[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 192 (Monday, December 12, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H9652-H9653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              EMPOWERING THE U.S. FIRE ADMINISTRATION ACT

  Mr. BEYER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in 
the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 7077) to require the United 
States Fire Administration to conduct on-site investigations of major 
fires, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the Senate amendment is as follows:
  Senate amendment:

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Empowering the U.S. Fire 
     Administration Act''.

     SEC. 2. FIRE SAFETY INVESTIGATIONS.

       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:

     ``SEC. 38. INVESTIGATION AUTHORITIES.

       ``(a) In General.--In the case of a major fire, the 
     Administrator may send incident investigators, which may 
     include safety specialists, fire protection engineers, codes 
     and standards experts, researchers, and fire training 
     specialists, to the site of the fire to conduct a fire safety 
     investigation as described in subsection (b).
       ``(b) Investigation Required.--A fire safety investigation 
     conducted under this section--
       ``(1) shall be conducted in coordination and cooperation 
     with appropriate Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 
     territorial authorities, including Federal agencies that are 
     authorized to investigate any fire; and
       ``(2) shall examine the previously determined cause and 
     origin of the fire and assess broader systematic matters to 
     include use of codes and standards, demographics, structural 
     characteristics, smoke and fire dynamics (movement) during 
     the event, and costs of associated injuries and deaths.
       ``(c) Report.--
       ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), upon 
     concluding any fire safety investigation under this section, 
     the Administrator shall--
       ``(A) issue a public report to the appropriate Federal, 
     State, local, Tribal, and territorial authorities on the 
     findings of such investigation; or
       ``(B) collaborate with another investigating Federal, 
     State, local, Tribal, or territorial agency on the report of 
     that agency.
       ``(2) Exception.--If the Administrator, in consultation 
     with appropriate Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 
     territorial authorities determines that issuing a report 
     under paragraph (1) would have a negative impact on a 
     potential or ongoing criminal investigation, the 
     Administrator is not required to issue such report.
       ``(3) Contents.--Each public report issued under paragraph 
     (1) shall include recommendations on--
       ``(A) any other buildings with similar characteristics that 
     may bear similar fire risks;
       ``(B) improving tactical response to similar fires;
       ``(C) improving civilian safety practices;
       ``(D) assessing the costs and benefits to the community of 
     adding fire safety features; and
       ``(E) how to mitigate the causes of the fire.
       ``(d) Discretionary Authority.--In addition to a fire 
     safety investigation conducted pursuant to subsection (a), 
     provided doing so would not have a negative impact on a 
     potential or ongoing criminal investigation, the 
     Administrator may send fire investigators to conduct a fire 
     safety investigation at the site of any fire with unusual or 
     remarkable context that results in losses less severe than 
     those occurring as a result of a major fire, in coordination 
     and cooperation with the appropriate Federal, State, local, 
     Tribal, and territorial authorities, including Federal 
     agencies that are authorized to investigate the fire.
       ``(e) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
     construed to--
       ``(1) affect or otherwise diminish the authorities or the 
     mandates vested in other Federal agencies;
       ``(2) grant the Administrator authority to investigate a 
     major fire for the purpose of an enforcement action or 
     criminal prosecution; or
       ``(3) require the Administrator to send investigators or 
     issue a report for a major fire when the Administrator, in 
     coordination and cooperation with the appropriate Federal, 
     State, local, Tribal, and territorial authorities, determine 
     that it may compromise a potential or ongoing criminal 
     investigation.
       ``(f) Major Fire Defined.--For purposes of this section, 
     the term `major fire' shall have the meaning given such term 
     under regulations to be issued by the Administrator.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Beyer) and the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Mrs. Bice) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BEYER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 7077, the bill now under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BEYER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 7077, the 
Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act.
  Although significant progress has been made in preventing major fires 
over the past 25 years, building fires in the United States remain a 
serious problem.
  According to the U.S. Fire Administration, there was an estimated 
372,000 residential building fires within the United States in 2020. 
These fires caused an estimated 2,615 deaths, 11,825 injuries, and $8.6 
billion in property loss.
  It is very timely that we are about to enact this bill as winter 
approaches and residential building fires are more likely to occur.
  It is essential that we learn from major fires to inform and improve 
future fire prevention efforts. The U.S. Fire Administration is an 
essential part of these efforts.
  Unfortunately, the agency currently lacks the authority to 
participate in post-fire onsite investigations.

                              {time}  1415

  H.R. 7077 addresses this gap by authorizing USFA to send their own 
experts to the site of a major fire to conduct an onsite investigation 
in coordination and cooperation with Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 
Territorial authorities. In doing so, this bill more fully leverages 
the unique expertise of the U.S. Fire Administration to help strengthen 
fire prevention.
  This bill would also require the administrator to issue a public 
report on the findings of an investigation or collaborate with another 
investigating agency on their report. This report would include 
recommendations on improving tactical response and civilian safety 
practices, as well as on approaches to mitigation. These reports are an 
essential component of ensuring that everyone can utilize the knowledge 
we collect from major fires to improve future prevention efforts.
  I thank my friend and colleague, Representative Ritchie Torres, for 
his leadership on this bill. Representative Torres introduced this bill 
after a major residential building fire in his district on January 9 of 
this year resulted in the tragic deaths of 17 people, including 8 
children.
  I also thank my colleagues on the Science, Space, and Technology 
Committee, Representatives Haley Stevens, Anthony Gonzalez, and Peter 
Meijer for their leadership on this bill, and I urge all of my 
colleagues to join us in passing this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. BICE of Oklahoma. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
many consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 
7077, the Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act. This bipartisan 
legislation would give the U.S. Fire Administration the authority to 
send specialists to assist local firefighter investigators in onsite 
investigations of major fires.
  According to the National Fire Protection Association, last year had 
the highest number of home fire deaths in 14 years. As was mentioned, 
families in Representative Torres' district know the devastation of 
major fires after suffering through New York City's deadliest fire in 
over three decades. This single fire claimed the lives of 17 residents, 
including 8 children.
  By empowering the U.S. Fire Administration to partner with local fire 
departments, we can better determine the root cause of these tragedies 
and make sure that they never happen again.
  The U.S. Fire Administration is housed within FEMA, and it has 
valuable and lifesaving resources on preventing, responding to, and 
investigating fires. This bill would ensure that State and local 
governments can access their expertise and, hopefully, prevent major 
fires in the future.
  The bill directs incident investigators to examine the determined 
cause and origins of fires. It also requires them to assess broader 
systematic matters including use of codes and

[[Page H9653]]

standards, demographics, structural characteristics, smoke and fire 
dynamics, costs, and associated injuries and deaths.
  Additionally, the bill also requires the U.S. Fire Administration to 
issue a report in coordination with Federal, State, and local 
authorities on their findings, and to provide recommendations to 
Federal, State, and local officials to implement to prevent similar 
fires from occurring in the future.
  This bill passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support in 
May of this year. The Senate amendment added language to ensure that 
the U.S. Fire Administration would not affect or diminish the 
authorities of other Federal agencies when investigating major fires 
and would not grant the administrator authority to investigate a major 
fire for the purpose of an enforcement action or criminal prosecution.
  This bill incorporates stakeholder and agency feedback and is 
endorsed by the Fire Department of New York, the International 
Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire 
Fighters, the National Association of State Fire Marshals, and the 
National Fire Protection Association.
  I thank Representative Torres for introducing and leading the 
original bill, as well as the original cosponsors from our committee: 
Representatives Stevens, Meijer, and Gonzalez. I also thank Senator 
Peters for his work on the Senate amendment.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEYERS. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time, I 
am ready to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. BICE of Oklahoma. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of 
my time.
  Madam Speaker, I rise again in support of the Senate amendment to 
H.R. 7077, the Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act.
  As I previously mentioned, the U.S. Fire Administration has valuable 
and lifesaving resources in preventing, responding to, and 
investigating fires. This amendment would ensure that State and local 
governments have access to these resources and that the U.S. Fire 
Administration has the authority needed to conduct onsite 
investigations of major fires without diminishing the authorities of 
other Federal agencies or negatively affecting ongoing or potential 
criminal investigations.
  We cannot afford to let any more tragic and preventable fires like 
the one in Representative Torres' district happen in the future.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the amendment, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEYERS. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Bice for joining me 
in presenting this bill today. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 
7077, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer) that the House suspend the rules 
and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill, H.R. 7077.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. ROSENDALE. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________