[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 169 (Thursday, November 20, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15301-S15302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TEXT OF AMENDMENTS

  SA 2207. Mr. FRIST (for Mr. McCain) proposed an amendment to the bill 
S. 1152, to reauthorize the United States Fire Administration, and for 
other purposes; as follows:

       TITLE I--UNITED STATES FIRE ADMINISTRATION REAUTHORIZATION

     SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``United States Fire 
     Administration Reauthorization Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 102. RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITION OF UNITED STATES FIRE 
                   ADMINISTRATOR.

       Section 1513 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
     553) does not apply to the position or office of 
     Administrator of the United States Fire Administration, who 
     shall continue to be appointed and compensated as provided by 
     section 5(b) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act 
     of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2204(b)).

     SEC. 103. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       Section 17(g)(1) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control 
     Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2216(g)) is amended by striking 
     subparagraphs (A) through (K) and inserting the following:
       ``(A) $63,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, of which $2,266,000 
     shall be used to carry out section 8(f);
       ``(B) $64,850,000 for fiscal year 2006, of which $2,334,000 
     shall be used to carry out section 8(f);
       ``(C) $66,796,000 for fiscal year 2007, of which $2,404,000 
     shall be used to carry out section 8(f); and
       ``(D) $68,800,000 for fiscal year 2008, of which $2,476,000 
     shall be used to carry out section 8(f).''.

            TITLE II--FIREFIGHTING RESEARCH AND COORDINATION

     SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Firefighting Research and 
     Coordination Act''.

     SEC. 202. NEW FIREFIGHTING TECHNOLOGY.

       Section 8 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 
     1974 (15 U.S.C. 2207) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (g); and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
       ``(e) Assistance to Other Federal Agencies.--At the request 
     of other Federal agencies, including the Department of 
     Agriculture and the Department of the Interior, the 
     Administrator may provide assistance in fire prevention and 
     control technologies, including methods of containing insect-
     infested forest fires and limiting dispersal of resultant 
     fire particle smoke, and methods of measuring and tracking 
     the dispersal of fine particle smoke resulting from fires of 
     insect-infested fuel.
       ``(f) Technology Evaluation and Standards Development.--
       ``(1) In general.--In addition to, or as part of, the 
     program conducted under subsection (a), the Administrator, in 
     conjunction with the National Institute of Standards and 
     Technology, the InterAgency Board for Equipment 
     Standardization and Inter-Operability, the National Institute 
     for Occupational Safety and Health, the Directorate of 
     Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland 
     Security, national voluntary consensus standards development 
     organizations, interested Federal, State, and local agencies, 
     and other interested parties, shall--
       ``(A) develop new, and utilize existing, measurement 
     techniques and testing methodologies for evaluating new 
     firefighting technologies, including--
       ``(i) personal protection equipment;
       ``(ii) devices for advance warning of extreme hazard;
       ``(iii) equipment for enhanced vision;
       ``(iv) devices to locate victims, firefighters, and other 
     rescue personnel in above-ground and below-ground structures;
       ``(v) equipment and methods to provide information for 
     incident command, including the monitoring and reporting of 
     individual personnel welfare;
       ``(vi) equipment and methods for training, especially for 
     virtual reality training; and
       ``(vii) robotics and other remote-controlled devices;
       ``(B) evaluate the compatibility of new equipment and 
     technology with existing fire-fighting technology; and
       ``(C) support the development of new voluntary consensus 
     standards through national voluntary consensus standards 
     organizations for new firefighting technologies based on 
     techniques and methodologies described in subparagraph (A).
       ``(2) Standards for new equipment.
       (A) The Administrator shall, by regulation, require that 
     new equipment or systems purchased through the assistance 
     program established by the first section 3 3 meet or exceed 
     applicable voluntary consensus standards for such equipment 
     or systems for which applicable voluntary consensus standards 
     have been established. The Administrator may waive the 
     requirement under this subparagraph with respect to specific 
     standards.
       ``(B) If an applicant for a grant under the first section 
     33 proposes to purchase, with assistance provided under the 
     grant, new equipment or systems that do not meet or exceed 
     applicable voluntary consensus standards, the applicant shall 
     include in the application an explanation of why such 
     equipment or systems will serve the needs of the applicant 
     better than equipment or systems that do meet or exceed such 
     standards.
       ``(C) In making a determination whether or not to waive the 
     requirement under subparagraph (A) with respect to a specific 
     standard, the Administrator shall, to the greatest extent 
     practicable--
       ``(i) consult with grant applicants and other members of 
     the fire services regarding the impact on fire departments of 
     the requirement to meet or exceed the specific standard;
       ``(ii) take into consideration the explanation provided by 
     the applicant under subparagraph (B); and
       ``(iii) seek to minimize the impact of the requirement to 
     meet or exceed the specific standard on the applicant, 
     particularly if meeting the standard would impose additional 
     costs.
       ``(D) Applicants that apply for a grant under the terms of 
     subparagraph (B) may include a second grant request in the 
     application to be considered by the Administrator in the 
     event that the Administrator does not approve the primary 
     grant request on the grounds of the equipment not meeting 
     applicable voluntary consensus standards.''.

     SEC. 203. COORDINATION OF RESPONSE TO NATIONAL EMERGENCY.

       (a) In General.--Section 10 of the Federal Fire Prevention 
     and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2209) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
       ``(b) Mutual Aid Systems.
       ``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall provide 
     technical assistance and training to State and local fire 
     service officials to establish nationwide and State mutual 
     aid systems for dealing with national emergencies that--
       ``(A) include threat assessment and equipment deployment 
     strategies;
       ``(B) include means of collecting asset and resource 
     information to provide accurate and timely data for regional 
     deployment; and
       ``(C) are consistent with the Federal Response Plan.
       ``(2) Model mutual aid plans.--The Administrator shall 
     develop and make available to State and local fire service 
     officials model mutual aid plans for both intrastate and 
     interstate assistance.''.
       (b) Report on Strategic Needs.--Within 90 days after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 
     United States Fire Administration shall report to the Senate 
     Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 
     House of Representatives Committee on Science on the need for 
     a strategy concerning deployment of volunteers and emergency 
     response personnel (as defined in section 6 of the 
     Firefighters' Safety Study Act 15 U.S.C. 2223e)), including a 
     national credentialing system, in the event of a national 
     emergency.

[[Page S15302]]

       (c) Report on Federal Response Plan.--Within 30 days after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, the Department of Homeland 
     Security shall transmit a report to the Senate Committee 
     on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Senate 
     Committee on Governmental Affairs, and the House of 
     Representatives Committee on Science describing plans for 
     revisions to the Federal Response Plan and its integration 
     into the National Response Plan, including how the revised 
     plan will address response to terrorist attacks, 
     particularly in urban areas, including fire detection and 
     suppression and related emergency services.

     SEC. 204. TRAINING.

       (a) In General.--Section 7(d)(1) of the Federal Fire 
     Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2206(d)(1)) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon in subparagraph 
     (E);
       (2) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (N); 
     and
       (3) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following:
       ``(F) strategies for building collapse rescue;
       ``(G) the use of technology in response to fires, including 
     terrorist incidents and other national emergencies;
       ``(H) response, tactics, and strategies for dealing with 
     terrorist-caused national catastrophes;
       ``(I) use of and familiarity with the Federal Response 
     Plan;
       ``(J) leadership and strategic skills, including integrated 
     management systems operations and integrated response;
       ``(K) applying new technology and developing strategies and 
     tactics for fighting forest fires;
       ``(L) integrating the activities of terrorism response 
     agencies into national terrorism incident response systems;
       ``(M) response tactics and strategies for fighting fires at 
     United States ports, including fires on the water and aboard 
     vessels; and''.
       (b) Consultation on Fire Academy Classes.--The 
     Superintendent of the National Fire Academy may consult with 
     other Federal, State, and local agency officials in 
     developing curricula for classes offered by the Academy.
       (c) Coordination with Other Programs to Avoid 
     Duplication.--The Administrator of the United States Fire 
     Administration shall coordinate training provided under 
     section 7(d)(1) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control 
     Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2206(d)(1)) with the Attorney General, 
     the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the heads of 
     other Federal agencies
       (1) to ensure that such training does not duplicate 
     existing courses available to fire service personnel; and
       (2) to establish a mechanism for eliminating duplicative 
     training programs.
       (d) Courses and Training Assistance.--Section 7(1) of the 
     Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 
     2206(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``The 
     Superintendent shall offer, at the Academy and at other 
     sites, courses and training assistance as necessary to 
     accommodate all geographic regions and needs of career and 
     volunteer firefighters.''.

     SEC. 205. FIREFIGHTER ASSISTANCE GRANTS PROGRAM.

       (a) Administration.--The first section 33 of the Federal 
     Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking subsection (b)(2) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(2) Administrative assistance.--The Director shall 
     establish specific criteria for the selection of recipients 
     of assistance under this section and shall provide grant-
     writing assistance to applicants.''; and
       (2) by striking ``operate the office established under 
     subsection (b)(2) and'' in subsection (e)(2).
       (b) Maritime Firefighting.--Subsection (b)(3)(B) of the 
     first section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control 
     Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229(b)(3)(B)) is amended by inserting 
     ``maritime firefighting,'' after ``arson prevention and 
     detection,''.
       (c) Firefighting in Remote Areas.--The first section 33 of 
     the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 
     U.S.C. 2229) is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``equipment for fighting fires with foam 
     in remote areas without access to water, and'' after 
     ``including'' in subsection (b)(3)(H); and
       (2) by inserting ``Of the amounts authorized in this 
     paragraph, $3,000,000 shall be made available each year 
     through fiscal year 2008 for foam firefighting equipment.'' 
     at the end of subsection (e)(1).

     SEC. 206. NATIONAL FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS FOUNDATION.

       (a) Members.--Section 151303(b) of title 36, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking ``9'' in paragraph (2) and inserting 
     ``12'';
       (2) by striking ``six'' in subparagraph (D) of paragraph 
     (2) and inserting ``nine''; and
       (3) by striking ``3 members'' in paragraph (3) and 
     inserting ``4 members''.
       (b) Compensation.--Section 151304(b)(3) of title 36, United 
     States Code, is amended by inserting ``15 percent above'' 
     after ``more than''.
       (c) Period of Authorized Assistance.--Section 151307 of 
     title 36, United States Code, is amended in subsection 
     (a)(1), by striking ``During the 10-year period beginning on 
     the date of the enactment of the Fire Administration 
     Authorization Act of 2000, the'' and inserting ``The''.
                                 ______
                                 
  SA 2208. Mr. FRIST proposed an amendment to the joint resolution H.J. 
Res. 78, making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 
2004, and for other purposes; as follows:

       On page 2, line 7, strike ``23'' and insert ``24''.

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