[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 73 (Friday, June 9, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5684-S5685]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DODD (for himself and Mr. Burr):
  S. 3489. A bill to provide loans and grants for fire sprinkler 
retrofitting in nursing facilities; to the Committee on Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise to introduce bipartisan legislation 
with my colleague from North Carolina, Senator Burr, that seeks to 
protect nursing home residents, staff, and visitors from the dangers 
associated with fire.
  In February, 2003, a multialarm fire at a nursing home in Hartford, 
CT, took the lives of 16 residents. It was the worst nursing home fire 
in Connecticut's history. The tragic loss of life was made worse by the 
fact that the nursing home lacked an automatic sprinkler system--a 
defect disturbingly present in many nursing homes across the country.
  I believe many Americans--especially those with a loved one in a 
nursing home facility--would be shocked to learn that, according to the 
Government Accountability Office, GAO, between 20 and 30 percent of the 
country's 17,000 nursing homes lack an automatic sprinkler system. In 
its 2004 report, the GAO found that ``the substantial loss of life in 
the [Hartford fire] could have been reduced or eliminated by the 
presence of properly functioning automatic sprinkler systems.'' 
Furthermore, the report concluded that ``the Federal oversight of 
nursing home compliance with fire safety standards is inadequate.''
  Responding to the fire in Hartford and a similar tragedy in 
Nashville, TN, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS, 
required that nursing homes without automatic sprinkler systems install 
battery-operated smoke detectors. While this new requirement was viewed 
as a positive step, it was largely criticized by fire and patient-
safety advocates because smoke detectors are often not wired to a 
central alarm system or a fire department.
  I believe it is safe to assume that nursing home directors do not 
choose freely to operate their facilities without automatic sprinkler 
systems. According to the GAO and American Health Care Association, 
most nursing homes simply cannot afford the cost incurred by installing 
an automatic sprinkler system. Furthermore, almost all of these 
facilities cannot afford the cost because of forces beyond their 
control. Today, nursing homes--including many in Connecticut--are 
financially strained by inadequate reimbursement rates from Medicare 
and Medicaid, rising insurance premiums, rising energy costs, and the 
general cost of care for some of our country's sickest patients.
  That is why Senator Burr and I are introducing this legislation. The 
Nursing Home Fire Safety Act of 2006 contains two principal components.
  First, the legislation includes a resolution expressing the sense of 
Congress that, within 5 years, every nursing home facility in the 
United States should be equipped with an automatic sprinkler system. 
The resolution also urges CMS to adopt the National Fire Protection 
Association's Life Safety Code, a nationally-renowned set of criteria 
addressing ``construction, protection, and occupancy features necessary 
to minimize danger to life from fire, including smoke, fumes, or 
panic.''
  Second, the legislation provides low-interest loans and grants to 
nursing homes in proven need of financial assistance. The larger loan 
initiative assists nursing homes that cannot afford the upfront costs 
of installing automatic sprinkler systems but can afford to pay back a 
low-interest Government loan. The smaller grant initiative would assist 
qualified nursing homes that lack any ability to pay for the 
installation of an automatic sprinkler system. Together, these 
initiatives would provide critical resources to prevent tragedies like 
those seen in Hartford and Nashville from occurring again.
  I thank my colleague from North Carolina, Senator Burr, for 
introducing this bipartisan measure with me. I also thank Congressmen 
John Larson from Connecticut and Peter King from New York for 
spearheading companion legislation in the House. I look forward to 
working with all of my colleagues to protect nursing home residents, 
staff, and visitors from the dangers associated with fire.
  I ask unanimous consent that the full text of the legislation be 
printed in the Congressional Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3489

       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 ``Nursing Home Fire Safety Act 
     of 2006''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:

[[Page S5685]]

       (1) An estimated 1,500,000 Americans reside in 
     approximately 16,300 nursing facilities nationwide, an 
     estimated 20 to 30 percent of which lack an automatic fire 
     sprinkler system.
       (2) In a July 2004 report, the Government Accountability 
     Office found that ``the substantial loss of life in [recent 
     nursing home] fires could have been reduced or eliminated by 
     the presence of properly functioning automatic sprinkler 
     systems'' and that ``Federal oversight of nursing home 
     compliance with fire safety standards is inadequate''.
       (3) Many nursing facilities lack the financial capital to 
     install sprinklers on their own and must consider closure as 
     an alternative to taking on large loans or other financing 
     options in order to install sprinklers.
       (4) Recognizing that automatic fire sprinkler systems 
     greatly improve the chances of survival for older adults in 
     the event of a fire, the National Fire Protection 
     Association, with the support of the American Health Care 
     Association, the fire safety community, and the nursing 
     facility profession, recently issued the 2006 edition of the 
     Life Safety Code which requires automatic sprinklers in all 
     existing nursing facilities.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) within 5 years, every nursing facility in America 
     should be equipped with automatic fire sprinklers in order to 
     ensure patient, resident, and staff safety;
       (2) the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 
     should quickly adopt the 2006 edition of the Life Safety 
     Code, recently issued by the National Fire Protection 
     Association with the support of the nursing home industry, 
     which includes the requirement that all nursing facilities be 
     fully sprinklered; and
       (3) the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, in 
     collaboration with Congress, should take into consideration 
     the costs of retrofitting existing nursing home facilities 
     and commit itself to providing facilities with the critical 
     financial resources necessary to ensure the speedy and full 
     installation of life saving sprinkler systems.

     SEC. 3. DIRECT LOANS FOR FIRE SPRINKLERS RETROFITS.

       (a) Authority.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services shall establish a program of direct loans to 
     existing nursing facilities to finance retrofitting the 
     facilities with an automatic fire sprinkler system. Such 
     loans shall be made under terms and conditions specified by 
     the Secretary.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may 
     be necessary for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011.

     SEC. 4. SPRINKLER RETROFIT ASSISTANCE GRANTS.

       (a) Authority.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services shall establish a program to award grants to nursing 
     facilities for the purposes of retrofitting them with an 
     automatic fire sprinkler system. Such grants shall be awarded 
     under terms and conditions specified by the Secretary.
       (b) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
     Secretary shall give a priority to applications that 
     demonstrate a need or hardship. In determining hardship, the 
     Secretary may take into account factors such as the number of 
     residents who are entitled to or enrolled in the medicare 
     program under title 18 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
     1395 et seq.) or receiving assistance under the medicaid 
     program under title 19 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), 
     the age and condition of the facility, and the need for 
     nursing facility beds in the community involved.
       (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may 
     be necessary for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011.

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