, 
        response, and recovery operations.
            ``(3) Natural disaster.--The term `natural disaster' has 
        the meaning given such term under section 602.
            ``(4) President.--The term `President' means the President, 
        acting through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
        Management Agency.
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the President to carry out this section $100,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2015. Such sums shall remain 
available until expended.''.
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