    [House Report 111-333]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

    111th Congress                                            Rept. 111-333
                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
     1st Session                                                     Part 1

    ======================================================================

                    FIRE GRANTS REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009

                                    _______

    November 7, 2009.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
                  State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                    _______

    Mr. Gordon of Tennessee, from the Committee on Science and Technology,
                            submitted the following

                                  R E P O R T

                                 together with

                                ADDITIONAL VIEWS

                            [To accompany H.R. 3791]

          [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

        The Committee on Science and Technology, to whom was
    referred the bill (H.R. 3791) to amend sections 33 and 34 of
    the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, and for
    other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably
    thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as
    amended do pass.

                                    CONTENTS

                                                                       Page
       I. Amendment.......................................................2
      II. Purpose of the Bill............................................10
     III. Background and Need for the Legislation........................10
      IV. Summary of Hearings............................................11
       V. Committee Actions..............................................12
      VI. Summary of Major Provisions of the Bill........................13
     VII. Section-by-Section Analysis....................................14
    VIII. Committee Views................................................18
      IX. Cost Estimate..................................................20
       X. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate......................20
      XI. Compliance With Public Law 104-4...............................22
     XII. Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations...............22
    XIII. Statement on General Performance Goals and Objectives..........23
     XIV. Constitutional Authority Statement.............................23
      XV. Federal Advisory Committee Statement...........................23
     XVI. Congressional Accountability Act...............................23
    XVII. Earmark Identification.........................................23
    XVIII.Statement on Preemption of State, Local, or Tribal Law.........23

     XIX. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported..........23
      XX. Committee Recommendation.......................................43
     XXI. Additional Views...............................................44
    XXII. Exchange of Committee Correspondence...........................48
    XXIII.Proceedings of the Subcommittee Markup.........................50

    XXIV. Proceedings of the Full Committee Markup......................112

                                  I. Amendment

      The amendment is as follows:
      Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
    following:

    SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

      This Act may be cited as the ``Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of
    2009''.

    SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION.

      (a) In General.--Section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and
    Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229) is amended to read as follows:

    ``SEC. 33. FIREFIGHTER ASSISTANCE.

      ``(a) Assistance Program.--
              ``(1) Authority.--In accordance with this section, the
            Director may--
                      ``(A) make grants on a competitive basis directly to
                    fire departments of a State, in consultation with the
                    chief executive of the State, for the purpose of
                    protecting the health and safety of the public and
                    firefighting personnel throughout the Nation against
                    fire and fire-related hazards;
                      ``(B) make grants on a competitive basis directly to
                    State fire training academies, in consultation with the
                    chief executive of the State, in accordance with
                    paragraph (11)(C);
                      ``(C) provide assistance for fire prevention and
                    firefighter safety research and development programs
                    and fire prevention or fire safety programs and
                    activities in accordance with paragraph (4); and
                      ``(D) provide assistance for volunteer, non-fire
                    service EMS and rescue organizations for the purpose of
                    paragraph (3)(F).
              ``(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.
              ``(3) Use of fire department grant funds.--The Director may
            make a grant under paragraph (1)(A) only if the applicant for
            the grant agrees to use the grant funds for one or more of the
            following purposes:
                      ``(A) To hire additional firefighting personnel.
                      ``(B) To train firefighting personnel in
                    firefighting, emergency medical services and other
                    emergency response (including response to a terrorism
                    incident or use of a weapon of mass destruction), arson
                    prevention and detection, maritime firefighting, or the
                    handling of hazardous materials or to train
                    firefighting personnel to provide any of the training
                    described in this subparagraph.
                      ``(C) To fund the creation of rapid intervention
                    teams to protect firefighting personnel at the scenes
                    of fires and other emergencies.
                      ``(D) To certify fire and building inspectors
                    employed by a fire department or serving as a volunteer
                    building inspector with a fire department.
                      ``(E) To establish wellness and fitness programs for
                    firefighting personnel to ensure that the firefighting
                    personnel can carry out their duties, including
                    programs dedicated to raising awareness of, and
                    prevention of, job-related mental health issues.
                      ``(F) To fund emergency medical services provided by
                    fire departments and volunteer, non-fire service EMS
                    and rescue organizations.
                      ``(G) To acquire additional firefighting vehicles,
                    including fire trucks.
                      ``(H) To acquire additional firefighting equipment,
                    including equipment for communications, monitoring, and
                    response to a terrorism incident or use of a weapon of
                    mass destruction.
                      ``(I) To acquire personal protective equipment
                    required for firefighting personnel by the Occupational
                    Safety and Health Administration and other personal
                    protective equipment for firefighting personnel,
                    including protective equipment to respond to a
                    terrorism incident or the use of a weapon of mass
                    destruction.
                      ``(J) To modify fire stations, fire training
                    facilities, and other facilities to protect the health
                    and safety of firefighting personnel.
                      ``(K) To enforce fire codes and standards.
                      ``(L) To fund fire prevention programs.
                      ``(M) To educate the public about arson prevention
                    and detection.
                      ``(N) To provide incentives for the recruitment and
                    retention of volunteer firefighting personnel for
                    volunteer firefighting departments and other
                    firefighting departments that utilize volunteers.
              ``(4) Fire prevention and firefighter safety research and
            development programs.--
                      ``(A) In general.--For each fiscal year, the Director
                    shall use not less than 10 percent of the funds made
                    available under subsection (e)--
                              ``(i) to make grants to fire departments for
                            the purpose described in paragraph (3)(L);
                              ``(ii) to make grants to, or enter into
                            contracts or cooperative agreements with,
                            national, State, local, or community
                            organizations that are not fire departments
                            but--
                                      ``(I) that are recognized for their
                                    experience and expertise with respect
                                    to fire prevention or fire safety
                                    programs and activities and that
                                    partner with fire departments, for the
                                    purpose of carrying out such programs
                                    and activities;
                                      ``(II) engage in fire- and life
                                    safety-related activities as a primary
                                    purpose or function, for the purpose of
                                    carrying out fire prevention or fire
                                    safety programs and activities; or
                                      ``(III) that are recognized for their
                                    experience and expertise with respect
                                    to firefighter research and development
                                    programs, for the purpose of carrying
                                    out research on fire prevention or fire
                                    safety programs and activities or to
                                    improve firefighter health and life
                                    safety; and
                              ``(iii) if the Director determines that it is
                            necessary, to make grants or enter into
                            contracts in accordance with subsection (c).
                      ``(B) Priority.--In selecting organizations described
                    in subparagraph (A)(ii) to receive assistance under
                    this paragraph, the Director shall give priority to
                    organizations that focus on prevention of injuries to
                    high risk groups from fire, as well as research
                    programs that demonstrate the potential to improve
                    firefighter safety.
                      ``(C) Grant limitation.--A grant under this paragraph
                    shall not exceed $1,500,000 for a fiscal year.
                      ``(D) Limitation.--None of the funds made available
                    under this paragraph may be provided to the Association
                    of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) or
                    any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, or allied
                    organizations.
              ``(5) Application.--The Director may provide assistance to a
            fire department or organization (including a State fire
            training academy) under this subsection only if the fire
            department or organization seeking the assistance submits to
            the Director an application that meets the following
            requirements:
                      ``(A) Form.--The application shall be in such form as
                    the Director may require.
                      ``(B) Information.--The application shall include the
                    following information:
                              ``(i) Information that demonstrates the
                            financial need of the applicant for the
                            assistance for which applied.
                              ``(ii) An analysis of the costs and benefits,
                            with respect to public safety, of the use of
                            the assistance.
                              ``(iii) An agreement to provide information
                            to the national fire incident reporting system
                            for the period covered by the assistance.
                              ``(iv) A list of other sources of Federal
                            funding received by the applicant.
                              ``(v) Any other information that the Director
                            may require.
                      ``(C) Unnecessary duplication.--The Director, in
                    coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security,
                    shall use the list provided under subparagraph (B)(iv)
                    to prevent the unnecessary duplication of grant funds.
              ``(6) Matching requirement.--
                      ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraphs (B) and
                    (C) and paragraph (8), the Director may provide
                    assistance under this subsection only if the applicant
                    for such assistance agrees to match 10 percent of such
                    assistance for any fiscal year with an equal amount of
                    non-Federal funds.
                      ``(B) Requirement for small community
                    organizations.--In the case of an applicant whose
                    personnel serve jurisdictions of 20,000 or fewer
                    residents, the percent applied under the matching
                    requirement of subparagraph (A) shall be 5 percent.
                      ``(C) Fire prevention and firefighter safety grants
                    exception.--There shall be no matching requirement for
                    a grant described in paragraph (4).
              ``(7) Maintenance of expenditures.--Subject to paragraph (8),
            the Director may provide assistance under this subsection only
            if the applicant for the assistance agrees to maintain in the
            fiscal year for which the assistance will be received the
            applicant's aggregate expenditures for the uses described in
            paragraph (3) or (4) at or above 80 percent of the average
            level of such expenditures in the 2 fiscal years preceding the
            fiscal year for which the assistance will be received.
              ``(8) Economic hardship waiver.--
                      ``(A) In general.--In exceptional circumstances, the
                    Director may waive or reduce the matching requirement
                    under paragraph (6) and the maintenance of expenditures
                    requirement under paragraph (7) for applicants facing
                    demonstrated economic hardship.
                      ``(B) Criteria development.--The criteria under which
                    the Director may waive or reduce such requirements
                    shall be developed in consultation with individuals who
                    are--
                              ``(i) recognized for expertise in
                            firefighting, emergency medical services
                            provided by fire services, or the economic
                            affairs of State and local governments; and
                              ``(ii) members of national fire service
                            organizations or national organizations
                            representing the interests of State and local
                            governments.
                      ``(C) Public availability.--The Director shall make
                    the criteria developed under subparagraph (B) publicly
                    available.
              ``(9) Variety of fire department grant recipients.--
                      ``(A) In general.--Of the amounts made available
                    under subsection (e), the Director shall ensure that
                    grants under paragraph (1)(A) for a fiscal year are
                    allocated, to the extent that there are eligible
                    applicants to carry out the activities under paragraph
                    (3), as follows:
                              ``(i) 25 percent shall be made available to
                            career fire departments.
                              ``(ii) 25 percent shall be made available to
                            volunteer fire departments.
                              ``(iii) 25 percent shall be made available to
                            combination fire departments.
                      ``(B) Evaluation criteria.--
                              ``(i) In general.--In awarding grants under
                            paragraph (1)(A), the Director shall, within
                            each category of applicants under subparagraph
                            (A), consider a broad range of factors
                            important to the applicant's ability to respond
                            to fires and related hazards, such as
                            population served, geographic response area,
                            hazard vulnerability, call volume, financial
                            situation, and need for training or equipment.
                              ``(ii) High population and incident
                            response.--In considering such factors under
                            clause (i), applicants serving areas with high
                            population and with a high number of incidents
                            requiring a response shall receive a higher
                            level of consideration.
                      ``(C) Remainder.--Of the amounts made available under
                    subsection (e) that are not allocated for use and
                    awarded under subparagraph (A) or designated for use
                    under any other provision of this section, the Director
                    shall provide for an open competition for grants among
                    career fire departments, volunteer fire departments,
                    and combination fire departments to carry out the
                    activities under paragraph (3).
              ``(10) Report to the director.--The Director may provide
            assistance under this subsection only if the applicant for the
            assistance agrees to submit to the Director a report, including
            a description of how the assistance was used, with respect to
            each fiscal year for which the assistance was received.
              ``(11) Grant limitations.--
                      ``(A) Recipient limitations.--A grant recipient under
                    paragraph (1)(A)--
                              ``(i) that serves a jurisdiction with 100,000
                            people or less may not receive grants in excess
                            of $1,000,000 for any fiscal year;
                              ``(ii) that serves a jurisdiction with more
                            than 100,000 people but less than 500,000
                            people may not receive grants in excess of
                            $2,000,000 for any fiscal year;
                              ``(iii) that serves a jurisdiction with
                            500,000 people or more but less than 1,000,000
                            people may not receive grants in excess of
                            $3,000,000 for any fiscal year;
                              ``(iv) that serves a jurisdiction with
                            1,000,000 people or more but less than
                            2,500,000 people may not receive grants in
                            excess of $6,000,000 for any fiscal year; and
                              ``(v) that serves a jurisdiction with
                            2,500,000 people or more may not receive grants
                            in excess of $9,000,000 for any fiscal year.
                    The Director may award grants in excess of the
                    limitations provided in clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and
                    (iv) if the Director determines that extraordinary need
                    for assistance by a jurisdiction warrants a waiver.
                      ``(B) Limitation on expenditures for firefighting
                    vehicles.--Not more than 25 percent of the funds
                    appropriated to provide grants under this section for a
                    fiscal year may be used to assist grant recipients to
                    purchase vehicles, as authorized by paragraph (3)(G).
                      ``(C) State fire training academies.--
                              ``(i) In general.--In accordance with clause
                            (ii), the Director shall award not more than 3
                            percent of the amounts made available under
                            subsection (e) for a fiscal year for grants
                            under this subsection for State fire training
                            academies.
                              ``(ii) Limitation.--The Director shall--
                                      ``(I) award not more than 1 grant
                                    under this subparagraph per State in a
                                    fiscal year;
                                      ``(II) limit the amount of a grant to
                                    a State fire training academy to less
                                    than or equal to$1,000,000 in each
                                    fiscal year; and
                                      ``(III) ensure that any grant awarded
                                    to a State fire training academy shall
                                    be used for the purposes described in
                                    paragraphs 3(G), 3(H), or 3(I).
                      ``(D) Requirements for grants for emergency medical
                    services.--The Director shall award not more than 2
                    percent of the amounts made available under subsection
                    (e) for a fiscal year to volunteer, non-fire service
                    EMS and rescue organizations for the purposes described
                    in paragraph (3)(F).
                      ``(E) Application of selection criteria to grant
                    applications from volunteer, non-fire service ems and
                    rescue organizations.--In reviewing applications
                    submitted by volunteer, non-fire service EMS and rescue
                    organizations, the Director shall consider the extent
                    to which other sources of Federal funding are available
                    to provide the assistance requested in such grant
                    applications.
                      ``(F) Consensus standards.--
                              ``(i) In general.--Any grant amounts used to
                            obtain training under this section shall be
                            limited to training that complies with
                            applicable national voluntary consensus
                            standards (if applicable national voluntary
                            consensus standards have been established),
                            unless a waiver has been granted under clause
                            (ii).
                              ``(ii) Waiver.--
                                      ``(I) Explanation for non-standard
                                    training.--If an applicant for a grant
                                    seeks to use the assistance provided
                                    under the grant to obtain training that
                                    does not meet or exceed applicable
                                    voluntary consensus standards, the
                                    applicant shall include in the
                                    application an explanation of why such
                                    training will serve the needs of the
                                    applicant better than training that
                                    does meet or exceed such standards.
                                      ``(II) Procedures.--In making a
                                    determination whether or not to waive
                                    the requirement under clause (i) with
                                    respect to a specific standard, the
                                    Director shall, to the greatest extent
                                    practicable--
                                              ``(aa) consult with other
                                            members of the fire services
                                            regarding the impact on fire
                                            departments of the requirement
                                            to meet or exceed the specific
                                            standard;
                                              ``(bb) take into
                                            consideration the explanation
                                            provided by the applicant under
                                            subclause (I); and
                                              ``(cc) 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.
                                      ``(III) Additional requests.--
                                    Applicants that apply for a grant under
                                    the terms of subclause (I) may include
                                    a second grant request in the
                                    application to be considered by the
                                    Director in the event that the Director
                                    does not approve the primary grant
                                    request on the grounds of the training
                                    not meeting applicable voluntary
                                    consensus standards.
              ``(12) Eligible grantee on behalf of alaska native
            villages.--The Alaska Village Initiatives, a non-profit
            organization incorporated in the State of Alaska, shall be
            considered an eligible grantee for purposes of receiving
            assistance under this section on behalf of Alaska Native
            villages.
              ``(13) Annual meeting.--The Director shall convene an annual
            meeting of individuals who are members of national fire service
            organizations and are recognized for expertise in firefighting
            or emergency medical services provided by fire services, and
            who are not employees of the Federal Government, for the
            purpose of recommending criteria for awarding grants under this
            section for the next fiscal year and any necessary
            administrative changes to the grant program.
              ``(14) Guidelines.--
                      ``(A) In general.--Each year, prior to making any
                    grants under this section, the Director shall publish
                    in the Federal Register--
                              ``(i) guidelines that describe the process
                            for applying for grants and the criteria for
                            awarding grants;
                              ``(ii) an explanation of any differences
                            between the guidelines and the recommendations
                            made pursuant to paragraph (13); and
                              ``(iii) the criteria developed under
                            paragraph (8) which the Director will use to
                            evaluate applicants for waivers from program
                            requirements.
                      ``(B) Specific requirement.--The criteria for
                    awarding grants under paragraph (1)(A) shall include
                    the extent to which the grant would enhance the daily
                    operations of the applicant and the impact of such a
                    grant on the protection of lives and property.
              ``(15) Peer review.--The Director, after consultation with
            national fire service organizations, shall appoint fire service
            personnel to conduct peer review of applications received under
            paragraph (5). In making grants under this section, the
            Director shall consider the results of such peer review
            evaluations.
              ``(16) Applicability of federal advisory committee act.--The
            Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply
            to activities under paragraphs (13) and (15).
              ``(17) Accounting determination.--Notwithstanding any other
            provision of law, rule, regulation, or guidance, for purposes
            of receiving assistance under this section, equipment costs
            shall include all costs attributable to any design, purchase of
            components, assembly, manufacture, and transportation of
            equipment not otherwise commercially available.
      ``(b) Audits.--A recipient of a grant under this section shall be
    subject to audits to ensure that the grant proceeds are expended for
    the intended purposes and that the grant recipient complies with the
    requirements of paragraphs (6) and (7) of subsection (a) unless the
    Director has granted a waiver under subsection (a)(8).
      ``(c) Fire Safety Research Centers.--
              ``(1) In general.--The Director may make a grant under
            subsection (a)(4)(A)(iii) to an institution of higher
            education, a national fire service organization, or a national
            fire safety organization to establish and operate a fire safety
            research center.
              ``(2) Objectives.--A grant received under this subsection
            shall be used by such an institution or organization to advance
            significantly the Nation's ability to reduce the number of
            fire-related deaths and injuries among firefighters and the
            general public through research, development, and technology
            transfer activities.
              ``(3) Limitation.--The Director may establish no more than 3
            fire safety research centers. An institution of higher
            education, a national fire service organization, or a national
            fire safety organization may not directly receive a grant under
            this section for a fiscal year for more than 1 fire safety
            research center.
              ``(4) Application.--In order to be eligible to receive a fire
            safety research center grant, an institution of higher
            education, a national fire service organization, or a national
            fire safety organization shall submit to the Director an
            application that is in such form and contains such information
            and assurances as the Director may require.
              ``(5) General selection criteria.--The Director shall select
            each recipient of a grant under this subsection through a
            competitive process on the basis of the following:
                      ``(A) The demonstrated research and extension
                    resources available to the recipient to carry out the
                    research, development, and technology transfer
                    activities.
                      ``(B) The capability of the recipient to provide
                    leadership in making national contributions to fire
                    safety.
                      ``(C) The recipient's ability to disseminate the
                    results of fire safety research.
                      ``(D) The strategic plan the recipient proposes to
                    carry out under the grant.
              ``(6) Consideration.--The Director shall give special
            consideration under paragraph (5) to an applicant for a grant
            that consists of a partnership between a national fire service
            organization or a national fire safety organization and at
            least 1 of the following:
                      ``(A) An institution of higher education.
                      ``(B) A minority-serving institution (defined as an
                    eligible institution under section 371(a) of the Higher
                    Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a))).
              ``(7) Research needs.--Within 90 days after the date of
            enactment of the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2009, the
            Director shall convene a workshop of the fire safety research
            community, fire service organizations, and other appropriate
            stakeholders to identify and prioritize fire safety research
            needs. The results of the workshop shall be made public, and
            the Director shall consider such results in making awards under
            this section.
      ``(d) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions apply:
              ``(1) Career fire department.--The term `career fire
            department' means a firefighting department that has an all
            professional force of firefighting personnel.
              ``(2) Combination fire department.--The term `combination
            fire department' means a firefighting department that has a
            combined force of professional and volunteer firefighting
            personnel.
              ``(3) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director,
            acting through the Administrator.
              ``(4) Firefighting personnel.--The term `firefighting
            personnel' means individuals, including volunteers, who are
            firefighters, officers of fire departments, or emergency
            medical service personnel of fire departments.
              ``(5) Institution of higher education.--The term `institution
            of higher education' has the meaning given such term in section
            101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
              ``(6) Volunteer, non-fire service ems and rescue
            organization.--The term `volunteer, non-fire service EMS and
            rescue organization' means a public or private nonprofit
            emergency medical services organization that--
                      ``(A) is not affiliated with a hospital;
                      ``(B) does not serve a geographic area in which the
                    Director finds that emergency medical services are
                    adequately provided by a fire department; and
                      ``(C) is staffed primarily by volunteers.
              ``(7) Volunteer fire department.--The term `volunteer fire
            department' means a firefighting department that has an all
            volunteer force of firefighting personnel.
      ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--
              ``(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated
            for the purposes of this section $1,000,000,000 for each of the
            fiscal years 2010 through 2014.
              ``(2) Administrative expenses.--
                      ``(A) In general.--Of the funds appropriated pursuant
                    to paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the Director may
                    use not more than 3 percent of the funds to cover
                    salaries and expenses and other administrative costs
                    incurred by the Director to make grants and provide
                    assistance under this section.
                      ``(B) Formula.--The Director shall subtract the
                    amount to be used for subparagraph (A) from the amount
                    appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) before making
                    any allocations or apportioning any funds under
                    subsections (a) or (c).''.
      (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
              (1) from fiscal years 2003 through 2008--
                      (A) the funding appropriated for activities under
                    section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control
                    Act of 1974 declined by approximately 30 percent; and
                      (B) the number of fire departments receiving awards
                    declined by nearly 40 percent, while the number of
                    applicants increased, resulting in a reduction in
                    applicant success rates from over 43 percent to just 25
                    percent;
              (2) the House-passed conference report for the Department of
            Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010 appropriates $390
            million for activities under such section 33, a decrease of
            over 30 percent below that provided in fiscal year 2009;
              (3) declining funding reduces the Director's ability to
            successfully carry out the primary purpose of such section,
            which is to protect the health and safety of the public and
            firefighting personnel throughout the Nation against fire and
            fire-related hazards; and
              (4) halting and reversing the decline in appropriations to
            ensure a high level of funding for the activities under such
            section 33 should be a top priority.

    SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF PRE-SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, FIRE GRANT PROGRAM
                        REAUTHORIZATION.

      Section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15
    U.S.C. 2229a) is amended to read as follows:

    ``SEC. 34. EXPANSION OF PRE-SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, FIRE GRANT PROGRAM.

      ``(a) Expanded Authority To Make Grants.--
              ``(1) Hiring grants.--
                      ``(A) In general.--The Director shall make grants
                    directly to career, volunteer, and combination fire
                    departments, in consultation with the chief executive
                    of the State in which the applicant is located, for the
                    purpose of increasing the number of firefighters to
                    help communities meet industry minimum standards and
                    attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate protection
                    from fire and fire-related hazards and to fulfill
                    traditional missions of fire departments that antedate
                    the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
                      ``(B) Requirements.--
                              ``(i) Duration and use.--Grants made under
                            this paragraph shall be for 3 years and shall
                            be used for programs to hire new, additional
                            firefighters.
                              ``(ii) Retention.--Grant recipients are
                            required to commit to retaining for at least
                            the entire 3 years of the grant period those
                            firefighters hired under this paragraph.
                              ``(iii) Maximum.--The portion of the cost of
                            hiring firefighters provided by a grant under
                            this paragraph may not exceed 80 percent of
                            such cost for each fiscal year.
                      ``(C) Preference.--In awarding grants under this
                    subsection, the Director may give preferential
                    consideration to applications that involve a non-
                    Federal contribution exceeding the minimums under
                    subparagraph (B)(iii).
                      ``(D) Technical assistance.--The Director may provide
                    technical assistance to States, units of local
                    government, Indian tribal governments, and other public
                    entities in furtherance of the purposes of this
                    section.
                      ``(E) Volunteer activities allowed.--Notwithstanding
                    any other provision of law, any firefighter hired with
                    funds provided under this subsection shall not be
                    discriminated against for, or be prohibited from,
                    engaging in volunteer activities in another
                    jurisdiction during off-duty hours.
                      ``(F) Competitive basis.--The Director shall award
                    all grants under this section on a competitive basis
                    through a neutral peer review process.
                      ``(G) Set aside.--
                              ``(i) In general.--At the beginning of the
                            fiscal year, the Director shall set aside 10
                            percent of the funds made available for
                            carrying out this paragraph for departments
                            with majority volunteer or all volunteer
                            personnel.
                              ``(ii) Transfer.--After awards have been
                            made, if less than 10 percent of the funds made
                            available for carrying out this paragraph are
                            not awarded to departments with majority
                            volunteer or all volunteer personnel, the
                            Director shall transfer from funds made
                            available for carrying out this paragraph to
                            funds made available for carrying out paragraph
                            (2) an amount equal to the difference between
                            the amount that is provided to such fire
                            departments and 10 percent.
              ``(2) Recruitment and retention grants.--
                      ``(A) In general.--In addition to any amounts
                    transferred under paragraph (1)(G)(ii), the Director
                    shall direct at least 10 percent of the total amount of
                    funds made available under this section annually to a
                    competitive grant program for the recruitment and
                    retention of volunteer firefighters who are involved
                    with or trained in the operations of firefighting and
                    emergency response.
                      ``(B) Eligibility.--Eligible entities shall include
                    volunteer or combination fire departments and
                    organizations on a local, statewide, or national basis
                    that represent the interests of volunteer firefighters.
      ``(b) Applications.--
              ``(1) In general.--No grant may be made under this section
            unless an application has been submitted to, and approved by,
            the Director.
              ``(2) Contents.--An application for a grant under this
            section shall be submitted in such form and contain such
            information and assurances as the Director may prescribe.
              ``(3) Requirements.--At a minimum, each application for a
            grant under this section shall--
                      ``(A) explain the applicant's inability to address
                    the need without Federal assistance;
                      ``(B) in the case of a grant under subsection (a)(1),
                    explain how the applicant plans to meet the
                    requirements of subparagraphs (B)(ii) and (E) of such
                    subsection;
                      ``(C) specify long-term plans for retaining
                    firefighters following the conclusion of Federal
                    support provided under this section; and
                      ``(D) provide assurances that the applicant will, to
                    the extent practicable, seek, recruit, and hire members
                    of racial and ethnic minority groups and women in order
                    to increase their ranks within firefighting.
      ``(c) Limitation on Use of Funds.--
              ``(1) Supplement, not supplant.--Funds made available under
            this section to fire departments for salaries and benefits to
            hire new, additional firefighters shall not be used to supplant
            State or local funds, or, in the case of Indian tribal
            governments, funds supplied by the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
            but shall be used to increase the amount of funds that would,
            in the absence of Federal funds received under this section, be
            made available from State or local sources, or in the case of
            Indian tribal governments, from funds supplied by the Bureau of
            Indian Affairs.
              ``(2) Replacement funding prohibited.--No grant shall be
            awarded pursuant to this section to a municipality or other
            recipient whose annual budget at the time of the application
            for fire-related programs and emergency response has been
            reduced below 80 percent of the average funding level in the 3
            years prior to the date of application.
              ``(3) Indian cost-share.--Funds appropriated by the Congress
            for the activities of any agency of an Indian tribal government
            or the Bureau of Indian Affairs performing firefighting
            functions on any Indian lands may be used to provide the non-
            Federal share of the cost of programs or projects funded under
            this section.
      ``(d) Waiver.--In exceptional circumstances, the Director may waive
    the requirements of subsections (a)(1)(B)(ii), (a)(1)(B)(iii), (c)(1),
    and (c)(2) if the Director determines that the jurisdiction is facing
    demonstrated economic hardship in accordance with section 33(a)(8).
      ``(e) Performance Evaluation.--The Director may require a grant
    recipient to submit any information the Director considers reasonably
    necessary to evaluate the program.
      ``(f) Sunset; Reports.--
              ``(1) Sunset.--The authority under this section to make
            grants shall lapse at the end of the 10-year period that begins
            on the date of enactment of the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act
            of 2009.
              ``(2) Report.--Not later than 6 years after such date of
            enactment, the Director shall submit to Congress a report
            concerning the experience with, and effectiveness of, such
            grants in meeting the objectives of this section. The report
            may include any recommendations the Director may have for
            amendments to this section and related provisions of law.
      ``(g) Revocation or Suspension of Funding.--If the Director
    determines that a grant recipient under this section is not in
    substantial compliance with the terms and requirements of an approved
    grant application submitted under this section, the Director may revoke
    or suspend funding of that grant, in whole or in part.
      ``(h) Access to Documents.--
              ``(1) In general.--The Director shall have access for the
            purpose of audit and examination to any pertinent books,
            documents, papers, or records of a grant recipient under this
            section and to the pertinent books, documents, papers, or
            records of State and local governments, persons, businesses,
            and other entities that are involved in programs, projects, or
            activities for which assistance is provided under this section.
              ``(2) Application.--Paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to
            audits and examinations conducted by the Comptroller General of
            the United States or by an authorized representative of the
            Comptroller General.
      ``(i) Definitions.--In this section, the term--
              ``(1) `Director' means the Director, acting through the
            Administrator;
              ``(2) `firefighter' has the meaning given the term `employee
            in fire protection activities' under section 3(y) of the Fair
            Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(y)); and
              ``(3) `Indian tribe' means a tribe, band, pueblo, nation, or
            other organized group or community of Indians, including an
            Alaska Native village (as defined in or established under the
            Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)),
            that is recognized as eligible for the special programs and
            services provided by the United States to Indians because of
            their status as Indians.
      ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
    appropriated for the purposes of carrying out this section
    $1,194,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2014.''.

    SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT.

      (a) Study and Report on Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.--
              (1) Study.--The Administrator of the United States Fire
            Administration, in conjunction with the National Fire
            Protection Association, shall conduct a study to--
                      (A) define the current roles and activities
                    associated with the fire services on a national, State,
                    regional, and local level;
                      (B) identify the equipment, staffing, and training
                    required to fulfill the roles and activities defined
                    under subparagraph (A);
                      (C) conduct an assessment to identify gaps between
                    what fire departments currently possess and what they
                    require to meet the equipment, staffing, and training
                    needs identified under subparagraph (B) on a national
                    and State-by-State basis; and
                      (D) measure the impact of the grant program under
                    section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control
                    Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229) in--
                              (i) meeting the needs of the fire services
                            identified in the report submitted to Congress
                            under section 3603(a) of the Ronald W. Reagan
                            National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
                            Year 2005; and
                              (ii) filling the gaps identified under
                            subparagraph (C).
              (2) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
            enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the
            Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
            Senate and the Committee on Science and Technology of the House
            of Representatives a report on the findings of the study
            described in paragraph (1).
      (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
    appropriated to the Administrator of the United States Fire
    Administration a total of $300,000 for fiscal years 2010 and 2011 to
    carry out subsection (a).

                            II. Purpose of the Bill

        The purpose of H.R. 3791, the Fire Grants Reauthorization
    Act of 2009, is to reauthorize the Assistance to Firefighters
    Grant (AFG) Program and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and
    Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program.

                  III. Background and Need for the Legislation

                    ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT PROGRAM

        Since the AFG program began in FY2001, over $4.8 billion in
    Federal funding has been competitively awarded to local fire
    departments to purchase firefighting and emergency response
    training and equipment. In FY2008, the Federal Emergency
    Management Agency (FEMA) received over 20,000 applications from
    fire departments for AFG funds, requesting over $3 billion. The
    program was created to assist local fire departments in meeting
    the challenge of expanding emergency response capabilities.
    Many local fire departments do not have adequate training and
    equipment. For instance, the National Fire Protection
    Association estimates that 65 percent of fire departments in
    the U.S. do not have enough portable radios to equip all
    firefighters on shift, and that 36 percent of fire departments
    involved in emergency medical response do not have enough
    adequately trained personnel to perform those duties\1\. The
    support for training, equipment, and apparatus provided by the
    AFG Program is especially needed to protect public safety as
    municipalities face severe budget constraints.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\The National Fire Protection Association, Four Years Later: A
    Second Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service, October 2006.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

               STAFFING FOR ADEQUATE FIRE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE

        Over the past five fiscal years, the Staffing for Adequate
    Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Program has competitively
    awarded nearly $700 million to local fire departments for the
    hiring, recruitment, and retention of firefighters. In FY2008,
    FEMA received over one thousand SAFER applications, with
    requests totaling over $500 million. This funding has helped
    fire departments hire firefighters to bring their organizations
    in line with national voluntary consensus standards for safe
    staffing levels. This support is particularly crucial, as a
    tough economy is forcing many localities to lay off personnel.

                            IV. Summary of Hearings

        The Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation, Committee on
    Science and Technology held a hearing on the FIRE Grant
    programs during the 111th Congress on Wednesday, July 8, 2009.
    The hearing, entitled Reauthorization of the FIRE Grants
    Programs, discussed the priorities for AFG and SAFER in
    preparation for their reauthorization. The following witnesses
    provided testimony:
               The Honorable Bill Pascrell, Jr., Member,
            U.S. House of Representatives;
               The Honorable Timothy Manning, Deputy
            Administrator, National Preparedness Directorate, FEMA,
            Department of Homeland Security (DHS);
               Chief Jeffrey Johnson, First Vice President,
            International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and
            Chief, Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue in Aloha,
            Oregon;
               Chief Jack Carriger, Stayton, Oregon Fire
            District Fire Vice Chairman, National Volunteer Fire
            Council (NVFC);
               Mr. Kevin O'Connor, Assistant to the General
            President, International Association of Fire Fighters
            (IAFF);
               Chief Curt Varone, Division Manager, Public
            Fire Protection Division, National Fire Protection
            Association (NFPA); and
               Mr. Ed Carlin, Training Officer, Spalding
            Rural Volunteer Fire Department, Spalding, Nebraska.
        Technology and Innovation Subcommittee Vice-Chairman Lujan
    opened the hearing by discussing the importance of the AFG and
    SAFER programs in helping communities staff and equip their
    fire departments, particularly as the emergency response
    mission of fire departments grows. He noted that the grants
    were essential as many communities faced the problem of
    providing services with shrinking budgets. Vice-Chairman Lujan
    also stated that he hoped the hearing would provide insights on
    reducing the Nation's losses from fire and on changes to AFG
    and SAFER to enable the programs to benefit all fire
    departments.
        The witnesses testified to the importance of Fire Grants in
    helping fire departments develop and maintain their response
    capabilities. They also expressed their concerns that current
    economic conditions made it difficult for local fire
    departments to safely and effectively carry out their missions.
    The priorities the witnesses gave for AFG and SAFER reflected
    the current economic concerns, and broader concerns on enabling
    more departments to take advantage of the funds. The priorities
    included: raising the maximum allowable amount for both AFG and
    SAFER awards; lowering the matching requirements; balancing the
    apportionment of AFG funding between all-career fire
    departments, all-volunteer, and combination career-volunteer;
    and creating authority for waivers for communities facing
    economic hardship.

                              V. Committee Actions

        In the 111th Congress, the House Committee on Science and
    Technology, Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation, held a
    hearing on July 8, 2009 concerning the AFG and SAFER programs.
        On October 13, 2009, Representative Harry Mitchell, for
    himself and Representatives Pascrell, Hoyer, Gordon, Wu,
    Andrews, Grayson, Tonko, Rothman, C. Wilson, Lipinski,
    Carnahan, Costello, Peters, Holden, Shea-Porter, Hirono,
    Hinchey, Michaud, Higgins, Halvorson, Ross, Foster, Langevin,
    McIntyre, Delahunt, Lowey, Kagen, B. Thompson, Richardson,
    Sutton, Cuellar, Kirkpatrick, Clarke, Loretta Sanchez, Lujan,
    T. Ryan, Blackburn, Cleaver, Jackson-Lee, and Doyle, introduced
    H.R. 3791, the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2009. The
    bill was referred to the Committee on Science and Technology,
    which referred the bill to the Subcommittee on Technology and
    Innovation.
        The Subcommittee met to consider H.R. 3791 on October 14,
    2009. The Subcommittee considered the following amendments:
        1. Mr. Wu offered an amendment in the nature of a
    substitute. The amendment changed the style of the bill from a
    ``cut and bite'' series of amendments to a restatement of
    sections 33 and 34 of the Fire Prevention and Control Act of
    1974. The amendment also added a provision authorizing the
    Administrator to establish up to 3 University Fire Safety
    Research Centers from the 10 percent set-aside of funding for
    the Fire Prevention and Safety Grants. The purpose of the
    Centers is to perform research, development, and technology
    transfer activities to significantly reduce fire-related deaths
    and injuries among firefighters and the general public.
    Finally, the amendment added a requirement that the U.S. Fire
    Administration to work with the National Fire Protection
    Association on a needs assessment for the fire service and
    report back to Congress on the results of that needs
    assessment. The amendment was agreed to by voice vote.
        2. Mr. Smith (NE) offered an amendment to amend section 2
    of the amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Mr.
    Wu. The amendment modified the eligibility requirement for the
    Fire Prevention and Safety Grants, authorized under the amended
    paragraph (4) of section 33, requiring that entities that are
    not fire departments, or organizations whose primary purpose is
    fire safety related activities, or organizations recognized for
    their firefighter health and safety research, to partner with a
    fire department. The amendment was agreed to by voice vote.
        3. Mr. Smith (NE) offered an amendment to amend section 2
    of the amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Mr.
    Wu. The amendment expanded the evaluation criteria in the
    amended subparagraph (9)(B) of section 33 to require the
    Director to consider a number of factors, such as population
    served, geographic response area, and financial situation, in
    developing the grant award criteria. The amendment further
    clarified that among the factors considered by the Director,
    applicants serving areas with high populations and a high
    number of incidents shall receive a higher level of
    consideration. The amendment was agreed to by voice vote.
        H.R. 3791, as amended, was agreed to by voice vote.
        Mr. Wu moved that the Subcommittee favorably report H.R.
    3791, as amended, to the Full Committee with the recommendation
    that the bill pass. The motion was agreed to by voice vote.
        The Full Science and Technology Committee met to consider
    H.R. 3791 on October 21, 2009. The Full Committee considered
    the following amendments:
        1. Mr. Mitchell offered an amendment in the nature of a
    substitute that made several modifications to the bill that was
    reported out of the Subcommittee. The amendment: modified the
    language in subsection (c) of section 33, on the University
    Fire Safety Research Centers, to include national fire service
    and fire safety organizations as eligible applicants for center
    funding; added a provision giving special consideration for
    this funding to partnerships between universities and national
    fire service or fire safety organizations; clarified that only
    one fire training academy per state will be able to receive
    funding under the amended section 33 set-aside for fire service
    training academies each fiscal year; added authority to waive
    the requirement that any training purchased with Fire Grant
    funding meet or exceed national voluntary consensus standards
    for such training; added a definition of ``volunteer non-fire
    EMS''; and made other technical and conforming changes. The
    amendment was agreed to by voice vote.
        2. Ms. Johnson (TX) offered an amendment to Mr. Mitchell's
    amendment in the nature of a substitute to include programs for
    raising awareness of preventing job-related mental-health
    issues in the existing provision authorizing section 33 funds
    to be used for firefighter wellness and fitness programs. The
    amendment added minority serving institutions to the special
    consideration language in Mr. Mitchell's amendment in the
    nature of a substitute under the fire safety research centers.
    The amendment was agreed to by voice vote.
        3. Mr. Broun offered an amendment to Mr. Mitchell's
    amendment in the nature of a substitute prohibiting the
    Director from awarding any Fire Prevention and Safety grants to
    the Association of Community Organizations for Reform now
    (ACORN) or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, or allied
    organizations. The amendment was agreed to by roll call vote
    (Y:33, N:5, Present:1).
        4. Mr. Smith (NE) offered an amendment to Mr. Mitchell's
    amendment in the nature of a substitute to express the sense of
    Congress that funding for Assistance to Firefighter Grants
    program has declined over the past five years and that funding
    the program at a high level should be a high priority. The
    amendment was agreed to by voice vote.
        Mr. Tonko (NY) moved that the Committee favorably report
    H.R. 3791, as amended, to the House with the recommendation
    that the bill pass. The motion was agreed to by voice vote.

                  VI. Summary of Major Provisions of the Bill

        H.R. 3791 reauthorizes the Assistance to Firefighters Grant
    (AFG) Program and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency
    Response (SAFER) program.
        For the AFG Program, H.R. 3791:
               Provides an authorization of $1 billion per
            fiscal year from FY2010 to FY2014;
               Requires the Director to apportion the total
            appropriation for AFG, minus 3 percent for
            administrative costs, in the following manner: 25
            percent for career fire departments; 25 percent for
            combination departments; 25 percent for volunteer fire
            departments; 10 percent for Fire Prevention and Safety
            Grants; 2 percent for volunteer, non-fire service EMS
            and rescue organizations; 3 percent ceiling for state
            fire training academies; and 10 percent remaining open
            for competition among all types of fire departments;
               Sets the matching requirements for
            applicants from jurisdictions of a population of 20,000
            or more at 10 percent, and at 5 percent for
            jurisdictions with populations of less than 20,000;
               Sets the maximum allowable size for AFG
            grants depending on the population of the area served
            by the applicants;
               Sets the maintenance of budget requirement
            at 80 percent or above the applicant's previous two
            fiscal year budgets;
               Establishes up to three University Fire
            Safety Research Centers to fund research and
            development to reduce fire related deaths and injuries
            among firefighters and the general public; and
               Gives the Director authority to, in
            exceptional circumstances, issue waivers to departments
            that are unable to meet the matching requirement or the
            maintenance of budget requirement.
        For the SAFER Program, H.R. 3791 has the following
    provisions:
               Provides an authorization of $1.194 billion
            per fiscal year from FY2010 to FY2014;
               Sets the grant period at three years (with
            the requirement that the department retain the hire for
            the entire three-year grant period);
               Sets the local matching requirement at 20
            percent per year of the grant;
               Eliminates an artificial cap on the maximum
            allowable grant size per firefighter;
               Includes an economic hardship waiver for
            departments that are unable to meet the matching
            requirements or maintenance of budget requirements. It
            also provides waivers for requirements that departments
            use the fund to supplement, rather than supplant, local
            funds, as well as the requirement that the funds be
            used to hire additional firefighters rather than retain
            existing personnel.

                        VII. Section-by-Section Analysis

       SECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE FIRE GRANTS REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009

    Sec. 2

        Amendment to Sec. 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and
    Control Act of 1974
                Assistance Program
        (a) AUTHORITY: Allows the Director to make grants on a
    competitive basis to local fire departments and state fire
    training academies to protect against fire and fire-related
    hazards; to provide assistance for fire and fire prevention
    programs; and to provide assistance to volunteer non-fire
    service EMS and rescue organizations.
         USES: Allows the Director to make grants available
    for a variety of purposes related to fire fighting and fire
    safety, including equipment and training.
         FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY: Sets aside 10 percent
    of the appropriated funds for fire prevention and safety
    grants. Such grants may go to local fire departments, or other
    organizations, for fire prevention programs, as well as
    research on fire safety and firefighter health and safety. For
    the purposes of carrying out a grant, organizations that are
    not fire departments must be recognized for their expertise in
    fire prevention and safety programs and partner with a fire
    department. Or, they must engage in fire-related activities as
    a primary function or be recognized for their expertise in
    firefighter-related research. Such grants may not be above
    $1,500,000.
         APPLICATION: Fire departments or other
    organizations seeking grants must submit applications that
    contain information on the financial need of the applicant, the
    cost-to-benefit ratio of the intended purchase, an agreement to
    participate in the national fire data collection system, and a
    list of other sources of Federal funding received by the
    applicant.
         MATCHING REQUIREMENT: Fire departments must match
    any Federal funds received by 10 percent. Fire departments
    serving jurisdictions with fewer than 20,000 people, the
    matching requirement is 5 percent. There is no matching
    requirement for the Fire Prevention and Safety Grants.
         MAINTAINANCE OF EXPENDITURES: Grants may be
    awarded only if the applicant agrees to maintain its budget for
    the uses for which they are applying for the grant at, or
    above, 80 percent of its average for the previous two fiscal
    years.
         ECONOMIC HARDSHIP WAIVER: The Director may waive
    the matching requirement and the maintenance of expenditure
    requirement in cases of exceptional economic hardship. The
    Director shall develop the criteria for the waivers in
    consultation with fire service organizations and organizations
    representing State and local governments. The criteria for the
    waivers will be made publicly available.
         VARIETY OF FIRE DEPARTMENT GRANT RECIPIENTS: The
    grants shall be made to fire departments as follows (if enough
    qualified applicants apply in each category):
               25 percent to career fire departments;
               25 percent to combination fire
            departments;
               25 percent to volunteer fire
            departments; and
               Any remainder not otherwise designated
            under this bill shall be open for competition among all
            fire types of departments.
        The Director shall consider a broad range of factors in
    awarding the grants, but those applicants serving areas with
    high population and with a high number of incidents will
    receive a higher level of consideration.
         REPORT TO THE DIRECTOR: Applicants must report to
    the Director how the assistance was used.
         GRANT LIMITATIONS: The maximum allowable grant
    size a fire department is eligible for will depend on the size
    of the population that department serves, as follows:
               A population of 100,000 or less may receive
            up to $1,000,000
               A population of 100,000 to 500,000 may
            receive up to $2,000,000
               A population of 500,000 to 1,000,000 may
            receive up to $3,000,000
               A population of 1,000,000 to 2,500,000 may
            receive up to $6,000,000
               A population of 2,500,000 or more may
            receive up to $9,000,000.
        Not more than 25 percent of the total appropriation may be
    used to purchase firefighting vehicles.
        State fire training academies are eligible for no more than
    3 percent of the total appropriation. Grants to State fire
    training academies shall be no more than $1,000,000.
        Not less than 2 percent of the funds appropriated shall go
    to volunteer, non-fire service EMS and rescue organizations.
         ALASKA NATIVE VILLAGES: Allows Alaska Native
    Villages to be eligible for grants made under this Act.
         ANNUAL MEETING: Requires the Director to convene
    an annual meeting of fire service organizations to recommend
    criteria for awarding grants the following fiscal year.
         GUIDELINES: Requires the Director to make the
    grant criteria publicly available.
         PEER-REIVEW: Requires that the grants be subjected
    to a peer-review process.
         APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT:
    Exempts the annual meeting and the peer-review process from the
    requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
         ACCOUNTING DETERMINIATION: Requires that, for the
    purposes of receiving assistance under this Act, equipment
    costs encompass all components of the cost, including design
    and assembly (if not commercially available).
        (b) AUDITS: Requires that grant recipients under the Act
    submit to audits.
        (c) UNIVERSITY FIRE SAFETY RESEARCH CENTERS: Authorizes the
    Director to make grants to no institutions of higher education
    to establish and operate no more than three university fire
    safety research centers. The grants are to be used for R&D to
    reduce fire-related death and injuries among the general public
    and firefighters. The Director must also convene a workshop of
    fire safety experts to discuss research needs. The grant awards
    for fire safety research centers shall be made from the 10
    percent allocated to the Fire Safety and Prevention program.
        (d) DEFINITIONS: Definitions provided for Career Fire
    Department; Combination Fire Departments; Director;
    Firefighting Personnel; Institution of Higher Education;
    Volunteer, Non-fire Service EMS and Rescue Organization; and
    Volunteer Fire Department.
        (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS: Authorizes
    appropriations of $1,000,000 from 2010 to 2014, of which not
    more than 3 percent may be used for program administration
    purposes by the Director.

    Sec. 3.

        Amendments to Section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and
    Control Act of 1974.
         EXPANDED AUTHORITY TO MAKE HIRING GRANTS: Directs
    the Director to make competitive grants to career, volunteer,
    and combination fire departments to increase the number of
    firefighters to a level that enables 24-hour staffing of fire
    departments. The grants will be used to hire new, additional
    firefighters and will run for 3 years. The use of grant funds
    to hire firefighters in any jurisdiction may not exceed 80% of
    the total costs of hiring firefighters.
         RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION: Requires that at least
    10% of the total appropriations must be used to recruit and
    retain volunteer firefighters at volunteer or combination fire
    departments and organizations that represent the interests of
    volunteer firefighters.
         APPLICATIONS: Requires that, at a minimum,
    applications must detail why the fire department needs federal
    assistance, how it plans to meet the three year retention
    requirement, and how it will allow the firefighters to
    volunteer in their off-time. The applications must also explain
    how the fire department will work to recruit and hire more
    minority groups and women, as well as how it will retain newly
    hired firefighters past the conclusion of the 3-year grant.
         LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FUNDS: Requires that the
    grant funds should represent an increase of, and not supplant,
    funds provided by state and local governments, or the Bureau of
    Indian Affairs. Also requires that municipalities and other
    recipients maintain their budgets for fire-related and
    emergency response programs at or above 80 percent of their
    previous 3-year average.
         WAIVER: Allows the Director to waive the following
    requirements for recipients facing exceptional economic
    hardship: the 3-year retention requirement of new firefighters
    hired with grant funds; the maintenance of expenditure
    requirement; and the ``supplement versus supplant''
    requirement.
         PERFORMANCE EVALUATION: Allows the Director to
    request any information considered necessary from grant
    recipients.
         SUNSET; REPORTS: The Director's authority to make
    grants ends 10 years after the date of enactment; and, not
    later than 6 years after the date of enactment, the Director
    shall submit a report on the effectiveness of the grants and
    any recommendations for future provisions.
         REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF FUNDING: Allows the
    Director to revoke or suspend any portion of a grant if a
    recipient does not comply with all of the requirements at any
    time.
         ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS: Allows the Director to audit
    any grant recipient and provides access to any needed documents
    in carrying out the audit.
         DEFINITIONS: Defines: Director; firefighter; and
    Indian tribe.
         AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS: Authorizes
    $1,194,000,000 per year for FY2010 through FY2014 for Section
    3.

    Sec. 4. Study & Report

         STUDY AND REPORT IN ASSSTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS
    GRANT PROGRAM: Directs the United States Fire Administration
    and the National Fire Protection Association to conduct a study
    defining the roles and activities of fire services; the
    equipment, staffing, and training needed to carry out these
    roles and activities; the gaps in existing resources required
    to meet these roles; and the impact of grants. Authorizes
    $300,000 per year for FY2010 and FY2011 to conduct the study.

                             VIII. Committee Views

        The Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) and the
    Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER)
    Program are important sources of funding for fire departments,
    helping them to prepare and equip for fighting fires and
    responding to other emergencies. In many communities, this
    support has been instrumental in increasing the safety of
    firefighters and the public. AFG and SAFER are even more
    essential in this difficult economy as local officials across
    the country face providing services with smaller budgets. H.R.
    3791 makes important changes to AFG and SAFER that will ensure
    fire departments can continue to take advantage of this funding
    and meet the demands of protecting public safety.

                               AFG APPORTIONMENT

        H.R. 3791 requires, to the extent that qualified applicants
    apply, that each category of fire department--career,
    volunteer, and combination--will receive at least 25 percent of
    the total funding available for the AFG program each fiscal
    year. This reflects a desire by key stakeholders to increase
    the proportion of AFG funding awarded to larger departments
    that tend to protect higher populations of citizens. For the
    purpose of grouping applicants with a particular fire
    department category, fire departments whose personnel are paid-
    on-call or receive a stipend should be considered as
    combination departments. The total available funding is the
    amount remaining each fiscal year after the Administrator has
    set-aside up to 3 percent of the AFG appropriation for program
    administration. The remaining amount of the total available AFG
    funding that is not designated for use under paragraph (4),
    subparagraph (10)(C), and subparagraph (10)(D) of the amended
    Section 33, will be available for competition by any type of
    fire department.

                           AFG AND SAFER REQUIREMENTS

        The modifications to AFG and SAFER requirements in H.R.
    3791 will help ensure that those departments with greatest need
    can apply for Federal funding. The bill lowers the AFG matching
    requirement to 10 percent for departments serving communities
    of 20,000 people or more. Those fire departments serving
    communities of fewer than 20,000 will continue to pay a 5
    percent match. Reducing the matching requirement opens the
    program to departments previously unable to afford the match
    and helps ensure that communities hit by the economic downturn
    will be able to compete for AFG funding. H.R. 3791 also
    modifies the budget maintenance requirement for AFG. The bill
    requires fire departments to maintain their budgets for the
    activities described under paragraphs (3) and (4) at or above
    80 percent of the two previous fiscal years in order to be
    eligible for an AFG award. Modifying the budget maintenance
    requirement allows flexibility to departments affected by the
    economic downturn and to those attempting to make multiple
    large purchases. However, it still ensures a strong local
    commitment to providing fire protection.
        H.R. 3791 also modifies the matching requirement for SAFER
    to enable more departments to apply. Particularly in a tough
    economy, some communities are dissuaded from applying for SAFER
    funds due to the difficulty in planning for a 5-year commitment
    with an increasing local match. The change to a consistent 20
    percent match over a 3-year period makes this planning easier
    for local officials and encourages fire departments to apply
    for the grants they need.
        The waiver authority provision in H.R. 3791 also provides
    an important tool to increase the availability of these grants.
    The waiver may be used by the Administrator in exceptional
    circumstances to ensure that those communities with the
    greatest need can receive SAFER and AFG awards.

                                  AWARD SIZES

        The increases made in H.R. 3791 to the maximum size of the
    AFG awards will allow fire departments that serve large
    populations to apply for the amount of funding that will best
    meet their needs. In addition to helping America's metropolitan
    areas, this provision also helps areas that have consolidated
    multiple fire departments into a unified fire service to serve
    multiple towns, counties, or other jurisdictional divisions. In
    addition, the elimination of the $100,000-per-firefighter cap
    for SAFER grants reflects the differences in hiring costs for
    fire departments in different parts of the country.

                       FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS

        The Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) grants are an
    important component of AFG. Each year, approximately 3,000
    people die in fires and at least 16,000 are injured. Statistics
    show that fire deaths and injuries more frequently affect
    minority populations, and those living in poverty. In addition,
    over 100 firefighters die each year in the line of duty. FP&S
    grants should work to reduce these deaths and injuries. The
    Fire Safety Research Centers included in H.R. 3791 could
    provide important research and technology transfer capabilities
    to increase the safety of firefighters and protect the public
    from fires.
        It is the Committee's intention that, with respect to the
    requirement under this section that certain non-fire department
    entities partner with fire departments, the term ``partner''
    may be passive, and carries no expectation of a commitment of
    people or resources on the part of the partnering fire
    department.

                  ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTER GRANTS, GENERALLY

        H.R. 3791 also includes state fire training academies as
    eligible for up to 3 percent of total available AFG funding.
    This reflects the important function academies perform in
    training the fire service and will ensure greater access to
    firefighting equipment and apparatus. In addition, up to 2
    percent of the total available funding may go for volunteer,
    non-fire service affiliated EMS and rescue organizations. Such
    organizations provide vital assistance in areas not served by
    other EMS providers.
        Section 33 of the Firefighter Assistance (a)(1)(A) makes
    grants on a competitive basis directly to fire departments of a
    State. Fire departments of a State include fire departments
    operated and maintained by state agencies or departments. The
    Committee recognizes state run fire departments are vital to
    enhancing the mutual aid system throughout the nation and
    allows for a better coordinated approach to both natural and
    intentional disasters. The Committee expects State operated or
    maintained fire departments will coordinate with local agencies
    to build regional capabilities.
        Finally, new and innovative fire fighting and fire
    suppression technologies can be important tools to reduce
    safety risks to firefighters, reduce property damage, and
    lessen the environmental impact of fire suppression efforts.
    Therefore, applications to utilize these cutting edge
    technologies should be considered by the Administrator.

                               IX. Cost Estimate

        A cost estimate and comparison prepared by the Director of
    the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
    Congressional Budget Act of 1974 has been timely submitted to
    the Committee on Science and Technology prior to the filing of
    this report and is included in Section X of this report
    pursuant to House Rule XIII, clause 3(c)(3).
        H.R. 3791 does not contain new budget authority, credit
    authority, or changes in revenues or tax expenditures. Assuming
    that sums authorized under the bill are appropriated, H.R. 3791
    does authorize additional discretionary spending, as described
    in the Congressional Budget Office report on the bill, which is
    contained in Section X of this report.

                  X. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                                      November 2, 2009.
    Hon. Bart Gordon,
    Chairman, Committee on Science and Technology,
    House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
        Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
    prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3791, the Fire
    Grants Reauthorization Act of 2009.
        If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
    pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Daniel
    Hoople.
                Sincerely,
                                                  Douglas W. Elmendorf.
        Enclosure.

    H.R. 3791--Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2009

        Summary: H.R. 3791 would authorize appropriations totalling
    $9.8 billion in addition to that already authorized under
    current law for the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) to aid in
    preventing and responding to fires and other related hazards.
    CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would cost
    about $6.0 billion over the 2010-2014 period and $3.8 million
    thereafter, assuming appropriation of the specified amounts.
    Enacting H.R. 3791 would not affect direct spending or
    revenues.
        H.R. 3791 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
    mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
    and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
    governments.
        Estimated Cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
    budgetary impact of H.R. 3791 is shown in the following table.
    The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 450
    (community and regional development).

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      By fiscal year in millions of dollars--
                                                             -------------------------------------------------------
                                                                2010     2011     2012     2013     2014   2010-2014
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

    Assistance to Firefighters Grants
        Authorization Level.................................    1,000    1,000    1,000    1,000    1,000     5,000
        Estimated Outlays...................................       50      550      800      950      990     3,340
    Fire Grants (SAFER)
        Authorization Level\1\..............................        0    1,194    1,194    1,194    1,194     4,776
        Estimated Outlays...................................        0       25      535      900    1,190     2,650
    Studies and Reports
        Authorization Level.................................        *        *        0        0        0         1
        Estimated Outlays...................................        *        *        *        0        0         1
    Total Changes
        Authorization Level.................................    1,000    2,194    2,194    2,194    2,194     9,777
        Estimated Outlays...................................       50      575    1,335    1,850    2,180    5,991
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Note: SAFER = Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response; * = less than $500,000.
    \1\H.R. 3791 would authorize the appropriation of $1,194 million for fiscal year 2010 for the SAFER program,
      which is equal to the amount authorized under current law for that year (see Public Law 108-136).

        Basis of Estimate:
        Assistance to Firefighters Grants: H.R. 3791 would
    authorize the appropriation of $1 billion in each of fiscal
    years 2010 through 2014 for the USFA to award grants to fire
    departments, state fire training academies, and other
    organizations. In 2009, the Congress provided $565 million for
    this purpose (see Public Law 110-329).
        Established in 2000, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant
    (AFG) program provides funding to hire additional personnel,
    modify facilities, and obtain equipment, protective gear,
    emergency vehicles, training, and other resources to respond to
    fire and related hazards. H.R. 3791 would expand program
    eligibility to include state fire training academies and would
    increase minimum funding for fire prevention and safety
    programs from 5 percent to 10 percent. Additionally, the
    legislation would reduce the grantee matching requirement from
    20 percent to 10 percent.
        Based on historical spending patterns, CBO estimates that
    implementing the AFG program under the legislation would cost
    about $3.3 billion over the 2010-2014 period and about $1.7
    billion thereafter, assuming appropriation of the specified
    amounts.
        Fire Grants (SAFER): H.R. 3791 would authorize the
    appropriation of about $1.2 billion in each of fiscal years
    2010 through 2014 for the USFA to award grants to departments
    staffed with all career members, with all volunteer members,
    and those with both career and volunteer members. In 2009, the
    Congress provided $210 million for this purpose (see Public Law
    110-329). For 2010, the Congress has already authorized the
    appropriation of about $1.2 billion for the program (see Public
    Law 108-136).
        Established in 2003, the Staffing for Adequate Fire and
    Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program provides funding to
    hire additional firefighters and to recruit and retain
    volunteer firefighters. H.R. 3791 would reduce the term of a
    SAFER grant from four years to three years and would require
    grantees to commit to retaining an additional hire for at least
    three years. Under current law, grantees are required to retain
    any subsidized personnel for one year beyond the termination of
    funding for that position. Additionally, the legislation would
    limit grant funding to 80 percent of the cost of hiring a
    firefighter for the duration of the grant. Under current law,
    grants cover 90 percent of the cost of a new hire in the first
    year. This proportion gradually decreases to 30 percent in the
    fourth year.
        CBO estimates that implementing the SAFER program under the
    legislation would cost about $2.7 billion over the 2010-2014
    period and about $2.1 billion thereafter, assuming
    appropriation of the specified amounts.
        Studies and Reports; H.R. 3791 would authorize the
    appropriation of $300,000 for each of 2010 and 2011 for the
    USFA to conduct a study of the resources and needs of fire
    services at the national, regional, and local level, and the
    impact that grant programs have had on those areas. Based on
    the spending patterns of similar studies, and assuming the
    appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that
    implementing this provision would cost $600,000 over the 2010-
    2012 period.
        Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 3791
    contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
    defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or
    tribal governments. Those governments would benefit from the
    authorization of appropriations in this bill for grants and
    technical assistance. Any costs to those governments would be
    incurred voluntarily as conditions of federal assistance.
        Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Daniel Hoople; Impact
    on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa Merrell;
    Impact on the Private Sector: Amy Petz.
        Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
    Director for Budget Analysis.

                      XI. Compliance With Public Law 104-4

        H.R. 3791 contains no unfunded mandates.

             XII. Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

        The Committee on Science and Technology's oversight
    findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this
    report.

          XIII. Statement on General Performance Goals and Objectives

        Pursuant to clause (3)(c) of House rule XIII, the goal of
    H.R. 3791 is to improve the safety of firefighters and the
    public through a program of direct grant assistance to fire
    departments, and other organizations, to purchase equipment,
    vehicles, training, and engage in fire prevention and safety
    research and other activities, as well as to hire additional
    firefighters.

                    XIV. Constitutional Authority Statement

        Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
    States grants Congress the authority to enact H.R. 3791.

                    XV. Federal Advisory Committee Statement

        H.R. 3791 does not establish nor authorize the
    establishment of an advisory committee, pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
    App.

                     XVI. Congressional Accountability Act

        The Committee finds that H.R. 3791 does not relate to the
    terms and conditions of employment or access to public services
    or accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of
    the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 104-1).

                          XVII. Earmark Identification

        H.R. 3791 does not contain any congressional earmarks,
    limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
    House rule XXI, clause 9.

         XVIII. Statement on Preemption of State, Local, or Tribal Law

        The bill is not intended to preempt any state, local, or
    tribal law.

           XIX. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, As Reported

      In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
    the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
    the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
    proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
    matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
    proposed is shown in roman):

    FEDERAL FIRE PREVENTION AND CONTROL ACT OF 1974

               *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    [SEC. 33. FIREFIGHTER ASSISTANCE.

      [(a) Definition of Firefighting Personnel.--In this section,
    the term ``firefighting personnel'' means individuals,
    including volunteers, who are firefighters, officers of fire
    departments, or emergency medical service personnel of fire
    departments.
      [(b) Assistance Program.--
              [(1) Authority.--In accordance with this section, the
            Director may--
                      [(A) make grants on a competitive basis
                    directly to fire departments of a State, in
                    consultation with the chief executive of the
                    State, for the purpose of protecting the health
                    and safety of the public and firefighting
                    personnel throughout the Nation against fire
                    and fire-related hazards;
                      [(B) provide assistance for fire prevention
                    and firefighter safety research and development
                    programs in accordance with paragraph (4); and
                      [(C) provide assistance for nonaffiliated EMS
                    organizations for the purpose of paragraph
                    (3)(F).
              [(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.
              [(3) Use of fire department grant funds.--The
            Director may make a grant under paragraph (1)(A) only
            if the applicant for the grant agrees to use the grant
            funds for one or more of the following purposes:
                      [(A) To hire additional firefighting
                    personnel.
                      [(B) To train firefighting personnel in
                    firefighting, emergency response (including
                    response to a terrorism incident or use of a
                    weapon of mass destruction), arson prevention
                    and detection, maritime firefighting, or the
                    handling of hazardous materials, or to train
                    firefighting personnel to provide any of the
                    training described in this subparagraph.
                      [(C) To fund the creation of rapid
                    intervention teams to protect firefighting
                    personnel at the scenes of fires and other
                    emergencies.
                      [(D) To certify fire inspectors.
                      [(E) To establish wellness and fitness
                    programs for firefighting personnel to ensure
                    that the firefighting personnel can carry out
                    their duties.
                      [(F) To fund emergency medical services
                    provided by fire departments and nonaffiliated
                    EMS organizations.
                      [(G) To acquire additional firefighting
                    vehicles, including fire trucks.
                      [(H) To acquire additional firefighting
                    equipment, including equipment for fighting
                    fires with foam in remote areas without access
                    to water, and equipment for communications,
                    monitoring, and response to a terrorism
                    incident or use of a weapon of mass
                    destruction.
                      [(I) To acquire personal protective equipment
                    required for firefighting personnel by the
                    Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
                    and other personal protective equipment for
                    firefighting personnel, including protective
                    equipment to respond to a terrorism incident or
                    the use of a weapon of mass destruction.
                      [(J) To modify fire stations, fire training
                    facilities, and other facilities to protect the
                    health and safety of firefighting personnel.
                      [(K) To enforce fire codes.
                      [(L) To fund fire prevention programs.
                      [(M) To educate the public about arson
                    prevention and detection.
                      [(N) To provide incentives for the
                    recruitment and retention of volunteer
                    firefighting personnel for volunteer
                    firefighting departments and other firefighting
                    departments that utilize volunteers.
              [(4) Fire prevention and firefighter safety research
            and development programs.--
                      [(A) In general.--For each fiscal year, the
                    Director shall use not less than 5 percent of
                    the funds made available under subsection (e)--
                              [(i) to make grants to fire
                            departments for the purpose described
                            in paragraph (3)(L); and
                              [(ii) to make grants to, or enter
                            into contracts or cooperative
                            agreements with, national, State,
                            local, or community organizations that
                            are not fire departments and that are
                            recognized for their experience and
                            expertise with respect to fire
                            prevention or fire safety programs and
                            activities, and firefighter research
                            and development programs, for the
                            purpose of carrying out fire prevention
                            programs and research to improve
                            firefighter health and life safety.
                      [(B) Priority.--In selecting organizations
                    described in subparagraph (A)(ii) to receive
                    assistance under this paragraph, the Director
                    shall give priority to organizations that focus
                    on prevention of injuries to high risk groups
                    from fire, as well as research programs that
                    demonstrate the potential to improve
                    firefighter safety.
                      [(C) Grant limitation.--A grant under this
                    paragraph shall not be greater than $1,000,000
                    for a fiscal year.
              [(5) Application.--The Director may provide
            assistance to a fire department or organization under
            this subsection only if the fire department or
            organization seeking the assistance submits to the
            Director an application that meets the following
            requirements:
                      [(A) Form.--The application shall be in such
                    form as the Director may require.
                      [(B) Information.--The application shall
                    include the following information:
                              [(i) Financial need.--Information
                            that demonstrates the financial need of
                            the applicant for the assistance for
                            which applied.
                              [(ii) Cost-benefit analysis.--An
                            analysis of the costs and benefits,
                            with respect to public safety, of the
                            use of the assistance.
                              [(iii) Reporting systems data.--An
                            agreement to provide information to the
                            national fire incident reporting system
                            for the period covered by the
                            assistance.
                              [(iv) Other federal support.--A list
                            of other sources of Federal funding
                            received by the applicant. The
                            Director, in coordination with the
                            Secretary of Homeland Security, shall
                            use such list to prevent unnecessary
                            duplication of grant funds.
                              [(v) Other information.--Any other
                            information that the Director may
                            require.
              [(6) Matching requirement.--
                      [(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraphs
                    (B) and (C), the Director may provide
                    assistance under this subsection only if the
                    applicant for such assistance agrees to match
                    20 percent of such assistance for any fiscal
                    year with an equal amount of non-Federal funds.
                      [(B) Requirement for small community
                    organizations.--In the case of an applicant
                    whose personnel--
                              [(i) serve jurisdictions of 50,000 or
                            fewer residents, the percent applied
                            under the matching requirement of
                            subparagraph (A) shall be 10 percent;
                            and
                              [(ii) serve jurisdictions of 20,000
                            or fewer residents, the percent applied
                            under the matching requirement of
                            subparagraph (A) shall be 5 percent.
                      [(C) Fire prevention and firefighter safety
                    grants.--There shall be no matching requirement
                    for a grant described in paragraph (4)(A)(ii).
              [(7) Maintenance of expenditures.--The Director may
            provide assistance under this subsection only if the
            applicant for the assistance agrees to maintain in the
            fiscal year for which the assistance will be received
            the applicant's aggregate expenditures for the uses
            described in paragraph (3) or (4) at or above the
            average level of such expenditures in the two fiscal
            years preceding the fiscal year for which the
            assistance will be received.
              [(8) Report to the director.--The Director may
            provide assistance under this subsection only if the
            applicant for the assistance agrees to submit to the
            Director a report, including a description of how the
            assistance was used, with respect to each fiscal year
            for which the assistance was received.
              [(9) Variety of fire department grant recipients.--
            The Director shall ensure that grants under paragraph
            (1)(A) for a fiscal year are made to a variety of fire
            departments, including, to the extent that there are
            eligible applicants--
                      [(A) paid, volunteer, and combination fire
                    departments;
                      [(B) fire departments located in communities
                    of varying sizes; and
                      [(C) fire departments located in urban,
                    suburban, and rural communities.
              [(10) Grant limitations.--
                      [(A) Recipient limitations.--A grant
                    recipient under subsection (b)(1)(A)--
                              [(i) that serves a jurisdiction with
                            500,000 people or less may not receive
                            grants in excess of $1,000,000 for any
                            fiscal year;
                              [(ii) that serves a jurisdiction with
                            more than 500,000 but not more than
                            1,000,000 people may not receive grants
                            in excess of $1,750,000 for any fiscal
                            year; and
                              [(iii) that serves a jurisdiction
                            with more than 1,000,000 people may not
                            receive grants in excess of $2,750,000
                            for any fiscal year.
                    The Director may award grants in excess of the
                    limitations provided in clause (i) and (ii) if
                    the Director determines that extraordinary need
                    for assistance by a jurisdiction warrants a
                    waiver.
                      [(B) Distribution.--Notwithstanding
                    subparagraph (A), no single recipient may
                    receive more than the lesser of $2,750,000 or
                    one half of one percent of the funds
                    appropriated under this section for a single
                    fiscal year.
                      [(C) Limitation on expenditures for
                    firefighting vehicles.--Not more than 25
                    percent of the funds appropriated to provide
                    grants under this section for a fiscal year may
                    be used to assist grant recipients to purchase
                    vehicles, as authorized by paragraph (3)(G).
                      [(D) Requirements for grants for emergency
                    medical services.--Subject to the restrictions
                    in subparagraph (E), not less than 3.5 percent
                    of the funds appropriated under this section
                    for a fiscal year shall be awarded for purposes
                    described in paragraph (3)(F).
                      [(E) Nonaffiliated ems limitation.--Not more
                    than 2 percent of the funds appropriated to
                    provide grants under this section for a fiscal
                    year shall be awarded to nonaffiliated EMS
                    organizations.
                      [(F) Application of selection criteria to
                    grant applications from nonaffiliated ems
                    organizations.--In reviewing applications
                    submitted by nonaffiliated EMS organizations,
                    the Director shall consider the extent to which
                    other sources of Federal funding are available
                    to provide assistance requested in such grant
                    applications.
              [(11) Reservation of grant funds for volunteer
            departments.--In making grants to firefighting
            departments, the Director shall ensure that those
            firefighting departments that have either all-volunteer
            forces of firefighting personnel or combined forces of
            volunteer and professional firefighting personnel
            receive a proportion of the total grant funding that is
            not less than the proportion of the United States
            population that those firefighting departments protect.
              [(12) Eligible grantee on behalf of alaska native
            villages.--The Alaska Village Initiatives, a non-profit
            organization incorporated in the State of Alaska, shall
            be considered an eligible grantee for purposes of
            receiving assistance under this section on behalf of
            Alaska Native villages.
              [(13) Annual meeting.--The Director shall convene an
            annual meeting of individuals who are members of
            national fire service organizations and are recognized
            for expertise in firefighting or emergency medical
            services provided by fire services, and who are not
            employees of the Federal Government, for the purpose of
            recommending criteria for awarding grants under this
            section for the next fiscal year and recommending any
            necessary administrative changes to the grant program.
              [(14) Guidelines.--(A) Each year, prior to making any
            grants under this section, the Director shall publish
            in the Federal Register--
                      [(i) guidelines that describe the process for
                    applying for grants and the criteria for
                    awarding grants; and
                      [(ii) an explanation of any differences
                    between the guidelines and the recommendations
                    made pursuant to paragraph (13).
              [(B) The criteria for awarding grants under
            subsection (b)(1)(A) shall include the extent to which
            the grant would enhance the daily operations of the
            applicant and the impact of such a grant on the
            protection of lives and property.
              [(15) Peer review.--The Director shall, after
            consultation with national fire service organizations,
            appoint fire service personnel to conduct peer review
            of applications received under paragraph (5). In making
            grants under this section, the Director shall consider
            the results of such peer review evaluations.
              [(16) Applicability of federal advisory committee
            act.--The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.
            App.) shall not apply to activities under paragraphs
            (13) and (15).
              [(17) Accounting determination.--Notwithstanding any
            other provision of law, rule, regulation, or guidance,
            for purposes of receiving assistance under this
            section, equipment costs shall include, but not be
            limited to, all costs attributable to any design,
            purchase of components, assembly, manufacture, and
            transportation of equipment not otherwise commercially
            available.
      [(c) Audits.--A recipient of a grant under this section shall
    be subject to audits to ensure that the grant proceeds are
    expended for the intended purposes and that the grant recipient
    complies with the requirements of paragraphs (6) and (7) of
    subsection (b).
      [(d) Definitions.--In this section--
              [(1) the term ``Director'' means the Director, acting
            through the Administrator;
              [(2) the term ``nonaffiliated EMS organization''
            means a public or private nonprofit emergency medical
            services organization that is not affiliated with a
            hospital and does not serve a geographic area in which
            the Director finds that emergency medical services are
            adequately provided by a fire department; and
              [(3) the term ``State'' includes the District of
            Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
      [(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--
              [(1) In general.--There are authorized to be
            appropriated for the purposes of this section
            $900,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, $950,000,000 for
            fiscal year 2006, and $1,000,000,000 for each of the
            fiscal years 2007 through 2009. Of the amounts
            authorized in this paragraph, $3,000,000 shall be made
            available each year through fiscal year 2008 for foam
            firefighting equipment.
              [(2) Administrative expenses.--Of the funds
            appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) for a fiscal
            year, the Director may use not more than three percent
            of the funds to cover salaries and expenses and other
            administrative costs incurred by the Director to make
            grants and provide assistance under this section.

    [SEC. 34. EXPANSION OF PRE-SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, FIRE GRANT PROGRAM.

      [(a) Expanded Authority To Make Grants.--
              [(1) Hiring grants.--(A) The Administrator shall make
            grants directly to career, volunteer, and combination
            fire departments, in consultation with the chief
            executive of the State in which the applicant is
            located, for the purpose of increasing the number of
            firefighters to help communities meet industry minimum
            standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide
            adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards,
            and to fulfill traditional missions of fire departments
            that antedate the creation of the Department of
            Homeland Security.
              [(B)(i) Grants made under this paragraph shall be for
            4 years and be used for programs to hire new,
            additional firefighters.
              [(ii) Grantees are required to commit to retaining
            for at least 1 year beyond the termination of their
            grants those firefighters hired under this paragraph.
              [(C) In awarding grants under this subsection, the
            Administrator may give preferential consideration to
            applications that involve a non-Federal contribution
            exceeding the minimums under subparagraph (E).
              [(D) The Administrator may provide technical
            assistance to States, units of local government, Indian
            tribal governments, and to other public entities, in
            furtherance of the purposes of this section.
              [(E) The portion of the costs of hiring firefighters
            provided by a grant under this paragraph may not
            exceed--
                      [(i) 90 percent in the first year of the
                    grant;
                      [(ii) 80 percent in the second year of the
                    grant;
                      [(iii) 50 percent in the third year of the
                    grant; and
                      [(iv) 30 percent in the fourth year of the
                    grant.
              [(F) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any
            firefighter hired with funds provided under this
            subsection shall not be discriminated against for, or
            be prohibited from, engaging in volunteer activities in
            another jurisdiction during off-duty hours.
              [(G) All grants made pursuant to this subsection
            shall be awarded on a competitive basis through a
            neutral peer review process.
              [(H) At the beginning of the fiscal year, the
            Administrator shall set aside 10 percent of the funds
            appropriated for carrying out this paragraph for
            departments with majority volunteer or all volunteer
            personnel. After awards have been made, if less than 10
            percent of the funds appropriated for carrying out this
            paragraph are not awarded to departments with majority
            volunteer or all volunteer personnel, the Administrator
            shall transfer from funds appropriated for carrying out
            this paragraph to funds available for carrying out
            paragraph (2) an amount equal to the difference between
            the amount that is provided to such fire departments
            and 10 percent.
              [(2) Recruitment and retention grants.--In addition
            to any amounts transferred under paragraph (1)(H), the
            Administrator shall direct at least 10 percent of the
            total amount of funds appropriated pursuant to this
            section annually to a competitive grant program for the
            recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters who
            are involved with or trained in the operations of
            firefighting and emergency response. Eligible entities
            shall include volunteer or combination fire
            departments, and organizations on a local or statewide
            basis that represent the interests of volunteer
            firefighters.
      [(b) Applications.--(1) No grant may be made under this
    section unless an application has been submitted to, and
    approved by, the Administrator.
      [(2) An application for a grant under this section shall be
    submitted in such form, and contain such information, as the
    Administrator may prescribe.
      [(3) At a minimum, each application for a grant under this
    section shall--
              [(A) explain the applicant's inability to address the
            need without Federal assistance;
              [(B) in the case of a grant under subsection (a)(1),
            explain how the applicant plans to meet the
            requirements of subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii) and (F);
              [(C) specify long-term plans for retaining
            firefighters following the conclusion of Federal
            support provided under this section; and
              [(D) provide assurances that the applicant will, to
            the extent practicable, seek, recruit, and hire members
            of racial and ethnic minority groups and women in order
            to increase their ranks within firefighting.
      [(c) Limitation on Use of Funds.--(1) Funds made available
    under this section to fire departments for salaries and
    benefits to hire new, additional firefighters shall not be used
    to supplant State or local funds, or, in the case of Indian
    tribal governments, funds supplied by the Bureau of Indian
    Affairs, but shall be used to increase the amount of funds that
    would, in the absence of Federal funds received under this
    section, be made available from State or local sources, or in
    the case of Indian tribal governments, from funds supplied by
    the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
      [(2) No grant shall be awarded pursuant to this section to a
    municipality or other recipient whose annual budget at the time
    of the application for fire-related programs and emergency
    response has been reduced below 80 percent of the average
    funding level in the 3 years prior to the date of enactment of
    this section.
      [(3) Funds appropriated by the Congress for the activities of
    any agency of an Indian tribal government or the Bureau of
    Indian Affairs performing firefighting functions on any Indian
    lands may be used to provide the non-Federal share of the cost
    of programs or projects funded under this section.
      [(4)(A) Total funding provided under this section over 4
    years for hiring a firefighter may not exceed $100,000.
      [(B) The $100,000 cap shall be adjusted annually for
    inflation beginning in fiscal year 2005.
      [(d) Performance Evaluation.--The Administrator may require a
    grant recipient to submit any information the Administrator
    considers reasonably necessary to evaluate the program.
      [(e) Sunset and Reports.--The authority under this section to
    make grants shall lapse at the conclusion of 10 years from the
    date of enactment of this section. Not later than 6 years after
    the date of the enactment of this section, the Administrator
    shall submit a report to Congress concerning the experience
    with, and effectiveness of, such grants in meeting the
    objectives of this section. The report may include any
    recommendations the Administrator may have for amendments to
    this section and related provisions of law.
      [(f) Revocation or Suspension of Funding.--If the
    Administrator determines that a grant recipient under this
    section is not in substantial compliance with the terms and
    requirements of an approved grant application submitted under
    this section, the Administrator may revoke or suspend funding
    of that grant, in whole or in part.
      [(g) Access to Documents.--(1) The Administrator shall have
    access for the purpose of audit and examination to any
    pertinent books, documents, papers, or records of a grant
    recipient under this section and to the pertinent books,
    documents, papers, or records of State and local governments,
    persons, businesses, and other entities that are involved in
    programs, projects, or activities for which assistance is
    provided under this section.
      [(2) Paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to audits and
    examinations conducted by the Comptroller General of the United
    States or by an authorized representative of the Comptroller
    General.
      [(h) Definitions.--In this section, the term--
              [(1) ``firefighter'' has the meaning given the term
            ``employee in fire protection activities'' under
            section 3(y) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C.
            203(y)); and
              [(2) ``Indian tribe'' means a tribe, band, pueblo,
            nation, or other organized group or community of
            Indians, including an Alaska Native village (as defined
            in or established under the Alaska Native Claims
            Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)), that is
            recognized as eligible for the special programs and
            services provided by the United States to Indians
            because of their status as Indians.
      [(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
    to be appropriated for the purposes of carrying out this
    section--
              [(1) $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;
              [(2) $1,030,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;
              [(3) $1,061,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;
              [(4) $1,093,000,000 for fiscal year 2007;
              [(5) $1,126,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
              [(6) $1,159,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and
              [(7) $1,194,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.]

    SEC. 33. FIREFIGHTER ASSISTANCE.

      (a) Assistance Program.--
              (1) Authority.--In accordance with this section, the
            Director may--
                      (A) make grants on a competitive basis
                    directly to fire departments of a State, in
                    consultation with the chief executive of the
                    State, for the purpose of protecting the health
                    and safety of the public and firefighting
                    personnel throughout the Nation against fire
                    and fire-related hazards;
                      (B) make grants on a competitive basis
                    directly to State fire training academies, in
                    consultation with the chief executive of the
                    State, in accordance with paragraph (11)(C);
                      (C) provide assistance for fire prevention
                    and firefighter safety research and development
                    programs and fire prevention or fire safety
                    programs and activities in accordance with
                    paragraph (4); and
                      (D) provide assistance for volunteer, non-
                    fire service EMS and rescue organizations for
                    the purpose of paragraph (3)(F).
              (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.
              (3) Use of fire department grant funds.--The Director
            may make a grant under paragraph (1)(A) only if the
            applicant for the grant agrees to use the grant funds
            for one or more of the following purposes:
                      (A) To hire additional firefighting
                    personnel.
                      (B) To train firefighting personnel in
                    firefighting, emergency medical services and
                    other emergency response (including response to
                    a terrorism incident or use of a weapon of mass
                    destruction), arson prevention and detection,
                    maritime firefighting, or the handling of
                    hazardous materials or to train firefighting
                    personnel to provide any of the training
                    described in this subparagraph.
                      (C) To fund the creation of rapid
                    intervention teams to protect firefighting
                    personnel at the scenes of fires and other
                    emergencies.
                      (D) To certify fire and building inspectors
                    employed by a fire department or serving as a
                    volunteer building inspector with a fire
                    department.
                      (E) To establish wellness and fitness
                    programs for firefighting personnel to ensure
                    that the firefighting personnel can carry out
                    their duties, including programs dedicated to
                    raising awareness of, and prevention of, job-
                    related mental health issues.
                      (F) To fund emergency medical services
                    provided by fire departments and volunteer,
                    non-fire service EMS and rescue organizations.
                      (G) To acquire additional firefighting
                    vehicles, including fire trucks.
                      (H) To acquire additional firefighting
                    equipment, including equipment for
                    communications, monitoring, and response to a
                    terrorism incident or use of a weapon of mass
                    destruction.
                      (I) To acquire personal protective equipment
                    required for firefighting personnel by the
                    Occupational Safety and Health Administration
                    and other personal protective equipment for
                    firefighting personnel, including protective
                    equipment to respond to a terrorism incident or
                    the use of a weapon of mass destruction.
                      (J) To modify fire stations, fire training
                    facilities, and other facilities to protect the
                    health and safety of firefighting personnel.
                      (K) To enforce fire codes and standards.
                      (L) To fund fire prevention programs.
                      (M) To educate the public about arson
                    prevention and detection.
                      (N) To provide incentives for the recruitment
                    and retention of volunteer firefighting
                    personnel for volunteer firefighting
                    departments and other firefighting departments
                    that utilize volunteers.
              (4) Fire prevention and firefighter safety research
            and development programs.--
                      (A) In general.--For each fiscal year, the
                    Director shall use not less than 10 percent of
                    the funds made available under subsection (e)--
                              (i) to make grants to fire
                            departments for the purpose described
                            in paragraph (3)(L);
                              (ii) to make grants to, or enter into
                            contracts or cooperative agreements
                            with, national, State, local, or
                            community organizations that are not
                            fire departments but--
                                      (I) that are recognized for
                                    their experience and expertise
                                    with respect to fire prevention
                                    or fire safety programs and
                                    activities and that partner
                                    with fire departments, for the
                                    purpose of carrying out such
                                    programs and activities;
                                      (II) engage in fire- and life
                                    safety-related activities as a
                                    primary purpose or function,
                                    for the purpose of carrying out
                                    fire prevention or fire safety
                                    programs and activities; or
                                      (III) that are recognized for
                                    their experience and expertise
                                    with respect to firefighter
                                    research and development
                                    programs, for the purpose of
                                    carrying out research on fire
                                    prevention or fire safety
                                    programs and activities or to
                                    improve firefighter health and
                                    life safety; and
                              (iii) if the Director determines that
                            it is necessary, to make grants or
                            enter into contracts in accordance with
                            subsection (c).
                      (B) Priority.--In selecting organizations
                    described in subparagraph (A)(ii) to receive
                    assistance under this paragraph, the Director
                    shall give priority to organizations that focus
                    on prevention of injuries to high risk groups
                    from fire, as well as research programs that
                    demonstrate the potential to improve
                    firefighter safety.
                      (C) Grant limitation.--A grant under this
                    paragraph shall not exceed $1,500,000 for a
                    fiscal year.
                      (D) Limitation.--None of the funds made
                    available under this paragraph may be provided
                    to the Association of Community Organizations
                    for Reform Now (ACORN) or any of its
                    affiliates, subsidiaries, or allied
                    organizations.
              (5) Application.--The Director may provide assistance
            to a fire department or organization (including a State
            fire training academy) under this subsection only if
            the fire department or organization seeking the
            assistance submits to the Director an application that
            meets the following requirements:
                      (A) Form.--The application shall be in such
                    form as the Director may require.
                      (B) Information.--The application shall
                    include the following information:
                              (i) Information that demonstrates the
                            financial need of the applicant for the
                            assistance for which applied.
                              (ii) An analysis of the costs and
                            benefits, with respect to public
                            safety, of the use of the assistance.
                              (iii) An agreement to provide
                            information to the national fire
                            incident reporting system for the
                            period covered by the assistance.
                              (iv) A list of other sources of
                            Federal funding received by the
                            applicant.
                              (v) Any other information that the
                            Director may require.
                      (C) Unnecessary duplication.--The Director,
                    in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland
                    Security, shall use the list provided under
                    subparagraph (B)(iv) to prevent the unnecessary
                    duplication of grant funds.
              (6) Matching requirement.--
                      (A) In general.--Subject to subparagraphs (B)
                    and (C) and paragraph (8), the Director may
                    provide assistance under this subsection only
                    if the applicant for such assistance agrees to
                    match 10 percent of such assistance for any
                    fiscal year with an equal amount of non-Federal
                    funds.
                      (B) Requirement for small community
                    organizations.--In the case of an applicant
                    whose personnel serve jurisdictions of 20,000
                    or fewer residents, the percent applied under
                    the matching requirement of subparagraph (A)
                    shall be 5 percent.
                      (C) Fire prevention and firefighter safety
                    grants exception.--There shall be no matching
                    requirement for a grant described in paragraph
                    (4).
              (7) Maintenance of expenditures.--Subject to
            paragraph (8), the Director may provide assistance
            under this subsection only if the applicant for the
            assistance agrees to maintain in the fiscal year for
            which the assistance will be received the applicant's
            aggregate expenditures for the uses described in
            paragraph (3) or (4) at or above 80 percent of the
            average level of such expenditures in the 2 fiscal
            years preceding the fiscal year for which the
            assistance will be received.
              (8) Economic hardship waiver.--
                      (A) In general.--In exceptional
                    circumstances, the Director may waive or reduce
                    the matching requirement under paragraph (6)
                    and the maintenance of expenditures requirement
                    under paragraph (7) for applicants facing
                    demonstrated economic hardship.
                      (B) Criteria development.--The criteria under
                    which the Director may waive or reduce such
                    requirements shall be developed in consultation
                    with individuals who are--
                              (i) recognized for expertise in
                            firefighting, emergency medical
                            services provided by fire services, or
                            the economic affairs of State and local
                            governments; and
                              (ii) members of national fire service
                            organizations or national organizations
                            representing the interests of State and
                            local governments.
                      (C) Public availability.--The Director shall
                    make the criteria developed under subparagraph
                    (B) publicly available.
              (9) Variety of fire department grant recipients.--
                      (A) In general.--Of the amounts made
                    available under subsection (e), the Director
                    shall ensure that grants under paragraph (1)(A)
                    for a fiscal year are allocated, to the extent
                    that there are eligible applicants to carry out
                    the activities under paragraph (3), as follows:
                              (i) 25 percent shall be made
                            available to career fire departments.
                              (ii) 25 percent shall be made
                            available to volunteer fire
                            departments.
                              (iii) 25 percent shall be made
                            available to combination fire
                            departments.
                      (B) Evaluation criteria.--
                              (i) In general.--In awarding grants
                            under paragraph (1)(A), the Director
                            shall, within each category of
                            applicants under subparagraph (A),
                            consider a broad range of factors
                            important to the applicant's ability to
                            respond to fires and related hazards,
                            such as population served, geographic
                            response area, hazard vulnerability,
                            call volume, financial situation, and
                            need for training or equipment.
                              (ii) High population and incident
                            response.--In considering such factors
                            under clause (i), applicants serving
                            areas with high population and with a
                            high number of incidents requiring a
                            response shall receive a higher level
                            of consideration.
                      (C) Remainder.--Of the amounts made available
                    under subsection (e) that are not allocated for
                    use and awarded under subparagraph (A) or
                    designated for use under any other provision of
                    this section, the Director shall provide for an
                    open competition for grants among career fire
                    departments, volunteer fire departments, and
                    combination fire departments to carry out the
                    activities under paragraph (3).
              (10) Report to the director.--The Director may
            provide assistance under this subsection only if the
            applicant for the assistance agrees to submit to the
            Director a report, including a description of how the
            assistance was used, with respect to each fiscal year
            for which the assistance was received.
              (11) Grant limitations.--
                      (A) Recipient limitations.--A grant recipient
                    under paragraph (1)(A)--
                              (i) that serves a jurisdiction with
                            100,000 people or less may not receive
                            grants in excess of $1,000,000 for any
                            fiscal year;
                              (ii) that serves a jurisdiction with
                            more than 100,000 people but less than
                            500,000 people may not receive grants
                            in excess of $2,000,000 for any fiscal
                            year;
                              (iii) that serves a jurisdiction with
                            500,000 people or more but less than
                            1,000,000 people may not receive grants
                            in excess of $3,000,000 for any fiscal
                            year;
                              (iv) that serves a jurisdiction with
                            1,000,000 people or more but less than
                            2,500,000 people may not receive grants
                            in excess of $6,000,000 for any fiscal
                            year; and
                              (v) that serves a jurisdiction with
                            2,500,000 people or more may not
                            receive grants in excess of $9,000,000
                            for any fiscal year.
                    The Director may award grants in excess of the
                    limitations provided in clauses (i), (ii),
                    (iii), and (iv) if the Director determines that
                    extraordinary need for assistance by a
                    jurisdiction warrants a waiver.
                      (B) Limitation on expenditures for
                    firefighting vehicles.--Not more than 25
                    percent of the funds appropriated to provide
                    grants under this section for a fiscal year may
                    be used to assist grant recipients to purchase
                    vehicles, as authorized by paragraph (3)(G).
                      (C) State fire training academies.--
                              (i) In general.--In accordance with
                            clause (ii), the Director shall award
                            not more than 3 percent of the amounts
                            made available under subsection (e) for
                            a fiscal year for grants under this
                            subsection for State fire training
                            academies.
                              (ii) Limitation.--The Director
                            shall--
                                      (I) award not more than 1
                                    grant under this subparagraph
                                    per State in a fiscal year;
                                      (II) limit the amount of a
                                    grant to a State fire training
                                    academy to less than or equal
                                    to$1,000,000 in each fiscal
                                    year; and
                                      (III) ensure that any grant
                                    awarded to a State fire
                                    training academy shall be used
                                    for the purposes described in
                                    paragraphs 3(G), 3(H), or 3(I).
                      (D) Requirements for grants for emergency
                    medical services.--The Director shall award not
                    more than 2 percent of the amounts made
                    available under subsection (e) for a fiscal
                    year to volunteer, non-fire service EMS and
                    rescue organizations for the purposes described
                    in paragraph (3)(F).
                      (E) Application of selection criteria to
                    grant applications from volunteer, non-fire
                    service ems and rescue organizations.--In
                    reviewing applications submitted by volunteer,
                    non-fire service EMS and rescue organizations,
                    the Director shall consider the extent to which
                    other sources of Federal funding are available
                    to provide the assistance requested in such
                    grant applications.
                      (F) Consensus standards.--
                              (i) In general.--Any grant amounts
                            used to obtain training under this
                            section shall be limited to training
                            that complies with applicable national
                            voluntary consensus standards (if
                            applicable national voluntary consensus
                            standards have been established),
                            unless a waiver has been granted under
                            clause (ii).
                              (ii) Waiver.--
                                      (I) Explanation for non-
                                    standard training.--If an
                                    applicant for a grant seeks to
                                    use the assistance provided
                                    under the grant to obtain
                                    training that does not meet or
                                    exceed applicable voluntary
                                    consensus standards, the
                                    applicant shall include in the
                                    application an explanation of
                                    why such training will serve
                                    the needs of the applicant
                                    better than training that does
                                    meet or exceed such standards.
                                      (II) Procedures.--In making a
                                    determination whether or not to
                                    waive the requirement under
                                    clause (i) with respect to a
                                    specific standard, the Director
                                    shall, to the greatest extent
                                    practicable--
                                              (aa) consult with
                                            other members of the
                                            fire services regarding
                                            the impact on fire
                                            departments of the
                                            requirement to meet or
                                            exceed the specific
                                            standard;
                                              (bb) take into
                                            consideration the
                                            explanation provided by
                                            the applicant under
                                            subclause (I); and
                                              (cc) 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.
                                      (III) Additional requests.--
                                    Applicants that apply for a
                                    grant under the terms of
                                    subclause (I) may include a
                                    second grant request in the
                                    application to be considered by
                                    the Director in the event that
                                    the Director does not approve
                                    the primary grant request on
                                    the grounds of the training not
                                    meeting applicable voluntary
                                    consensus standards.
              (12) Eligible grantee on behalf of alaska native
            villages.--The Alaska Village Initiatives, a non-profit
            organization incorporated in the State of Alaska, shall
            be considered an eligible grantee for purposes of
            receiving assistance under this section on behalf of
            Alaska Native villages.
              (13) Annual meeting.--The Director shall convene an
            annual meeting of individuals who are members of
            national fire service organizations and are recognized
            for expertise in firefighting or emergency medical
            services provided by fire services, and who are not
            employees of the Federal Government, for the purpose of
            recommending criteria for awarding grants under this
            section for the next fiscal year and any necessary
            administrative changes to the grant program.
              (14) Guidelines.--
                      (A) In general.--Each year, prior to making
                    any grants under this section, the Director
                    shall publish in the Federal Register--
                              (i) guidelines that describe the
                            process for applying for grants and the
                            criteria for awarding grants;
                              (ii) an explanation of any
                            differences between the guidelines and
                            the recommendations made pursuant to
                            paragraph (13); and
                              (iii) the criteria developed under
                            paragraph (8) which the Director will
                            use to evaluate applicants for waivers
                            from program requirements.
                      (B) Specific requirement.--The criteria for
                    awarding grants under paragraph (1)(A) shall
                    include the extent to which the grant would
                    enhance the daily operations of the applicant
                    and the impact of such a grant on the
                    protection of lives and property.
              (15) Peer review.--The Director, after consultation
            with national fire service organizations, shall appoint
            fire service personnel to conduct peer review of
            applications received under paragraph (5). In making
            grants under this section, the Director shall consider
            the results of such peer review evaluations.
              (16) Applicability of federal advisory committee
            act.--The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.
            App.) shall not apply to activities under paragraphs
            (13) and (15).
              (17) Accounting determination.--Notwithstanding any
            other provision of law, rule, regulation, or guidance,
            for purposes of receiving assistance under this
            section, equipment costs shall include all costs
            attributable to any design, purchase of components,
            assembly, manufacture, and transportation of equipment
            not otherwise commercially available.
      (b) Audits.--A recipient of a grant under this section shall
    be subject to audits to ensure that the grant proceeds are
    expended for the intended purposes and that the grant recipient
    complies with the requirements of paragraphs (6) and (7) of
    subsection (a) unless the Director has granted a waiver under
    subsection (a)(8).
      (c) Fire Safety Research Centers.--
              (1) In general.--The Director may make a grant under
            subsection (a)(4)(A)(iii) to an institution of higher
            education, a national fire service organization, or a
            national fire safety organization to establish and
            operate a fire safety research center.
              (2) Objectives.--A grant received under this
            subsection shall be used by such an institution or
            organization to advance significantly the Nation's
            ability to reduce the number of fire-related deaths and
            injuries among firefighters and the general public
            through research, development, and technology transfer
            activities.
              (3) Limitation.--The Director may establish no more
            than 3 fire safety research centers. An institution of
            higher education, a national fire service organization,
            or a national fire safety organization may not directly
            receive a grant under this section for a fiscal year
            for more than 1 fire safety research center.
              (4) Application.--In order to be eligible to receive
            a fire safety research center grant, an institution of
            higher education, a national fire service organization,
            or a national fire safety organization shall submit to
            the Director an application that is in such form and
            contains such information and assurances as the
            Director may require.
              (5) General selection criteria.--The Director shall
            select each recipient of a grant under this subsection
            through a competitive process on the basis of the
            following:
                      (A) The demonstrated research and extension
                    resources available to the recipient to carry
                    out the research, development, and technology
                    transfer activities.
                      (B) The capability of the recipient to
                    provide leadership in making national
                    contributions to fire safety.
                      (C) The recipient's ability to disseminate
                    the results of fire safety research.
                      (D) The strategic plan the recipient proposes
                    to carry out under the grant.
              (6) Consideration.--The Director shall give special
            consideration under paragraph (5) to an applicant for a
            grant that consists of a partnership between a national
            fire service organization or a national fire safety
            organization and at least 1 of the following:
                      (A) An institution of higher education.
                      (B) A minority-serving institution (defined
                    as an eligible institution under section 371(a)
                    of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
                    1067q(a))).
              (7) Research needs.--Within 90 days after the date of
            enactment of the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of
            2009, the Director shall convene a workshop of the fire
            safety research community, fire service organizations,
            and other appropriate stakeholders to identify and
            prioritize fire safety research needs. The results of
            the workshop shall be made public, and the Director
            shall consider such results in making awards under this
            section.
      (d) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions
    apply:
              (1) Career fire department.--The term ``career fire
            department'' means a firefighting department that has
            an all professional force of firefighting personnel.
              (2) Combination fire department.--The term
            ``combination fire department'' means a firefighting
            department that has a combined force of professional
            and volunteer firefighting personnel.
              (3) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the
            Director, acting through the Administrator.
              (4) Firefighting personnel.--The term ``firefighting
            personnel'' means individuals, including volunteers,
            who are firefighters, officers of fire departments, or
            emergency medical service personnel of fire
            departments.
              (5) Institution of higher education.--The term
            ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning
            given such term in section 101 of the Higher Education
            Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
              (6) Volunteer, non-fire service ems and rescue
            organization.--The term ``volunteer, non-fire service
            EMS and rescue organization'' means a public or private
            nonprofit emergency medical services organization
            that--
                      (A) is not affiliated with a hospital;
                      (B) does not serve a geographic area in which
                    the Director finds that emergency medical
                    services are adequately provided by a fire
                    department; and
                      (C) is staffed primarily by volunteers.
              (7) Volunteer fire department.--The term ``volunteer
            fire department'' means a firefighting department that
            has an all volunteer force of firefighting personnel.
      (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--
              (1) In general.--There are authorized to be
            appropriated for the purposes of this section
            $1,000,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010
            through 2014.
              (2) Administrative expenses.--
                      (A) In general.--Of the funds appropriated
                    pursuant to paragraph (1) for a fiscal year,
                    the Director may use not more than 3 percent of
                    the funds to cover salaries and expenses and
                    other administrative costs incurred by the
                    Director to make grants and provide assistance
                    under this section.
                      (B) Formula.--The Director shall subtract the
                    amount to be used for subparagraph (A) from the
                    amount appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1)
                    before making any allocations or apportioning
                    any funds under subsections (a) or (c).

    SEC. 34. EXPANSION OF PRE-SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, FIRE GRANT PROGRAM.

      (a) Expanded Authority To Make Grants.--
              (1) Hiring grants.--
                      (A) In general.--The Director shall make
                    grants directly to career, volunteer, and
                    combination fire departments, in consultation
                    with the chief executive of the State in which
                    the applicant is located, for the purpose of
                    increasing the number of firefighters to help
                    communities meet industry minimum standards and
                    attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate
                    protection from fire and fire-related hazards
                    and to fulfill traditional missions of fire
                    departments that antedate the creation of the
                    Department of Homeland Security.
                      (B) Requirements.--
                              (i) Duration and use.--Grants made
                            under this paragraph shall be for 3
                            years and shall be used for programs to
                            hire new, additional firefighters.
                              (ii) Retention.--Grant recipients are
                            required to commit to retaining for at
                            least the entire 3 years of the grant
                            period those firefighters hired under
                            this paragraph.
                              (iii) Maximum.--The portion of the
                            cost of hiring firefighters provided by
                            a grant under this paragraph may not
                            exceed 80 percent of such cost for each
                            fiscal year.
                      (C) Preference.--In awarding grants under
                    this subsection, the Director may give
                    preferential consideration to applications that
                    involve a non-Federal contribution exceeding
                    the minimums under subparagraph (B)(iii).
                      (D) Technical assistance.--The Director may
                    provide technical assistance to States, units
                    of local government, Indian tribal governments,
                    and other public entities in furtherance of the
                    purposes of this section.
                      (E) Volunteer activities allowed.--
                    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any
                    firefighter hired with funds provided under
                    this subsection shall not be discriminated
                    against for, or be prohibited from, engaging in
                    volunteer activities in another jurisdiction
                    during off-duty hours.
                      (F) Competitive basis.--The Director shall
                    award all grants under this section on a
                    competitive basis through a neutral peer review
                    process.
                      (G) Set aside.--
                              (i) In general.--At the beginning of
                            the fiscal year, the Director shall set
                            aside 10 percent of the funds made
                            available for carrying out this
                            paragraph for departments with majority
                            volunteer or all volunteer personnel.
                              (ii) Transfer.--After awards have
                            been made, if less than 10 percent of
                            the funds made available for carrying
                            out this paragraph are not awarded to
                            departments with majority volunteer or
                            all volunteer personnel, the Director
                            shall transfer from funds made
                            available for carrying out this
                            paragraph to funds made available for
                            carrying out paragraph (2) an amount
                            equal to the difference between the
                            amount that is provided to such fire
                            departments and 10 percent.
              (2) Recruitment and retention grants.--
                      (A) In general.--In addition to any amounts
                    transferred under paragraph (1)(G)(ii), the
                    Director shall direct at least 10 percent of
                    the total amount of funds made available under
                    this section annually to a competitive grant
                    program for the recruitment and retention of
                    volunteer firefighters who are involved with or
                    trained in the operations of firefighting and
                    emergency response.
                      (B) Eligibility.--Eligible entities shall
                    include volunteer or combination fire
                    departments and organizations on a local,
                    statewide, or national basis that represent the
                    interests of volunteer firefighters.
      (b) Applications.--
              (1) In general.--No grant may be made under this
            section unless an application has been submitted to,
            and approved by, the Director.
              (2) Contents.--An application for a grant under this
            section shall be submitted in such form and contain
            such information and assurances as the Director may
            prescribe.
              (3) Requirements.--At a minimum, each application for
            a grant under this section shall--
                      (A) explain the applicant's inability to
                    address the need without Federal assistance;
                      (B) in the case of a grant under subsection
                    (a)(1), explain how the applicant plans to meet
                    the requirements of subparagraphs (B)(ii) and
                    (E) of such subsection;
                      (C) specify long-term plans for retaining
                    firefighters following the conclusion of
                    Federal support provided under this section;
                    and
                      (D) provide assurances that the applicant
                    will, to the extent practicable, seek, recruit,
                    and hire members of racial and ethnic minority
                    groups and women in order to increase their
                    ranks within firefighting.
      (c) Limitation on Use of Funds.--
              (1) Supplement, not supplant.--Funds made available
            under this section to fire departments for salaries and
            benefits to hire new, additional firefighters shall not
            be used to supplant State or local funds, or, in the
            case of Indian tribal governments, funds supplied by
            the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but shall be used to
            increase the amount of funds that would, in the absence
            of Federal funds received under this section, be made
            available from State or local sources, or in the case
            of Indian tribal governments, from funds supplied by
            the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
              (2) Replacement funding prohibited.--No grant shall
            be awarded pursuant to this section to a municipality
            or other recipient whose annual budget at the time of
            the application for fire-related programs and emergency
            response has been reduced below 80 percent of the
            average funding level in the 3 years prior to the date
            of application.
              (3) Indian cost-share.--Funds appropriated by the
            Congress for the activities of any agency of an Indian
            tribal government or the Bureau of Indian Affairs
            performing firefighting functions on any Indian lands
            may be used to provide the non-Federal share of the
            cost of programs or projects funded under this section.
      (d) Waiver.--In exceptional circumstances, the Director may
    waive the requirements of subsections (a)(1)(B)(ii),
    (a)(1)(B)(iii), (c)(1), and (c)(2) if the Director determines
    that the jurisdiction is facing demonstrated economic hardship
    in accordance with section 33(a)(8).
      (e) Performance Evaluation.--The Director may require a grant
    recipient to submit any information the Director considers
    reasonably necessary to evaluate the program.
      (f) Sunset; Reports.--
              (1) Sunset.--The authority under this section to make
            grants shall lapse at the end of the 10-year period
            that begins on the date of enactment of the Fire Grants
            Reauthorization Act of 2009.
              (2) Report.--Not later than 6 years after such date
            of enactment, the Director shall submit to Congress a
            report concerning the experience with, and
            effectiveness of, such grants in meeting the objectives
            of this section. The report may include any
            recommendations the Director may have for amendments to
            this section and related provisions of law.
      (g) Revocation or Suspension of Funding.--If the Director
    determines that a grant recipient under this section is not in
    substantial compliance with the terms and requirements of an
    approved grant application submitted under this section, the
    Director may revoke or suspend funding of that grant, in whole
    or in part.
      (h) Access to Documents.--
              (1) In general.--The Director shall have access for
            the purpose of audit and examination to any pertinent
            books, documents, papers, or records of a grant
            recipient under this section and to the pertinent
            books, documents, papers, or records of State and local
            governments, persons, businesses, and other entities
            that are involved in programs, projects, or activities
            for which assistance is provided under this section.
              (2) Application.--Paragraph (1) shall apply with
            respect to audits and examinations conducted by the
            Comptroller General of the United States or by an
            authorized representative of the Comptroller General.
      (i) Definitions.--In this section, the term--
              (1) ``Director'' means the Director, acting through
            the Administrator;
              (2) ``firefighter'' has the meaning given the term
            ``employee in fire protection activities'' under
            section 3(y) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
            (29 U.S.C. 203(y)); and
              (3) ``Indian tribe'' means a tribe, band, pueblo,
            nation, or other organized group or community of
            Indians, including an Alaska Native village (as defined
            in or established under the Alaska Native Claims
            Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)), that is
            recognized as eligible for the special programs and
            services provided by the United States to Indians
            because of their status as Indians.
      (j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to
    be appropriated for the purposes of carrying out this section
    $1,194,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2014.

               *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                          XX. Committee Recommendation

        On October 21, 2009, the Committee on Science and
    Technology favorably reported the Fire Grants Reauthorization
    Act of 2009 by voice vote, and recommended its enactment.

                             XXI. Additional Views

                                  ----------

         ADDITIONAL VIEWS OFFERED BY REPRESENTATIVES RALPH HALL, DANA
      ROHRABACHER, ROSCOE BARTLETT, VERN EHLERS, JUDY BIGGERT, TODD AKIN,
     MICHAEL McCAUL, MARIO DIAZ-BALART, BRIAN BILBRAY, ADRIAN SMITH, PAUL
                              BROUN AND PETE OLSON

           H.R. 3791, THE ``FIRE GRANTS REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009''

        The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program and the
    Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER)
    program both provide much-needed assistance to fire departments
    across the nation.
        The bill makes several modest changes to the Assistance to
    Firefighters Grant program as well as the SAFER program. These
    changes were developed in close coordination with the leading
    national fire service organizations--all of which have signed
    onto and endorsed this bill--a sign that we have struck the
    right balance and identified the right priorities. We support
    these changes and the underlying reauthorization effort.
        Two amendments aimed at further strengthening the Fire
    Grants programs were offered and passed at Committee. One
    amendment which passed expresses the disappointment of the
    Committee with recent funding trends for the Assistance to
    Firefighters Grant program, and stating that halting and
    reversing these funding trends is a priority. Funding for this
    program has declined by 30 percent since 2004, and will
    decrease by an additional 30 percent if the current House-
    passed appropriated level is signed into law. This language was
    added to the bill to express support for funding this important
    program that allows grants to be made to fire departments to
    address a variety of needs such as equipment, training, or
    community outreach.
        The other amendment, which was passed by the Committee on a
    vote of 33-5-1, ensures that funding awards under the Fire
    Prevention and Safety grants would not be given to the
    Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
    or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, or allied
    organizations.
        On September 4, 2009, FEMA awarded ACORN a $1 million fire
    prevention and safety grant for the purpose of installing smoke
    detectors in low-income areas of New Orleans. However, current
    law requires that any non-fire department recipient
    ``demonstrate expertise in fire prevention and safety'' in
    order to be eligible for funding. Because of this, and because
    of ACORN's troubling reputation, Members voted to prevent
    ACORN's participation in this program.
        Suggestions were made by some Members that this language
    would be viewed as an unconstitutional ``bill of attainder''
    under Article I of the Constitution; we do not believe this
    would violate the Constitution. Although it does specify an
    organization for differential treatment, it does not confiscate
    property owned by the organization and is not intended as
    punitive. It prevents future grants to ACORN for a limited
    period of time as a way to ensure the best use of the taxpayer
    dollars authorized under this Act.
        Based on a growing record of corruption, voter fraud,
    embezzlement, racketeering, and tax evasion, any and all
    presumptions of trust in the appropriateness of obligating
    public funds to ACORN have been lost. Accordingly, both Houses
    of Congress took bipartisan action under the initial fiscal
    year 2010 Continuing Resolution (P.L. 111-68) to stop funding
    for ACORN.
        Prior to the Committee's markup of H.R. 3791,
    Representatives Paul Broun and Adrian Smith wrote to FEMA
    Administrator Fugate on October 8, 2009 requesting detailed
    information regarding the circumstances surrounding FEMA's
    decision to award the grant, including but not limited to
    documentation related to (1) the peer review scoring and
    program-level consideration of the grant, (2) FEMA's
    determination that ACORN is ``recognized for their experience
    with respect to fire safety and fire prevention,'' as is
    required by current law, and (3) FEMA's actions to ensure that
    any grant funding awarded to ACORN in prior fiscal years was
    used for its intended purpose. This request was intended to
    provide FEMA an opportunity to justify its actions associated
    with the ACORN grant in advance of the full Committee markup of
    October 21st. FEMA did not provide a response, raising further
    questions regarding its oversight of the AFG program.
        The concerns associated with the issuance of the ACORN
    grant are further exacerbated by the highly competitive nature
    of AFG Fire Prevention and Safety grants. From fiscal year 2005
    through fiscal year 2007, $1.1 billion was requested for FP&S
    activities, and over 90 percent of applicants were fire
    departments. However, only $105 million, or 9.5 percent, was
    awarded, indicating the overwhelming majority of funding
    requested by fire departments under this program has declined.
        For these reasons, Committee Republicans strongly supported
    this amendment and emphasize the priority of ensuring
    responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars under the
    Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program. Ensuring this
    provision remains intact throughout the legislative process is
    a top priority.
                                       Ralph M. Hall.
                                       Brian P. Bilbray.
                                       Vernon J. Ehlers.
                                       Michael T. McCaul.
                                       Paul C. Broun.
                                       Pete Olson.
                                       Roscoe G. Bartlett.
                                       Dana Rohrabacher.
                                       W. Todd Akin.
                                       Mario Diaz-Balart.
                                       Adrian Smith.
                                       Judy Biggert.

                  ADDITIONAL VIEWS OFFERED BY REPRESENTATIVE
                             F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER

               H.R. 3791, FIRE GRANTS REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009

        Ensuring responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars under
    the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program should be a
    top priority. To this end, an amendment was passed by the
    Committee on a vote of 33-5-1 that ensures that funding awards
    under the Fire Prevention and Safety grants would not be given
    to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
    (ACORN) or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, or allied
    organizations.
        On September 4, 2009, FEMA awarded ACORN a $1 million fire
    prevention and safety grant for the purpose of installing smoke
    detectors in low-income areas of New Orleans. However, current
    law requires that any non-fire department recipient
    ``demonstrate expertise in fire prevention and safety'' in
    order to be eligible for funding. Because of this, and because
    of ACORN's troubling reputation, Members voted to prevent
    ACORN's participation in this program.
        Suggestions were made by some Members that this language
    would be viewed as an unconstitutional ``bill of attainder''
    under Article I of the Constitution; I do not believe this
    would violate the Constitution. Although it does specify an
    organization for differential treatment, it does not confiscate
    property owned by the organization and is not intended as
    punitive. It prevents future grants to ACORN for a limited
    period of time as a way to ensure the best use of the taxpayer
    dollars authorized under this Act.
        Based on a growing record of corruption, voter fraud,
    embezzlement, racketeering, and tax evasion, any and all
    presumptions of trust in the appropriateness of obligating
    public funds to ACORN have been lost. Accordingly, both Houses
    of Congress took bipartisan action under the initial fiscal
    year 2010 Continuing Resolution (P.L. 111-68) to stop funding
    for ACORN.
        Prior to the Committee's markup of H.R. 3791,
    Representatives Paul Broun and Adrian Smith wrote to FEMA
    Administrator Fugate on October 8, 2009 requesting detailed
    information regarding the circumstances surrounding FEMA's
    decision to award the grant, including but not limited to
    documentation related to (1) the peer review scoring and
    program-level consideration of the grant, (2) FEMA's
    determination that ACORN is ``recognized for their experience
    with respect to fire safety and fire prevention,'' as is
    required by current law, and (3) FEMA's actions to ensure that
    any grant funding awarded to ACORN in prior fiscal years was
    used for its intended purpose. This request was intended to
    provide FEMA an opportunity to justify its actions associated
    with the ACORN grant in advance of the full Committee markup of
    October 21. FEMA did not provide a response, raising further
    questions regarding its oversight of the AFG program.
        The concerns associated with the issuance of the ACORN
    grant are further exacerbated by the highly competitive nature
    of AFG Fire Prevention and Safety grants. From fiscal year 2005
    through fiscal year 2007, $1.1 billion was requested for FP&S
    activities, and over 90 percent of applicants were fire
    departments. However, only $105 million, or 9.5 percent, was
    awarded, indicating the overwhelming majority of funding
    requested by fire departments under this program has declined.
        For these reasons, I strongly support this amendment and
    emphasize the priority of ensuring responsible stewardship of
    taxpayer dollars under the Assistance to Firefighters Grant
    (AFG) program. Ensuring this provision remains intact
    throughout the legislative process is a top priority.

                                            F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.

    XXIII. PROCEEDINGS OF THE MARKUP BY THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY AND
      INNOVATION ON H.R. 3791, THE FIRE GRANTS REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009

                                  ----------

                          WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2009

                      House of Representatives,
             Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation,
                                          Committee on Science,
                                                        Washington, DC.

        The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 2:04 p.m., in
    Room 2318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. David Wu
    [Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
        Chairman Wu. Good afternoon. The Subcommittee will come to
    order. Pursuant to notice, the Subcommittee on Technology and
    Innovation meets to consider the following measure: H.R. 3791,
    the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2009.
        We have votes coming up on the Floor sometime soon, and the
    aspiration today will be to get through the markup in its
    entirety. If we are not able to do that, we will recess until
    probably sometime tomorrow to finish the markup, and to
    facilitate that, I am going to submit the vast majority of my
    opening statement to be entered into the record, but I just
    want to take one moment to recognize that the Subcommittee has
    been working on this legislation in cooperation with the
    various fire service organizations since this spring. I
    especially want to commend the staffs of this committee for the
    very hard work that they have put in to bring folks together.
    Both Ranking Member Smith and I have been working closely to
    make sure that all stakeholders have their needs met as well as
    possible, and this bill would not have been possible without
    the active work and cooperation of the International
    Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of
    Fire Fighters, the National Volunteer Fire Council, the
    National Fire Protection Association and the entire
    Congressional Fire Services Institute, and I am very, very
    pleased and thankful that everybody pulled together to ensure
    that we have a bill that will benefit all of this nation.
        With that, I will yield to our Ranking Member, Mr. Smith of
    Nebraska, for his hopefully brief opening remarks.
        [The prepared statement of Chairman Wu follows:]
                    Prepared Statement of Chairman David Wu
        Good afternoon. Today the Subcommittee will consider H.R. 3791, the
    Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2009. This bill reauthorizes
    programs that provide critical resources to fire departments across the
    country. At a time when many cities and towns are facing major budget
    shortfalls and cuts in services, federal support to fire departments is
    crucial to public safety.
        This bill reauthorizes the Assistance to Firefighters Grants
    program--or AFG--and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency
    Response program, known as SAFER.
        Since the AFG program was created in 2000, nearly $5 billion has
    gone directly to fire departments to purchase equipment, training, fire
    trucks, and other resources. AFG also supports fire prevention and
    safety grants, which are used for smoke detectors, fire prevention
    education, and research to reduce the causes of fire and fire-related
    injury and death. In 1973, nearly 12,000 Americans died each year in
    fires. We have made significant strides in reducing this number, but
    still over 3,000 people annually still die in fires, and over 16,000
    are injured. The AFG program has been an essential component of our
    efforts to reduce fire-related injuries and fatalities.
        The SAFER program provides funds to help fire departments hire
    personnel so that they can respond as quickly as possible to a fire
    with enough firefighters to meet the staffing levels that the
    firefighting community has deemed safe. The program has provided nearly
    $700 million to local fire departments in the past four years, funding
    that is especially critical during these difficult economic times.
        The Subcommittee has been working on this legislation in
    cooperation with the major fire service organizations since the spring,
    and this bill reflects the needs and priorities identified by fire
    service experts in a Technology and Innovation Subcommittee hearing
    this July. Both Ranking Member Smith and I have been working closely
    with all of the stakeholders to ensure that their needs and concerns
    are addressed. This bill would not have been possible without the work
    and cooperation of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the
    International Association of Fire Fighters, the National Volunteer Fire
    Council, the National Fire Protection Association, and the
    Congressional Fire Services Institute. I am very pleased that everybody
    pulled together to ensure that we have legislation that will benefit
    the constituents of every Member of Congress. H.R. 3791 is a bipartisan
    bill with 40 original co-sponsors. I strongly support this bill and
    urge a yes vote.
        I will now yield to the Ranking Member, Mr. Smith.

        Mr. Smith. Yes, I will make it as brief as I can and submit
    the rest for the record. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        As we learned at our hearing in July and as I have heard in
    discussions with fire chiefs and firefighters in my District,
    the AFG program is frequently cited as a lifesaver and the only
    means by which many departments can acquire up-to-date
    equipment and training which requires a significant portion of
    their budget for their firefighters. Now, this is particularly
    true in rural areas of my District where many communities rely
    upon all-volunteer departments to respond to fires and other
    emergencies. The equipment needed to fight fires and save lives
    and property is costly and required for departments to meet
    certain minimum response capabilities regardless of whether
    they are protecting a community of a few hundred people or a
    large city of a few hundred thousand people. As such,
    firefighter grants have proven absolutely vital for rural and
    volunteer fire departments, which have small tax bases and the
    least ability to acquire such equipment.
        The bill before us today makes several modest changes to
    the AFG and SAFER programs reflecting a compromise reached by
    the leading national fire service organizations who worked
    closely with the Committee to develop the legislation. I
    support the changes and the underlying reauthorization effort
    but I do have some concerns and priorities I hope to address as
    we go forward. In particular, for the reasons I just mentioned,
    I want to ensure the changes made in this legislation do not
    negatively impact the ability of smaller combination and
    volunteer departments to compete for and receive AFG grants, so
    I will be offering an amendment today which attempts to clarify
    the grant process in this respect.
        I also want to note that the funding for the AFG program
    has declined over the last few years and is now far below both
    the currently authorized level as well as the level called for
    in this bill. I hope as we go forward we can find a way to
    reverse this decline while also better aligning authorization
    levels with realistic and responsible expectations for
    appropriations.
        Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, and with unanimous consent I
    do have some items for the record.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Smith follows:]
               Prepared Statement of Representative Adrian Smith
        Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling this markup today to
    reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security's Firefighters grants
    programs.
        As we learned at our hearing in July and as I have heard in
    discussions with fire chiefs and firefighters in my District, the AFG
    program is frequently cited as a ``lifesaver,'' and the only means by
    which many departments can acquire up-to-date equipment and training--
    which requires a significant portion of their budget--for their
    firefighters.
        This is particularly true in the rural areas of my District where
    many communities rely upon all-volunteer departments to respond to
    fires and other emergencies. The equipment needed to fight fires and
    save lives and property is costly, and requires departments to have
    certain minimum response capabilities regardless of whether they are
    protecting a community of a few thousand people or a large city of a
    few hundred thousand people. As such, Firefighter grants have proven
    absolutely vital for rural and volunteer fire departments that have
    small tax bases and the least ability to acquire such equipment.
        The bill before us today makes several modest changes to the AFG
    and SAFER programs, reflecting a compromise reached by the leading
    national fire service organizations that worked closely with the
    Committee to develop this legislation.
        I support these changes and the underlying reauthorization effort,
    but I do have some concerns and priorities that I hope to address as we
    go forward. In particular, and for the reasons I just mentioned, I want
    to ensure that the changes made in this legislation do not negatively
    impact the ability of smaller combination and volunteer departments to
    compete for and receive AFG grants, so I will be offering an amendment
    today that attempts to clarify the grant process in this respect.
        I also want to note that funding for the AFG program has declined
    over the last few years, and is now far below both the currently
    authorized level as well as the level called for in this bill. I hope
    that as we go forward we can find a way to reverse this decline while
    also better aligning authorization levels with realistic and
    responsible expectations for appropriations.
        Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, for working with us on
    reauthorization of these programs. I hope for and expect a continued
    smooth process as we go forward. And ask unanimous consent to include
    my statements in the record.

        Chairman Wu. Thank you very much. Without objection, so
    ordered. The items will be entered into the record at this
    point, and now I would like to recognize the gentleman from
    Arizona, Mr. Mitchell, for a short statement.
        Mr. Mitchell. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        The provisions of this bill reflect the needs of the front-
    line stakeholders who protect us all and our constituents from
    fires, and through the testimony from fire service
    representatives this July, the Subcommittee learned that
    changes to matching requirements would enable fire departments
    with the greatest need to take advantage of all the programs.
    And this bill, as I mentioned, is the result of a consensus
    among the fire service organizations including the
    International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International
    Association of Fire Fighters, the National Fire Protection
    Association and the Congressional Fire Services Institute, and
    I would like to thank Chairman Wu and the Science and
    Technology Committee staff, especially Meghan Housewright and
    Mike Quear, for their hard work, and I would ask unanimous
    consent for my complete statement to be put in the record, and
    I yield back the rest of my time.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Mitchell follows:]
             Prepared Statement of Representative Harry E. Mitchell
        Thank you Mr. Chairman.
        Firefighters are often the first--and the last--to leave an
    emergency scene. Whether it's putting out a house fire or a wildfire--
    or responding to a terrorist attack or a car accident--we depend on
    firefighters every day.
        But firefighters also depend on us. They depend on the public and
    their elected officials to make sure that they have the resources, the
    equipment and the training they need to do their job. Without those
    tools, we put them and all of us at unnecessary risk.
        The provisions in this bill reflect the needs of the front-line
    stakeholders who protect us and our constituents from fires.
        Through testimony from fire service representatives this July, the
    Subcommittee learned that changes to matching requirements would enable
    fire departments with the greatest need to take advantage of the
    programs.
        Therefore, the bill sets the matching requirement for the
    Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, from 20 percent to 10
    percent, with fire departments serving populations under 20,000 paying
    a five percent match. This greatly benefits rural and less urban areas.
        H.R. 3791 also modifies the snatching requirements for the SAFER
    program. Per the recommendations of fire service organizations,
    reflecting the hardships faced by our State and local governments,
    SAFER will require instead a 20 percent match each year for three
    years.
        Again on the recommendations of fire service organizations, the
    bill also gives the Administrator the authority, to waive the matching
    requirements for both programs in cases of exceptional economic
    hardship.
        Such waivers may also be given for the programs' budget maintenance
    requirements and SAFER provisions that restrict the funding to hiring
    only additional firefighters, rather than retaining current
    firefighters. This is a necessary step at a time when fire departments
    in many areas of the country are confronted with the prospect of
    laying-off firefighters.
        The bill also changes the SAFER program to reflect the variations
    in first-year firefighter salaries across the country, via eliminating
    an artificial cap.
        Additionally, H.R. 3791 increases the maximum size of the AFG award
    a fire department may be eligible for, depending on the size of the
    population the fire department serves.
        This change addresses two issues raised at the Subcommittee's July
    hearing. First, it allows towns and cities of all sizes to apply for
    funding proportional to the size of their needs. Second, it allows
    areas that have consolidated multiple fire departments under one single
    jurisdiction to be eligible for an amount of money that reflects the
    true size of their departments.
        This legislation also makes changes to the AFG program so it can
    assist all types of communities, from large cities to small towns.
    Currently, less than 20 percent of the funding goes to career fire
    departments that serve our most populated areas.
        To ensure a more equitable distribution of the funding, the bill
    requires the funds be apportioned such that 25 percent would go to
    career fire departments, 25 percent would go to combination fire
    departments, and 25 percent would go to volunteer fire departments.
        Ten percent would remain for open competition among all types of
    fire departments.
        The final 15 percent of the funding serves three other important
    functions:

              Up to three percent may be used by fire service
            training academies for equipment and firefighting apparatus.

              Two percent of the funding will be used for EMS
            activities for volunteer, non-fire service EMS and rescue
            organizations.

              And, ten percent of the funding will used for the
            Fire Prevention and Safety grants, the maximum amount for each
            grant shall be $1.5 million. These grants may be used for
            activities that help reduce the number of fire related deaths
            and injuries among the. general public and among fire fighters,
            including fire education and prevention and fire safety
            research.

        This bill is the result of consensus among the fire service
    organizations, including the International Association of Fire Chiefs,
    the International Association of Fire Fighters, the National Fire
    Protection Association, and the Congressional Fire Services Institute.
        I would like to thank Chairman Wu and the Science and Technology
    Committee staff, especially Meghan Housewright and Mike Quear, for
    their hard work.
        I yield back the balance of my time.

        Chairman Wu. I thank the gentleman.
        Does anyone else wish to be recognized If not, I ask
    unanimous consent that the bill is considered as read and open
    to amendment at any point and that the Members proceed with the
    amendments in the order of the roster. Without objection, so
    ordered.
        The first amendment on the roster is an amendment in the
    nature of a substitute offered by the Chair.
        The Clerk will report the amendment.
        The Clerk. Amendment number 207, amendment in the nature of
    a substitute to H.R. 3791, offered by Mr. Wu of Oregon.
        Chairman Wu. I ask unanimous consent to dispense with the
    reading. Without objection, so ordered.
        I recognize myself for five minutes to explain the
    amendment. The amendment simply changes the form of the bill
    from a series of annotations, or cut-and-bite amendments, to
    the Fire Prevention Control Act of 1974 so that it reads much
    more smoothly and understandably as Sections 33 and 34 of that
    Act reflecting all the changes that were made to the Act in
    H.R. 3791.
        A couple of other things. In addition, this amendment adds
    a provision authorizing the Administrator to establish
    University Fire Safety Research Centers from the ten percent
    set aside of funding for the Fire Prevention Safety Grants. The
    Administrator may establish up to three of these centers. And
    finally, it adds language to require the U.S. Fire
    Administration to work with the National Fire Protection
    Association on a needs assessment for the fire service and
    report back to Congress on the results of that needs
    assessment.
        Is there any further discussion of the amendment? If not,
    we will move on to specific amendments.
        The second amendment on the roster is an amendment offered
    by the gentleman from Nebraska, Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith, are you
    ready to proceed with your amendment?
        Mr. Smith. Yes, sir.
        Chairman Wu. The Clerk will report the amendment.
        The Clerk. Amendment number 210, amendment to the amendment
    in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 3791, Fire Grants
    Reauthorization Act of 2009, offered by Mr. Smith of Nebraska.
        Chairman Wu. I ask unanimous consent to dispense with the
    reading. Without objection, so ordered.
        I recognize the gentleman from Nebraska for five minutes to
    explain the amendment.
        Mr. Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        This amendment is intended to ensure a greater degree of
    confidence in the Fire Prevention and Safety portion of the AFG
    [Assistance to Firefighter Grant] program. The amendment would
    require non-fire department organizations which do not engage
    in fire-related activities as a primary function to partner
    with local fire departments in order to be eligible. This
    partnering would allow local departments to so-called bless an
    applicant with its plan without adding an unreasonable burden
    and in doing so ensure a greater degree of confidence the
    proposal is worthy of funding.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Smith follows:]
               Prepared Statement of Representative Adrian Smith
        This amendment is intended to ensure a greater degree of confidence
    in the Fire Prevention and Safety portion of the AFG program.
        This amendment would require non-fire department organizations
    which do not engage in fire-related activities as a primary function to
    partner with local fire departments in order to be eligible. This
    partnering would allow local departments to ``bless'' an applicant and
    its plan without adding an unreasonable burden, and in doing so ensure
    a greater degree of confidence the proposal is worthy of funding.

        Chairman Wu. I thank the gentleman for the amendment. It is
    my intention to support it because I believe that it is a good
    idea to add the expertise of a fire department to any nonprofit
    organization that wants to do fire prevention and safety work.
    I do ask that the gentleman be open to working with me to
    ensure that the language does not have any unintended
    consequences for organizations like the Lions Club, the
    American Red Cross or others that are undoubtedly doing good
    work.
        Mr. Smith. Sure. Absolutely. I think it is important to
    note that all along the way but certainly the affiliation with
    the fire department I think certainly adds credibility to the
    entire thing.
        Chairman Wu. Thank you very much.
        Is there any other discussion of this amendment? If not,
    the vote occurs on the amendment. All those in favor, say
    ``aye.'' Those opposed, say ``no.'' In the opinion of the Chair
    the ayes have it and is agreed to.
        The third amendment on the roster is an amendment offered
    by the gentleman from Nebraska, and Mr. Smith, are you ready to
    proceed with your amendment?
        Mr. Smith. I have an amendment, yes.
        Chairman Wu. The Clerk will report the amendment.
        The Clerk. Amendment number 209, amendment to the amendment
    in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 3791, Fire Grants
    Authorization Act of 2009, offered by Mr. Smith of Nebraska.
        Chairman Wu. I ask unanimous consent to dispense with the
    reading. Without objection, so ordered.
        I recognize the gentleman for five minutes to explain his
    amendment.
        Mr. Smith. Or less. Thank you.
        This amendment adds language to the bill to clarify as FEMA
    reviews and considers applications under the AFG program, it
    must consider a broad range of factors related to a fire
    department's ability to respond to hazards. It is intended to
    complement language in the base bill stating departments
    protecting larger populations and running higher call volumes
    receive priority. It is important to clarify this consideration
    be accompanied by consideration of other factors as well such
    as a department's geographic response area, hazard
    vulnerability or financial situation. These are all factors
    which significantly impact a fire department's capabilities and
    therefore should remain part of the peer review and award
    process. Let me certainly emphasize, this addition is not
    intended to make any changes to the AFG program but rather
    would codify existing practice.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Smith follows:]
             The prepared statement of Representative Adrian Smith
        This amendment adds language to the bill to clarify as FEMA reviews
    and considers applications under the AFG program, it must consider a
    broad range of factors related to a fire department's ability to
    respond to hazards.
        It is intended to complement language in the base bill stating
    departments protecting larger populations and running higher call
    volumes receive priority.
        It is important to clarify this consideration be accompanied by
    consideration of other factors as well--such as a department's
    geographic response area, hazard vulnerability, or financial situation.
    These are all factors which significantly impact a fire department's
    capabilities, and therefore should remain part of the peer review and
    award process.
        Let me re-emphasize: this addition is not intended to make any
    changes to the AFG program but rather would codify existing practice.
        Additional Comments

              I also want to express my concern with the funding
            trends associated with these programs.

              In 2004, the AFG program was funded at $750 million,
            just below its authorized level. The next year it suffered a
            $100 million cut, followed by a $90 million cut the following
            year. This has continued, and this year the Administration's
            request was $360 million, or almost 50 percent, lower than the
            2004 funding for AFG.

              While we would rather not think the AFG and SAFER
            programs compete against each other for limited funds, it is
            essentially a reality, as the cuts which have occurred to AFG
            have been replaced by increases to SAFER on an almost one-to-
            one basis.

              This trend is particularly bothersome given the fact
            AFG awards go for equipment and training at all types of
            departments--rural and urban and large and small--while SAFER
            awards are overwhelmingly for departments in urban and suburban
            areas.

              I had originally intended to offer an amendment
            expressing the ``Sense of Congress'' that this steady decline
            in AFG funding relative to SAFER should be halted in the event
            that these programs are not fully funded at their authorized
            level.

              In working with Mr. Wu, I have agreed not to offer
            the amendment but I would like to continue working with you to
            ensure that the AFG program does not see its budget eroded at
            the expense of SAFER.

        Chairman Wu. Mr. Smith, I thank you for that explanation,
    and it is my intention to accept this amendment. I would note
    that the fire service has always been very active in developing
    this grant guidance with the U.S. Fire Administration. This
    amendment does not change that. They continue to be active in
    this role.
        Is there any other discussion of this amendment? Yes, Mr.
    Lujan.
        Mr. Lujan. Mr. Chairman, just quickly, I very much
    appreciate Mr. Smith offering this amendment and really looking
    after some of the rural areas as well to make sure that we are
    all inclusive and that we are looking to see how we can improve
    fire service across the entire country as well. So I very much
    appreciate it, and thank you for your being supportive, Mr.
    Chairman.
        Chairman Wu. Thank you very much, Mr. Lujan.
        Anyone else wish to speak on this amendment? If not, the
    vote occurs on the amendment. All those in favor, please say
    ``aye.'' Those opposed, say ``no.'' In the opinion of the
    Chair, the ayes have it. The amendment is agreed to.
        Are there any other amendments to the amendment in the
    nature of a substitute? If not, the vote occurs on the
    amendment in the nature of a substitute as amended.
        Mr. Smith. Well, Mr. Chairman, if we have time--no, I am
    just teasing.
        Chairman Wu. Apparently we have all the time in the world
    because we have--we just have all the time in the world. We
    always do.
        If no, the vote occurs on the amendment in the nature of a
    substitute as amended. All in favor, say ``aye.'' Those
    opposed, say ``no.'' In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have
    it and the amendment is agreed to.
        The vote is now on the bill, H.R. 3791 as amended. All
    those in favor will say ``aye.'' All those opposed will say
    ``no.'' In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. The ayes
    have it and the bill is agreed to.
        I recognize myself to offer a motion. I move that the
    Subcommittee favorably report H.R. 3791 as amended to the Full
    Committee. Furthermore, I move that staff be instructed to
    prepare the Subcommittee report and make necessary technical
    and conforming change to the bill in accordance with the
    recommendations of the Subcommittee.
        The question is on the motion to report the bill favorably.
    Those in favor of the motion will signify by saying ``aye.''
    Those opposed, ``no.'' In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes
    have it and the bill is favorably reported.
        Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon
    the table. Members will have two subsequent calendar days in
    which to submit supplemental Minority or additional views on
    the measure. I want to thank all the Members for their hard
    work, their cooperation in bringing this to the Subcommittee
    and in moving this expeditiously to the Full Committee, and we
    look forward to Floor passage of this important piece of
    legislation, and this concludes our Subcommittee markup, and it
    would be wonderful if all markups were this cooperative and
    relatively quick, and I thank everyone for their cooperation.
    Thank you very much. This markup is adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 2:17 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
                                   Appendix:

                                  ----------

            H.R. 3791, Section-by-Section Analysis, Amendment Roster

                         Section-by-Section Analysis of
             H.R. 3791, the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2009

    Sec. 2

        Amendment to Sec. 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act
    of 1974

    Assistance Program
        AUTHORITY: Allows the Director to make grants on a competitive
    basis to local fire departments and state fire training academies to
    protect against fire and fire-related hazards; to provide assistance
    for fire and fire prevention programs; and to provide assistance to
    volunteer, non-fire service EMS and rescue organizations.
        USES: Allows the Director to make grants available for a variety of
    purposes related to fire fighting and fire safety, including equipment
    and training.
        FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY: Sets aside 10 percent of the
    appropriated funds for fire prevention and safety grants. Such grants
    may go to local fire departments or other organizations for fire
    prevention programs, as well as research on fire safety and firefighter
    health and safety. Such grants may not be above $1,500,000.
        APPLICATION: Fire departments or other organizations seeking grants
    must submit applications that contain information on the financial need
    of the applicant, the cost-to-benefit ratio of the intended purchase,
    an agreement to participate in the national fire data collection
    system, and a list of other sources of federal funding received by the
    applicant.
        MATCHING REQUIREMENT: Fire departments must match 10 percent of any
    federal funds received. Fire departments serving jurisdictions with
    fewer than 20,000 people, the matching requirement is five percent.
    There is no matching requirement for the Fire Prevention and Safety
    Grants.
        MAINTAINANCE OF EXPENDITURES: Grants may be awarded only if the
    applicant agrees to maintain its budget for the uses for which they are
    applying for the grant at, or above, 80 percent of its average for the
    previous two fiscal years.
        ECONOMIC HARDSHIP WAIVER: The Director may waive the matching
    requirement and the maintenance of expenditure requirement in cases of
    economic hardship. The Director shall develop the criteria for the
    waivers in consultation with fire service organizations and
    organizations representing State and local governments. The criteria
    for the waivers will be made publicly available.
        VARIETY OF FIRE DEPARTMENT GRANT RECIPIENTS: The grants shall be
    made to fire departments as follows (if enough qualified applicant
    apply in each category):

             25 percent to career fire departments;

             25 percent to combination fire departments;

             25 percent to volunteer fire departments;

        Any remainder not otherwise designated under this bill shall be
    open for competition among all fire types of departments. The Director
    shall prioritize those applications from departments representing areas
    of high population and receiving a high call-volume.
        REPORT TO THE DIRECTOR: Applicants must report to the Director how
    the assistance was used.
        GRANT LIMITATIONS: The maximum allowable grant size a fire
    department is eligible for will depend on the size of the population
    that department serves, as follows:

             A population of 100,000 or less may receive up to $1,000,000

             A population of 100,000 to 500,000 may receive up to
            $2,000,000

             A population of 500,000 to 1,000,000 may receive up to
            $3,000,000

             A population of 1,000,000 to 2,500,000 may receive up to
            $6,000,000

             A population of 2,500,000 or more may receive up to
            $9,000,000.

        Not more than 25 percent of the total appropriation may be used to
    purchase firefighting vehicles.
        State fire training academies are eligible for no more than three
    percent of the total appropriation. Grants to State fire training
    academies shall be no more than $1,000,000.
        Not less than two percent of the funds appropriated shall go to
    volunteer, non-fire service EMS and rescue organizations.
        ALASKA NATIVE VILLAGES: Allows Alaska Native Villages to be
    eligible for grants made under this Act.
        ANNUAL MEETING: Requires the Director to convene an annual meeting
    of fire service organizations to recommend criteria for awarding grants
    the following fiscal year.
        GUIDELINES: Requires the Director to make the grant criteria
    publicly available.
        PEER-REVIEW: Requires that the grants be subjected to a peer-review
    process.
        APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT: Exempts the annual
    meeting and the peer-review process from the requirements of the
    Federal Advisory Committee Act.
        ACCOUNTING DETERMINATION: Requires that, for the purposes of
    receiving assistance under this Act, equipment costs encompass all
    components of the cost, including design and assembly (if not
    commercially available).
        AUDITS: Requires that grant recipients under the Act submit to
    audits.
        UNIVERSITY FIRE SAFETY RESEARCH CENTERS: Authorizes the Director to
    make grants to institutions of higher education to establish and
    operate no more than three university fire safety research centers. The
    grants are to be used for R&D to reduce fire-related death and injuries
    among the general public and firefighters. The Director must also
    convene a workshop of fire safety experts to discuss research needs.
    The grant awards for fire safety research centers shall be made from
    the 10 percent allocated to the Fire Safety and Prevention program.
        DEFINITIONS: Definitions provided for Career Fire Department;
    Combination Fire Departments; Director; Firefighting Personnel;
    Institution of Higher Education; Volunteer, Non-fire Service EMS and
    Rescue Organization; and Volunteer Fire Department.
        AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS: Authorizes appropriations of
    $1,000,000 from 2010 to 2014, of which not more than three percent may
    be used for program administration purposes by the Director.

    Sec. 3.

    Amendments to Section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act
                        of 1974.

        EXPANDED AUTHORITY TO MAKE HIRING GRANTS: Directs the Director to
    make competitive grants to career, volunteer, and combination fire
    departments to increase the number of firefighters to a level that
    enables 24-hour staffing of fire departments. The grants will be used
    to hire new, additional firefighters and will run for three years. The
    use of grant funds to hire firefighters in any jurisdiction may not
    exceed 80 percent of the total costs of hiring firefighters.
        RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION: Requires that at least 10 percent of the
    total appropriations must be used to recruit and retain volunteer
    firefighters at volunteer or combination fire departments and
    organizations that represent the interests of volunteer firefighters.
        APPLICATIONS: Requires that, at a minimum, applications must detail
    why the fire department needs federal assistance, how it plans to meet
    the three year retention requirement, and how it will allow the
    firefighters to volunteer in their off-time. The applications must also
    explain how the fire department will work to recruit and hire more
    minority groups and women, as well as how it will retain newly hired
    firefighters past the conclusion of the three-year grant.
        LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FUNDS: Requires that the grant funds should
    represent an increase of, and not supplant, funds provided by State and
    local governments, or the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Also requires that
    municipalities and other recipients maintain their budgets for fire-
    related and emergency response programs at or above 80 percent of their
    previous three year average.
        WAIVER: Allows the Director to waive the following requirements for
    recipients facing economic hardship: the three year retention
    requirement of new firefighters hired with grant funds; the maintenance
    of expenditure requirement; and the ``supplement versus supplant''
    requirement.
        PERFORMANCE EVALUATION: Allows the Director to request any
    information considered necessary from grant recipients.
        SUNSET; REPORTS: The Director's authority to make grants ends 10
    years after the date of enactment; and, not later than six years after
    the date of enactment, the Director shall submit a report on the
    effectiveness of the grants and any recommendations for future
    provisions.
        REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF FUNDING: Allows the Director to revoke
    or suspend any portion of a grant if a recipient does not comply with
    all of the requirements at any time.
        ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS: Allows the Director to audit any grant
    recipient and provides access to any needed documents in carrying out
    the audit.
        DEFINITIONS: Defines: Director; firefighter; and Indian tribe.
        AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS: Authorizes $1,194,000,000 per year
    for FY 2010 through FY 2014 for Section 3.

    Sec. 4. Study & Report

        STUDY AND REPORT IN ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT PROGRAM:
    Directs the United States Fire Administration and the National Fire
    Protection Association to conduct a study defining the roles and
    activities of fire services; the equipment, staffing, and training
    needed to carry out these roles and activities; the gaps in existing
    resources required to meet these roles; and the impact of grants.
    Authorizes $300,000 per year for FY 2010 and FY 2011 to conduct the
    study.

     XXIV. PROCEEDINGS OF THE FULL COMMITTEE MARKUP ON H.R. 3791, THE FIRE
                       GRANTS REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009

                                  ----------

                          WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2009

                      House of Representatives,
                                          Committee on Science,
                                                        Washington, DC.

        The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:18 a.m., in Room
    2318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Bart Gordon
    [Chairman of the Committee] presiding.
        Chairman Gordon. Good morning. The Committee will come to
    order.
        Pursuant to notice, the Committee on Science and Technology
    meets to consider the following measures: H.R. 3791, the Fire
    Grants Reauthorization Act of 2009, and H.R. 3820, the Natural
    Hazards Risk Reduction Act of 2009.
        As I just noted today, the Committee will consider two
    important bills. Both of these bills address pressing national
    needs, and both are the product of bipartisan cooperation and
    stakeholder input.
        The first bill the Committee will consider today is H.R.
    3791. This bill reauthorizes the Assistance to Firefighters
    Grant [AFG] Program and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and
    Emergency Response [SAFER] Program. Over the past nine years,
    these programs have provided over $5 billion to purchase
    firefighting equipment and training for communities and to hire
    additional firefighters. The federal support is even more
    important in this tough economy as local officials struggle to
    provide services in the face of decreasing budgets.
        H.R. 3791 is the product of much hard work by the
    International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International
    Association of Fire Fighters, the National Volunteer Fire
    Council and the National Fire Protection Association, as well
    as the Congressional Fire Services Institute. It represents the
    consensus of these organizations on how these programs should
    be improved. I am pleased that the bill has been endorsed by so
    many of these groups, and I look forward to working with them
    as we move to get this bill enacted.
        The second bill the Committee will consider today, H.R.
    3820, reauthorizes two important programs that support
    research, development and technology transfer activities to
    mitigate against the potential damage caused by earthquakes and
    severe windstorms. The impact of natural hazards on communities
    can be devastating. In the past two years in my district in
    Middle Tennessee, tornadoes have killed 24 people and injured
    over 100. Making households, businesses, and communities
    resistant to these forces of nature can save lives and billions
    of dollars.
        H.R. 3820 reauthorizes the National Earthquake Hazards
    Reduction Program and the National Windstorm Impact Reduction
    Program. The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program,
    known as NEHRP, has been responsible for development of a
    variety of codes and standards to enable buildings and other
    infrastructures to withstand earthquakes. This reauthorization
    addresses some of the biggest challenges in earthquake
    mitigation: developing methods to retrofit existing structures,
    secure infrastructure, and, most importantly, convince people
    in earthquake-prone areas to invest in preparedness and
    mitigation measures.
        H.R. 3820 also reauthorizes the National Windstorm Impact
    Reduction Program. The goal of this reauthorization is to
    enable this program, created in 2004, to achieve the same
    success. Support for R&D for wind hazard mitigation has lagged
    behind that for other hazards. The activities authorized in
    this bill can lead to improved building practices that will
    protect life, and contain the ever-increasing costs of
    hurricanes, tornadoes, and other severe windstorms.
        At a Technology and Innovation Subcommittee hearing this
    June, witnesses testified that much of the challenge in natural
    disaster mitigation was not in more research, but in
    implementing the knowledge that already exists. This bill
    includes a strong focus on the lessons learned from the
    different natural hazards and encourages implementation of
    those lessons.
        I strongly support both of these bills and I would urge a
    yes vote.
        I now recognize Mr. Hall to present his opening remarks.
        [The prepared statement of Chairman Gordon follows:]
                   Prepared Statement of Chairman Bart Gordon
        The Committee on Science and Technology meets to consider the
    following measures: H.R. 3791, the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of
    2009, and H.R. 3820, the Natural Hazards Risk Reduction Act of 2009.
        Both of these bills address pressing national needs, and both are
    the product of bipartisan cooperation and stakeholder input.
        The first bill the Committee will consider today is H.R. 3791. This
    bill reauthorizes the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program and the
    Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Program. Over the
    past nine years, these programs have provided over $5 billion to
    purchase firefighting equipment and training for communities and to
    hire additional firefighters. The federal support is even more
    important in this tough economy as local officials struggle to provide
    services in the face of decreasing budgets.
        H.R. 3791 is the product of much hard work by the International
    Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire
    Fighters, the National Volunteer Fire Council and the National Fire
    Protection Association, as well as the Congressional Fire Services
    Institute. It represents the consensus of these organizations on how
    these programs should be improved. I am pleased that the bill has been
    endorsed by so many of these groups, and I look forward to working with
    them as we move to get this bill enacted.
        The second bill the Committee will consider today, H.R. 3820,
    reauthorizes two important programs that support research, development
    and technology transfer activities to mitigate against the potential
    damage caused by earthquakes and severe windstorms. The impact of
    natural hazards on communities can be devastating. In the past two
    years in my district in Middle Tennessee, tornadoes have killed 24
    people and injured over 100. Making households, businesses, and
    communities resistant to these forces of nature can save lives and
    billions of dollars.
        H.R. 3820 reauthorizes the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction
    Program and the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program. The
    National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, known as NEHRP, has been
    responsible for development of a variety of codes and standards to
    enable buildings and other infrastructures to withstand earthquakes.
    This reauthorization addresses some of the biggest challenges in
    earthquake mitigation: developing methods to retrofit existing
    structures, secure infrastructure, and, most importantly, convince
    people in earthquake-prone areas to invest in preparedness and
    mitigation measures.
        H.R. 3820 also reauthorizes the National Windstorm Impact Reduction
    Program. The goal of this reauthorization is to enable this program,
    created in 2004, to achieve the same success. Support for R&D for wind
    hazard mitigation has lagged behind that for other hazards. The
    activities authorized in this bill can lead to improved building
    practices that will protect life, and contain the ever-increasing costs
    of hurricanes, tornadoes, and other severe windstorms.
        At a Technology and Innovation Subcommittee hearing this June,
    witnesses testified that much of the challenge in natural disaster
    mitigation was not in more research, but in implementing the knowledge
    that already exists. This bill includes a strong focus on the lessons
    learned from the different natural hazards and encourages
    implementation of those lessons.
        I strongly support both of these bills and I would urge a yes vote.
        I now recognize Mr. Hall to present his opening remarks.

        Mr. Hall. Mr. Chairman, thank you, and I appreciate this
    markup, especially the very bipartisan spirit in which the
    bills before us today have been handled, so I can be brief.
        We are here of course to consider two bills that
    reauthorize four important programs that have been created by
    the Committee over the years. The common thread among these
    programs is leveraging federal resources to reduce our
    vulnerability to hazards, principally earthquakes, windstorms
    and fires. The first bill before us, H.R. 3820, makes modest
    changes to improve coordination among federal agencies
    responsible for earthquake and windstorm research and hazard
    mitigation. The second bill, H.R. 3791, reauthorizes the Fire
    Grants Program which I know have provided critical support to a
    lot of departments including in my district, and I am going to
    note my strong support for both of these bills and express my
    appreciation to Chairman Gordon and to his staff for working
    with our us and with outside stakeholders to get the details
    right on both of the bills. I look forward to the discussion of
    the proposed amendments and working with our colleagues to see
    these bills through the rest of the legislative process.
        I thank you, and I yield back.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Hall follows:]
               Prepared Statement of Representative Ralph M. Hall
        Good morning, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you for scheduling this
    markup and for the bipartisan spirit in which the bills before us today
    have been handled. I'll be brief.
        We are here to consider two bills that reauthorize four important
    programs that have been created by this committee over the years. The
    common thread among these programs is leveraging federal resources to
    reduce our vulnerability to hazards--primarily earthquakes, windstorms,
    and fires.
        The first bill before us, H.R. 3820, makes modest changes to
    improve coordination among Federal agencies responsible for earthquake
    and windstorm research and hazard mitigation. The second bill, H.R.
    3791, reauthorizes the ``Fire Grants programs,'' which I know have
    provided critical support to fire departments in my district.
        I want to note my strong support for both of these bills, and
    express my appreciation to Chairman Gordon and his staff for working
    with us and with outside stakeholders to get the details right on both
    of these bills. I look forward to discussion on the proposed amendments
    and to working with our colleagues to see these bills through the rest
    of the legislative process. I yield back.

        Chairman Gordon. Thank you, Mr. Hall. And Members may place
    statements in the record at this point.
        We will now consider H.R. 3791, the Fire Grants
    Reauthorization Act of 2009, and I recognize the gentleman from
    Arizona, Mr. Mitchell, to describe the bill.
        Mr. Mitchell. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the
    desk.
        Chairman Gordon. Would you like to describe the bill, Mr.
    Mitchell?
        Mr. Mitchell. Yes. This amendment is in the nature of a
    substitute amendment. It makes some minor technical changes to
    the version of House Bill 3791 that was reported out of
    Subcommittee this last week. This amendment adds to the Fire
    Safety Research Centers provisions----
        Chairman Gordon. Mr. Mitchell, I think you have a very good
    amendment there but we are going to start with the bill, so if
    you would like to make comments concerning the bill, that is
    where we will get started.
        Mr. Mitchell. Thank you. You know, firefighters are often
    the first and the last to leave an emergency scene. Whether it
    is putting out a house fire or a wildfire, responding to a
    terrorist attack or a car accident, we depend on firefighters
    every day. But firefighters are also dependent on us. They
    depend on the public and their elected officials to make sure
    that they have the resources, equipment and the training they
    need to do their job. Without those tools, we put them and all
    of us at unnecessary risk. The provisions in this bill reflect
    the needs of the front-line stakeholders who protect us and our
    constituents from fires.
        Through testimony from fire service representatives this
    July, the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee learned that
    changes to matching requirements would enable fire departments
    with the greatest need to take advantage of the programs.
    Therefore, the bill sets the matching requirements for the
    Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program from 20 percent to 10
    percent with fire departments serving populations under 20,000
    paying a five percent match, which greatly benefits rural and
    less-urban areas.
        H.R. 3791 also modifies the matching requirements for the
    SAFER Program. Through recommendations of the fire service
    organizations reflecting the hardships faced by our State and
    local governments, SAFER will require instead a 20 percent
    match each year for three years. Again on the recommendation of
    the fire service organizations, the bill also gives the
    Administrator the authority to waive the matching requirements
    for both programs in cases of exceptional economic hardship.
    Such waivers may also be given for the program's budget
    maintenance requirements and SAFER provisions that restrict the
    funding to hiring only additional firefighters rather than
    retaining career firefighters. This is a necessary step at a
    time when fire departments in many areas of the country are
    confronted with the prospect of laying off firefighters. This
    bill is the result of a consensus among the fire service
    organizations including the International Association of Fire
    Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the
    National Fire Protection Association and the Congressional Fire
    Services Institute.
        H.R. 3791 passed the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee
    unanimously last week, and I urge my colleagues to support this
    important measure.
        I would like to take a moment to thank Chairman Gordon,
    Chairman Wu and the Committee staff for their hard work, and I
    yield back the balance of my time.
        Chairman Gordon. Thank you, Mr. Mitchell, and let me also
    put a special thanks in to Mr. Wu for his tireless effort in
    negotiating and bringing this bill together, so thank you, Mr.
    Wu.
        And I will now recognize Mr. Hall to present any remarks on
    the bill.
        Mr. Hall. Mr. Chairman, I thank you.
        The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program and the
    Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, both of
    these bills provide much needed assistance to fire departments
    across the Nation, and I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for
    working closely with us and especially with our Ranking Member
    Smith to develop this very agreeable compromise. I yield back.
        Chairman Gordon. I ask unanimous consent that the--oh,
    excuse me. Does anyone else wish to be recognized? If not, I
    ask unanimous consent that the bill is considered as read and
    open to amendment at any point and that the Members proceed
    with the amendments in order of the roster. Without objection,
    so ordered.
        The first amendment on the roster is an amendment in the
    nature of a substitute offered by the gentleman from Arizona,
    Mr. Mitchell. Are you ready to proceed with your amendment?
        Mr. Mitchell. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the
    desk.
        Chairman Gordon. The Clerk will report the amendment.
        The Clerk. Amendment number 217, Manager's Amendment to
    H.R. 3791, as amended, offered by Mr. Mitchell of Arizona.
        Chairman Gordon. I ask unanimous consent to dispense with
    the reading. Without objection, so ordered.
        I recognize the gentleman for five minutes to explain the
    amendment.
        Mr. Mitchell. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        This amendment in the nature of a substitute makes some
    minor and technical changes to the version of H.R. 3791 that
    was reported out of Subcommittee last week. This amendment adds
    to the Fire Safety Research Centers provision in subsection (c)
    of Section 33, language to include national fire service and
    fire safety organizations as eligible applicants for center
    funding. It also adds a provision giving special consideration
    for the funding to partnerships between universities and
    national fire service or fire safety organizations. Including
    fire safety and fire service organizations brings to this
    center the expertise of organizations that are closest to the
    needs of firefighters.
        In addition, this amendment clarifies that only one fire
    training academy per state should be able to receive funding
    under the Assistance to Firefighter Grant funds set aside for
    fire service training academies each fiscal year.
        And finally, the amendment gives the Director the authority
    to waive the requirement that any training purchased with Fire
    Grants funding meet or surpass national voluntary consensus
    standards for such training. The Director already has this
    authority in guiding the applications to purchase equipment.
    This language affords the program the same flexibility for
    training grants, and I yield back the balance of my time.
        Chairman Gordon. Is there further discussion on the
    amendment?
        Mr. Bilbray. Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Gordon. I hear you but I don't see you. Oh, Mr.
    Bilbray is recognized.
        Mr. Bilbray. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Mr. Chairman, I don't--won't oppose the amendment. I just
    want to point out, though, that there is a concern in my
    constituency in two factors. First of all, when you talk about
    state by state, it may seem very simple, but when you talk
    about the fact that the 500,000 people in Wyoming will have the
    ability to have one training facility within that state but the
    32 million people in California may have where those
    firefighters in San Diego have to travel almost 1,000 miles up
    to Shasta to address those things. And I just want to sensitize
    that there is a whole difference here and that what may seem
    simple on the face is much more technical.
        The other issue, San Diego County is ranked, when we talk
    about rural or urban, is ranked as an urban county because
    there is three million people in that county, larger than 20
    states of the union, but 80 percent of the land mass is rural
    area, but it is counted as urban because of its large
    population. I just want to say that as we draw these arbitrary
    lines, many times they don't fall into the proper place, and I
    understand that. I won't oppose the legislation. But I wanted
    to sensitize the Committee to the fact that many of these
    arbitrary lines which may look good in your district or your
    state sometimes look absolutely ridiculous. And I know there
    are things we do in California that look absolutely ridiculous
    to a lot of people in this country but the fact is, the fact of
    having a country with two Carolinas, two Dakotas and two
    Virginias but only one California can also look rather bizarre.
    But I just wanted to recognize that there are concerns I had
    with this underlying bill but I support the amendment and will
    support the underlying bill, and I yield back.
        Chairman Gordon. Thank you, Mr. Bilbray.
        Anyone else wish to make a comment? If not, the second
    amendment on the roster is an amendment offered by the
    gentlelady from Texas, Ms. Johnson. Are you ready to proceed
    with your amendment?
        Ms. Johnson. Yes, Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the
    desk.
        Chairman Gordon. The Clerk will report the amendment.
        The Clerk. Amendment 088, amendment to the Manager's
    Amendment to H.R. 3791, offered by Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of
    Texas.
        Chairman Gordon. I ask unanimous consent to dispense with
    the reading. Without objection, so ordered.
        I recognize the gentlelady for five minutes to explain the
    amendment.
        Ms. Johnson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member,
    for considering my amendment.
        The amendment accomplishes two objectives. First, it
    clarifies Section 2 of the bill dealing with the Assistance to
    Firefighters Grant Program reauthorization. The Section
    outlines the uses of the fire department grant funds, and one
    of those uses is to establish wellness and fitness programs for
    firefighting personnel to ensure that they can carry out their
    duties. My amendment would add that those wellness programs may
    include activities dedicated to raising awareness of and
    prevention of job-related mental health issues. The language is
    simple in order to avoid possible Committee jurisdictional
    problems. As a former chief psychiatric nurse, which has helped
    me a great deal at the VA in Dallas, I know very well that
    mental and physical health go hand-in-hand, and firefighting is
    an intense profession and these individuals jump into burning
    buildings. They see people dying. They personally observe and
    endure trauma as a routine part of their jobs. It seems to me
    that mental wellness is even more critical or as critical as
    physical fitness. My amendment would clarify that programs
    dedicating to protecting the mental health of our nation's
    firefighters is an appropriate use of the fire department's
    grant funds.
        The second portion of the amendment is regarding Fire
    Safety Research Centers. As you know, the bill authorizes
    grants to establish no more than three of these centers.
    Research at the centers is intended to advance the Nation's
    ability to reduce the number of fire-related deaths and
    injuries among firefighter. The institutional grants will
    authorize research, development and technology transfer
    activities, and subsection (c) of this part of the bill states
    that the Director shall give special consideration to grant
    application consisting of a partnership between a university
    and a national fire service organization or as a national fire
    safety organization, and my amendment would revise this section
    to encourage partnerships also with minority-serving
    institutions.
        This section would instead state that special consideration
    would be given to partnerships between a national fire service
    organization or a national fire safety organization with a
    university and/or a minority-serving institution. We want to be
    sure to work with the fire organizations so that the research
    centers are doing work that will in a short time actually help
    firefighters do their jobs better. At the same time, we want to
    give the minority-serving institutions a realistic change to
    participate in the research. You may know that the majority of
    students at minority-service institutions study at smaller two-
    year institutions. Those students could come to the larger
    universities to engage in research on fire safety and gain some
    important career experience. Undergraduate research experience
    is key to gaining admission to a graduate degree program. So
    the more we encourage partnerships with the minority-serving
    institutions of these activities, the more diverse the
    workforce we cultivate for fire safety research. To me, this
    creates a win-win situation.
        Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member, I appreciate your
    consideration of this amendment and I encourage my colleagues
    to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Johnson follows:]
           Prepared Statement of Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member for considering my
    amendment.
        The amendment accomplishes two objectives.
        First, it clarifies Section 2 of the bill, dealing with the,
    ``Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program Reauthorization.''
        That section outlines the uses of the fire department grant funds.
        One of those uses is to ``establish wellness and fitness programs
    for firefighting personnel to ensure that they can carry out their
    duties.''
        My amendment would add that those wellness programs may include
    activities dedicated to raising awareness of, and prevention of, job-
    related mental health issues.
        The language is simple, in order to avoid possible Committee
    jurisdictional problems.
        As the former chief psychiatric nurse at the V.A. in Dallas, I know
    very well that mental and physical health go hand-in-hand.
        Firefighting is an intense profession. These individuals jump into
    burning buildings. They see people dying.
        They personally observe and endure trauma as a routine part of
    their jobs.
        It seems to me that the mental wellness is even more critical--or
    as critical--as the physical fitness.
        My amendment would clarify that programs dedicated to protecting
    the mental health of our nation's firefighters is an appropriate use of
    fire department grant funds.
        The second portion of the amendment is regarding the Fire Safety
    Research Centers.
        As you know, the bill authorizes grants to establish no more than
    three of these centers.
        Research at the centers is intended to advance the Nation's ability
    to reduce the number of fire-related deaths and injuries among
    firefighters.
        The institutional grants will authorize research, development, and
    technology transfer activities.
        Subsection 6 of this part of the bill states that the Director
    shall give special consideration to grant applications consisting of a
    partnership between a university and a national fire service
    organization or a national fire safety organization.
        My amendment would revise this section to encourage partnership
    with Minority Serving Institutions.
        The section would instead say that special consideration would be
    given to partnerships between a national fire service organization or a
    national fire safety organization with a university and/or a minority
    serving institution.
        We want to be sure to work with the fire organizations so that the
    research centers are doing work that will, in short time, actually help
    firefighters do their jobs even better.
        At the same time, we want to give the minority serving institutions
    a realistic chance to participate in the research.
        You may know that the majority of students at MSIs study at
    smaller, two-year institutions.
        Those students could come to the larger universities to engage in
    research on fire safety and gain some important career experience.
        Undergraduate research experience is key to getting admission into
    a graduate degree program.
        So the more we encourage partnerships with MSIs in these
    activities, the more diverse the workforce we cultivate for fire safety
    research.
        To me, this creates a win-win situation.
        Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member, I appreciate your considering this
    amendment.
        I encourage my colleagues to support it and yield back the balance
    of my time.

        Chairman Gordon. Thank you, Ms. Johnson.
        Is there further discussion on the amendment?
        Mr. Hall. Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Gordon. Mr. Hall is recognized.
        Mr. Hall. I also thank Ms. Johnson for her input, and this
    amendment, cries out, I think the value of having someone like
    her on this committee with her background, her knowledge,
    personal knowledge that brings out or spawns amendments like
    this. I understand that she is looking to clarify the fire
    departments if they might include prevention of mental health
    issues as well as eligible activity under the program and that
    the minority-serving institutions might receive special
    consideration under FEMA's fire safety research program. I
    certainly support the amendment and I thank Ms. Johnson for
    lending her history, her background, her medical background,
    her long tenure as a very valuable nurse to amendments like
    this. It is very helpful. I support it.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Hall follows:]
               Prepared Statement of Representative Ralph M. Hall
        I would like to thank my friend and colleague, Ms. Johnson, for
    offering this amendment. I understand she is looking to clarify that
    fire departments may include prevention of mental health issues as an
    eligible activity under this program, and that minority-serving
    institutions may receive special consideration under FEMA's fire safety
    research program. I have no objections to this amendment and am
    prepared to support it.

        Ms. Johnson. Thank you.
        Chairman Gordon. That is a strong statement, Ms. Johnson.
        Does anyone else wish to be heard? If not, the vote occurs
    on the amendment. All in favor, say aye. Opposed, no. The ayes
    have it. The amendment is agreed to.
        The third amendment on the roster is an amendment offered
    by the gentleman from Georgia, Dr. Broun. Are you ready to
    proceed with your amendment?
        Mr. Broun. Mr. Chairman, I would like to withdraw amendment
    213 and proceed directly with amendment 212, the amendment that
    is at the desk.
        Chairman Gordon. Okay. The Clerk will report the amendment.
        The Clerk. Amendment 212, amendment to the amendment in the
    nature of a substitute to H.R. 3791 offered by Mr. Broun of
    Georgia.
        Chairman Gordon. Pardon me. Did you say--just to make sure
    we are on the same page. You said 212?
        The Clerk. Yes.
        Chairman Gordon. Mr. Broun, is that where you want to be?
        Mr. Broun. Yes.
        Chairman Gordon. Okay. Thank you. I ask unanimous consent
    to dispense with the reading. Without objection, so ordered.
        I recognize the gentleman for five minutes to explain the
    amendment.
        Mr. Broun. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        This amendment is very simple. Some weeks ago, the House
    overwhelmingly voted to prohibit ACORN from receiving any money
    in the Continuing Resolution with overwhelming support from
    both Democrats as well as Republicans. My amendment today would
    ensure that ACORN will not receive any money from FEMA under
    the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program after the C.R.
    expires.
        On September 4, FEMA ordered a $1 million fire prevention
    and SAFER grant to ACORN. Given the recent events surrounding
    this organization, not to mention its past history of
    corruption, I find this inexcusable. This organization's
    expertise in fire prevention safety, which is required by law,
    is a prerequisite for the grant. Certainly, this is very, very
    questionable. Any money ACORN receives from this program takes
    away from reputable and qualified organizations like fire
    departments and ultimately sacrifices the core mission of this
    program.
        On October 8, Representative Adrian Smith and I sent a
    letter to the Director of FEMA asking for documents and answers
    about this award and the process that led to its issuance. I
    have yet to receive the first document, not one single one.
    Without that confidence that, number one, this grant was
    awarded appropriately, number two, that this recipient had
    sufficient expertise, and three, that FEMA has developed
    adequate criteria to define that expertise, I believe it is
    prudent to ensure that ACORN does not receive a single dime of
    the taxpayers' money from this program. This program is far too
    important overextended to be lining the coffers of a corrupt
    organization. Because FEMA has been less than responsive to my
    inquiry, I hope that my Majority colleagues will join our
    request to help expedite a response from FEMA.
        With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back, and I encourage all
    of my colleagues, Democrat and Republican alike, to support
    this amendment. It is a common sense, very simple amendment and
    it just follows the vote that we had overwhelmingly in Congress
    on the C.R. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Broun follows:]
               Prepared Statement of Representative Paul C. Broun
        Thank you Mr. Chairman. This amendment is very simple. Several
    weeks ago, the House voted to prohibit ACORN from receiving any money
    in the Continuing Resolution (CR).
        My amendment today would ensure that ACORN will not receive any
    money from FEMA under the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program
    after the CR expires.
        On September 4th, FEMA awarded a one million dollar Fire Prevention
    and Safety Grant to ACORN. Given the recent events surrounding this
    organization (not to mention its past history of corruption) I find
    this inexcusable.
        This organization's ``expertise in Fire Prevention and Safety''--
    which is required by law as a pre-requisite for the grant--is certainly
    questionable. Any money ACORN receives from this program takes away
    from reputable and qualified organizations like Fire Departments and
    ultimately sacrifices the core mission of this program.
        On October 8th, Representative Adrian Smith and I sent a letter to
    the Director of FEMA asking for documents and answers about this award
    and the process that led to its issuance. I have yet to receive a
    single document.
        Without the confidence that 1) this grant was awarded
    appropriately, 2) that this recipient had sufficient expertise, and 3)
    that FEMA has developed adequate criteria to define that expertise, I
    believe it is prudent to ensure that ACORN does not receive a single
    dime of the taxpayer's money from this program.
        This program is far too important and overextended to be lining the
    coffers of corrupt organizations.
        Because FEMA has been less than responsive to my inquiry, I hope
    that my majority colleagues will join our request to help expedite a
    response from FEMA.

        Chairman Gordon. Thank you, Dr. Broun.
        Is there further discussion on the amendment? Ms. Woolsey
    is recognized.
        Ms. Woolsey. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Well, as far as ACORN is considered and every other
    individual or organization in this country, the United States
    of America, which is a democracy, we are all considered
    innocent until proven guilty. That is the very cornerstone of
    our American judicial system. It is not our role as the
    Congress to judge the innocence or guilt of ACORN. In fact, the
    Constitution prohibits Congress from passing any legislation
    that punishes an individual before they have been convicted of
    a crime, and that is why I ask every Member of this committee
    to oppose the Broun amendment.
        Chairman Gordon. Is there further discussion on the
    amendment?
        Mr. Hall. Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Gordon. Mr. Hall is recognized.
        Mr. Hall. I support the gentleman's amendment and I think
    we are pretty well aware of the problems with ACORN and its
    stewardship of taxpayers' dollars. I don't know how anybody
    could support that when the original person that spawned ACORN
    from day one over in the State of Arkansas, the activities of
    those people are disgusting to Democrats and Republicans alike.
    When his own brother stole $1 million and nothing happened to
    him and just moved him around rather than going to the courts
    with it, that is just--that is the closest indication of the
    leadership of ACORN and that goes down to every single person
    that benefited from ACORN or that supported ACORN. We are all
    aware of the problems with ACORN, its stewardship of taxpayers'
    dollars. We found out a couple of weeks ago that ACORN received
    a fire prevention and SAFER grant under the same portion of
    this program that hundreds of fire departments had applied for
    but were rejected, and these are the people Ms. Johnson and I
    are talking about that we are trying to support, trying to help
    and trying to make aid to them easily available to minorities
    have been shut out prior to work of Members of Congress like
    Eddie Bernice Johnson. Mr. Broun and Mr. Smith wrote to FEMA
    requesting information on how this happened but they still
    haven't received a response. So we have an opportunity here
    today I think to fix a problem or work toward fixing a problem
    and ensure that this doesn't happen again.
        The language in Dr. Broun's amendment is nearly exact to
    what was overwhelmingly supported by the Full House in the C.R.
    I believe the Senate overwhelmingly supported it. I am not
    positive about that but that is my recollection. I urge passage
    of the amendment, and I thank the gentleman for offering it.
    Yield back.
        Chairman Gordon. The Chairman recognizes himself. Dr.
    Broun, I think the amendment that was accepted by Mr. Smith in
    Subcommittee takes care of your problem. However, as you and
    Mr. Hall both pointed out, I think the House spoke to this
    issue in a firm way earlier and so I am sure that you will be
    successful here in this amendment here today also.
        Mr. Broun. Mr. Chairman, will you yield?
        Chairman Gordon. Yes.
        Mr. Broun. I thank you, sir, for yielding, and I hope we do
    prevail on the vote on this amendment. To answer Ms. Woolsey,
    this is not calling them guilty of anything. This is preserving
    money for firefighters and taking it away from a small grant
    program. It is not punitive in any way. It doesn't indict or
    convict anybody in any way and it is just preserving money for
    firefighters and things that this grant program is supposed to
    be directed towards, and I think it is extremely important, and
    frankly, as far as I am concerned, FEMA went outside the law
    when they granted ACORN the grant to begin with back in
    September. ACORN has no expertise in firefighting. And so this
    is a very simple amendment. It is one that doesn't punish
    anybody. It doesn't convict anybody or any organization. It
    just says that they will not receive funds from this grant as
    we have already seen them get from the grant that was awarded
    by FEMA.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate your yielding.
        Chairman Gordon. Ms. Fudge is recognized.
        Ms. Fudge. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        I really just have a question, Mr. Chairman. I can
    understand--agree or disagree with the whole ACORN issue but in
    the language it indicates that allied organizations would not
    receive any money. I am not sure--I would like an example of
    who an allied organization would be.
        Mr. Broun. Would you yield?
        Ms. Fudge. Yes.
        Mr. Broun. ACORN, if you look at it, they have a tremendous
    web of allied organizations that are very difficult to sort
    down through but it is any allied organization that is part of
    the ACORN group that they have as their tentacles of the
    organization. It is just very convoluted. They have many sub-
    organizations. And this wouldn't--it wouldn't prevent grants
    from anybody else but it is just those allied organizations,
    and I hope any reputable organizations sever their ties to
    ACORN. So if they haven't, they should immediately because of
    the corruption that is coming to surface with this----
        Ms. Fudge. Reclaiming my time if I may.
        Mr. Broun. Yes, ma'am.
        Ms. Fudge. But since we don't know who these allied
    organizations you are referring to are, it gives me cause and
    pause because there are very certain many reputable
    organizations who are in fact aligned in some way with ACORN,
    and I may agree with you that maybe they should, maybe they
    shouldn't, but if they have not in some way distanced
    themselves from ACORN, I can't see that organizations that do
    good work who have been productive and who should probably
    qualify for these would be left out because we put in language
    that is very, very subjective and we don't even know--you
    admitted yourself, we don't know who those organizations are.
    You say it is such a web. If I don't know who they are, I can't
    vote against them receiving dollars.
        Mr. Broun. Would the gentlelady yield?
        Ms. Fudge. Yes.
        Mr. Broun. We do know that ACORN has at least 361
    affiliates in their web and in this tremendous organization
    that just----
        Ms. Fudge. If I may, I am not talking about affiliates. I
    am talking about----
        Mr. Broun. Well, I know, and affiliated organizations so it
    does not prevent any group that is not affiliated or part of
    ACORN from getting the funds, but they should be--any
    organization under this grant program under current law should
    have the expertise, and certainly ACORN doesn't have that
    either. I find it is despicable to me that FEMA ordered the
    grant to begin with, but----
        Ms. Fudge. Reclaiming my time. I am not arguing the ACORN
    point. I am arguing the language ``allied organizations,''
    which to this point you have not told me who those would be or
    an example of who would be an allied organization.
        Mr. Hall. Would the gentlelady yield?
        Ms. Fudge. Yes.
        Mr. Hall. I understand your opposition and your problem
    with it. It is the same language that passed in the C.R. and
    the way to amend that and the way to take care of it is in
    report language, and I think you will have a shot at that some
    time later.
        Ms. Fudge. Thank you. I yield back.
        Chairman Gordon. Is anyone else to my--Mr. Bilbray is
    recognized.
        Mr. Bilbray. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate your consideration
    on this item, and I think we are talking about the credibility
    of the program. The fact is that the concept that somehow there
    is a constitutional right for access to taxpayers' funds I
    think is something that a lot of people across the country are
    upset with. There is not a constitutional right to have access
    to funds that we forcibly remove from private possession, that
    citizens give up this under the force of law, and when we start
    doling it out we have a responsibility that goes far beyond
    what is traditionally considered in the criminal courts, and
    that is the fact that there is not a right but a privilege to
    receive public funds under our Constitution and with that
    privilege comes added responsibilities that private individuals
    normally don't bear, and the organizations that access well,
    public and private organizations that access the public
    treasury have a responsibility beyond those that are just
    asking to operate outside of public funding. So I just think we
    need to clarify that, and I appreciate your support on this
    because I think that this is where we need to clarify that
    look, there is this added obligation, and when in doubt we are
    going to be conservative in the application of the public funds
    by saying we want this clarified, and I just think that we need
    to clarify that this is not a partisan issue. What is happening
    in Nevada is actually something that has been totally handled
    by your party in a very responsible manner where actually the
    head of the organization has gone state's witness on this
    issue. So I think we have got to point out that this is not a
    Democrat or a Republican issue, it is an American issue, the
    fact that this standard of access for public funds is one that
    is higher than the general public and this continues.
        So I again ask for support of it and recognize that when we
    talk about this affiliated issue, the board of directors
    actually serve on different boards but the same people are on
    the boards and the same directors are on different agencies and
    so this has been very well documented and will become obviously
    more public as it goes over, so I just ask everybody take a
    look at what is going on in Las Vegas right now and understand
    this is something we need to address and we should do it
    bipartisan, and that is why I appreciate----
        Chairman Gordon. Would the gentleman yield?
        Mr. Bilbray. Go ahead, Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Gordon. It is my understanding that there has been
    some staff discussion about some clarification and so that
    there will be mutually agreeable report language that will help
    to fine-tune any, you know, concerns in that regard there might
    be. And I yield back. Thank you.
        Mr. Bilbray. And I think all of us agree that there is a
    problem here identified right now with one name but we know it
    is a shell game here where there is so many people playing the
    same game, the same people under different titles, and the
    intention of this amendment is to make sure that the shell game
    isn't played with American taxpayers' funds.
        I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Gordon. Mr. Lujan is recognized.
        Mr. Lujan. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
        Mr. Chairman, I heard the distinguished Ranking Member say
    that this amendment is nearly exact of the language that was
    adopted on the House Floor, and I would yield to Mr. Broun if
    you could tell me how it differs from what was introduced--what
    was adopted in the C.R. on the House Floor.
        Mr. Broun. The difference is, this is prospective instead
    of retrospective, and other than that, it's essentially the
    same. It is what many, many, most Democrats voted for, I think.
    I didn't look at the total vote but it is what Republicans and
    Democrats, both parties voted to prohibit ACORN from getting
    funds, and this is just prospective so that in the future on
    this grant program ACORN cannot get any of these grants. It is
    focused at this program whereas the C.R. was a broader
    amendment also.
        Mr. Lujan. And reclaiming my time. Does the language that
    was adopted on the House Floor in the C.R. contain the language
    ``or allied organizations''? And I would yield to Mr. Broun.
        Mr. Broun. I am sorry. State that again, please.
        Mr. Lujan. Does the language that was adopted on the C.R.
    contain the language ``or allied organizations''?
        Mr. Broun. In fact, if the gentleman would yield----
        Mr. Lujan. Yes.
        Mr. Broun. Okay. This is the C.R. language verbatim. ``None
    of the funds made available by this Joint Resolution and any
    prior act may be provided to the Association of Community
    Organizations for Reform Now, ACORN, or any of its affiliates,
    subsidiaries or allied organizations.'' That is the language,
    and I yield back.
        Mr. Lujan. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I yield back
    my time.
        Mr. Bartlett. Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Gordon. Dr. Bartlett is recognized.
        Mr. Bartlett. You know, when you made the sale, it is
    probably wise to stop selling it. I would like to move the
    question.
        Chairman Gordon. Dr. Bartlett once again brings wisdom to
    the--is there no further discussion?
        Ms. Edwards. Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Gordon. Ms. Edwards is recognized.
        Ms. Edwards. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        I am actually taking a look right now at what passed on the
    House Floor, and there are definitions but there is no
    definition for ``allied organization.'' It is actually not even
    in the language of what was passed in the House, and I think it
    is a very dangerous road that we go down where we include a de-
    funding mechanism that states that it is attached to an allied
    organization so does that mean that if an organization serves
    in a coalition in a state or community with an ACORN group or
    one of its affiliates that it would be an allied organization?
    This is a very dangerous road to go down. It is not what we
    actually passed on the House Floor and I would say I didn't
    vote for that, but I think it is not really useful for this
    committee to include language that requires further definition
    and explanation that no doubt will lead to further--to
    litigation. I mean, it seems that if I were an organization
    that was associated in any way, in a coalition, in an informal
    working group could be defined as or identified as an allied
    organization, I would challenge this statute and the language
    of it applying to me for the purposes of achieving federal
    funds. I would also say that there are current prohibitions in
    law that go to issues around debarment when there has been a
    criminal violation or other kind of sanction that enables
    anyone of our federal agencies to deny funds under current law.
    And so it is actually the truth that this is totally
    unnecessary, and we have plenty of examples of corporations in
    this country and nonprofit organizations that have engaged in
    wrongdoing, have been found to engage in wrongdoing and
    prohibited from engaging in other contracting. We also have
    plenty of examples where that has been true and they have
    gotten other contracts and so I am really not sure what this
    amendment is trying to get to with respect to one single
    organization because I don't want to see federal funds misused
    by anyone under any circumstances whether it is ACORN or any
    other group but let us have a finding in law that there has
    been a violation and then let the current statutes that exist
    that prohibit giving contracts and funding to organizations,
    institutions and corporations that have committed wrongdoing
    and apply that law. I think this is complete redundancy with
    respect to one single organization and I don't even believe
    that what we are doing, especially with respect to so-called
    allied organizations, even achieves the result that we are
    looking for except capturing in the widest possible way in a
    net that has no boundaries, organizations and institutions that
    may be perfectly--operating perfectly legally and legitimately
    under the terms of their agreements receiving federal funds.
    And so I think it is a really dangerous road to go down and I
    don't understand frankly why this committee has to engage in
    this kind of way with respect to a single organization when we
    should be saying that no organization that is engaged in
    wrongdoing or a corporation that is engaged in wrongdoing
    should be receiving further federal funds.
        Chairman Gordon. Would the gentlelady yield?
        Ms. Edwards. I do. Thank you.
        Chairman Gordon. I think you raised many very valid points.
    There is going to be an effort, an agreed-upon effort through
    report language to try to clean up some of your concerns. I
    just want to be sure that you were aware of that, and I yield
    back.
        Ms. Edwards. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and let me close by
    saying, Mr. Chairman, that I think that we have a lot of really
    important business to do on this committee and in this Congress
    and I would not put this at the top of the stack of the really
    important work of the American people. Thank you.
        Mr. Lujan. Mr. Chairman, would the gentlelady yield?
        Ms. Edwards. I yield.
        Mr. Lujan. Mr. Chairman, the one thing that I just noticed
    though is that the language that was adopted in the C.R. says
    ACORN-related affiliate as opposed to allied organization. It
    doesn't appear, Mr. Chairman, that the language is verbatim and
    I just again would urge the question as to how that differs,
    Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much. I thank the gentlelady for
    yielding.
        Ms. Edwards. Thank you. You are absolutely correct. The
    definitions in the measure that we are talking about has a
    definition for covered organizations and affiliated
    organizations, not allied organizations. There is actually no
    such term in that measure.
        Chairman Gordon. Does anyone else wish to be recognized?
        Mr. Ehlers. Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Gordon. Dr. Ehlers.
        Mr. Ehlers. Mr. Chairman, thank you. I am feeling a bit
    left out of this. Even though I don't have anything to add, at
    least I haven't had a chance to say it yet. But I am just
    astounded at this discussion. I recall some years ago before I
    was in the Congress when we had a situation where the Pentagon
    paid $200 for a hammer, they paid $500 for a toilet seat. No
    one questioned whether they were guilty. No one questioned
    whether they were convicted. Congress just went bonkers and
    punished them by withholding funds. That is what we are doing
    here. We are not convicting, we are not flinging with a broad
    brush. It is simply an organization that has behaved
    improperly. The Congress took action against them in a generic
    way and now we are just simply saying look, they shouldn't be
    getting any of this money to train firefighters, there are many
    other organizations that can probably do it better and
    certainly have a better record of honesty. So I don't see why
    individuals are taking up the cause for the so-called allied
    organizations. That will quickly get sorted out if there are
    qualified organizations that somehow are labeled allied. These
    things are easy to straighten out. But I don't see how in any
    way you can defend the actions of ACORN and say or any allied
    organizations. Let us get with it and recognize fraud when you
    see it and let us act accordingly. We would do that with any
    organization that was here that was misusing federal funds. We
    have a firm, solid line, a nonpartisan line of saying we are
    not going to provide funds to any organizations that are going
    to misuse those funds, and that is all we are about here. Let
    us not make it into something that it isn't.
        Mr. Broun. Would the gentleman yield?
        Mr. Ehlers. I would be pleased to yield to the author of
    the amendment.
        Mr. Broun. I thank you, Dr. Ehlers, for yielding.
        Removing the language or changing it about the allied
    organizations would basically gut my amendment and give a huge
    loophole for ACORN to gain money through shell organizations
    that we all know that ACORN has already employed, and back to
    what Dr. Ehlers was just saying, we are talking about, if ACORN
    gets these grants, it is going to take money away from the
    firefighters. When we come to a vote on this, a vote against my
    amendment is voting against firefighters and for ACORN, and it
    is one that I am not sure that is in the best interest of
    anybody to do so. But it is absolutely critical that we put the
    money where it is supposed to be and that is with firefighting,
    with the firefighters and not with organizations like ACORN,
    and Dr. Ehlers made a great point. This is about being
    responsible with taxpayers' money. We already see that ACORN is
    under tremendous amounts of investigation and we already know
    of embezzlement and other things going on with this
    organization, but this is not punitive. It is just denying them
    funds with this one grant program, and it is just a common
    sense, simple amendment, and I encourage people to--all
    Members, Democrats, Republicans alike, to support this
    amendment and I yield back.
        Chairman Gordon. Mr. Wu is recognized.
        Mr. Wu. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        I want to recognize the concerns of my Democratic
    colleagues about, in their words, convicting an organization
    before there has been a conviction elsewhere. But I just want
    to point out for the benefit of all my friends that in the
    words of Oliver Wendell Holmes more than, oh, about a century
    ago, in a case involving a Boston policeman that you have a
    right to do that but you don't have a right to be a Boston
    policeman. So there might be a different standard when one is
    talking about federal funding and the allocation of federal
    funds.
        The flip side of this is, it is also my recollection that
    in a series of Supreme Court cases in the 1950s or 1960s the
    Court was very careful to not involve organizations in loose
    terminology, and it seems to me that if we have defined terms
    for controlled affiliates that using an undefined term is
    legally imprecise and it is a matter of policy unwise. So the
    gentleman who offered the amendment with whom I have worked on
    a number of other issues in our subcommittee, I was just
    wondering if the gentleman would be amenable on a consent basis
    to a slight tweaking of his language to make it a little bit
    more precise and to consider those organizations legally
    controlled by ACORN, and I believe that that is a term that
    should cover all of his legitimate concerns, and I yield to the
    gentleman for his response.
        Mr. Broun. Well, I thank the gentleman for yielding. No, I
    won't be accepting that suggestion----
        Mr. Wu. Reclaiming my time. I would like to understand the
    basis of that rejection because this seems to address all of
    his legitimate concerns, and I yield to the gentleman.
        Mr. Broun. Thank you. Well, I just want to remind the
    gentleman that you did vote for this very----
        Mr. Wu. Reclaiming my time. Of course I did. I voted for a
    common sense amendment that was precisely drawn, and I am
    trying to offer the gentleman the same opportunity to make his
    amendment more careful, and I yield to the gentleman.
        Mr. Broun. I will work with the--if this amendment does
    pass, as the Chairman has already stated, our side and your
    side will work together to make--to tighten up the language but
    I will just leave the amendment as it stands.
        Chairman Gordon. If there is no further discussion----
        Mr. Wu. Reclaiming my time. I will depend on the gentleman
    and the good graces of the Chairman to make this language more
    analytically correct and reflect the will of the Committee and
    of the House. And I yield back.
        Chairman Gordon. If there is no further discussion, then
    the vote is on the----
        Mr. Grayson. Sir, Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Gordon. Mr. Grayson is recognized.
        Mr. Grayson. Thank you. I would like to ask the gentleman
    from Georgia a few questions, and I will yield to him for the
    purpose of having answers to these questions. Does the
    gentleman from Georgia know what a bill of attainder is?
        Mr. Broun. A bill of--the answer is yes. In fact, it has
    been very explicitly described by the courts.
        Mr. Grayson. What is it?
        Mr. Broun. The courts have applied a two-prong test, number
    one, whether specific individuals or entities are affected by
    the statute, and number two, whether the legislation effects a,
    quote, punishment, unquote, on those individuals. It serves no
    regulatory purpose.
        Mr. Grayson. What does the Constitution say about bills of
    attainder?
        Mr. Broun. I suggest that this is not a bill of attainder.
    It certainly does focus upon a specific entity but it does not
    inflict punishment by any means. In fact----
        Mr. Grayson. Will the gentleman from Georgia explain what
    the Constitution says about bills of attainder?
        Mr. Bilbray. Mr. Chairman. Will the gentleman yield for a
    second, the gentleman from Florida?
        Mr. Grayson. No, I would like an answer to my question.
        Mr. Bilbray. Well, frankly I can't wait to see the
    discussion when it comes to----
        Mr. Grayson. I did not yield, and I would like an answer
    from the gentleman from Georgia.
        Chairman Gordon. If we could, let us get back. The time is
    the gentleman from Florida, who has yielded to the gentleman
    from Georgia.
        Mr. Grayson. Right. What does the Constitution say about
    bills of attainder? It is a simple question.
        Mr. Broun. The Constitution says that Congress shall pass
    no bills of attainder, but this is not one.
        Mr. Grayson. All right. Now, would you agree with me that
    it is unconstitutional to single out one or more persons
    without the benefit of trial?
        Mr. Broun. No, sir, there is a two-prong test, and this is
    not a bill of attainder so----
        Mr. Grayson. Well, when I said--I will reclaim my time. I
    just quoted William Rehnquist writing the book, the Supreme
    Court. He wrote that book and said you cannot single out one or
    more persons without the benefit of trial. Will the gentleman
    agree that bills of attainder are contrary to every principal
    of sound legislation?
        Mr. Broun. There are too many criteria which courts would
    likely look in order to determine whether legislation is a bill
    of attainder. One is whether a specific individual entity is
    affected by the statute; number two, whether the legislation
    effects a punishment on those individuals and----
        Mr. Grayson. Will the gentleman please tell me whether you
    agree or not that bills of attainder are contrary to every
    principal of sound legislation?
        Mr. Broun. Bills of attainder are unconstitutional.
        Mr. Grayson. And contrary to every principal of sound
    legislation. Is that correct?
        Mr. Broun. That is correct.
        Mr. Grayson. All right. And you know who said that?
        Mr. Broun. Tell me.
        Mr. Grayson. James Madison in the Federalist Papers. Now,
    does the gentleman agree that the bill of attainder clause was
    intended not as a narrow or technical provision but rather as
    an implementation of a separation of powers and a general
    safeguard against legislative exercise of the judicial function
    or, more simply, trial by legislature. Will the gentleman agree
    with me about that?
        Mr. Sensenbrenner. Will the gentleman yield?
        Mr. Grayson. No.
        Mr. Broun. Would the gentleman restate the question?
        Mr. Grayson. The question is, will the gentleman from
    Georgia agree with me that the bill of attainder clause was
    intended not as a narrow or technical provision but as an
    implementation of separation of powers, a general safeguard
    against legislative exercise of the judicial function, or more
    simply, trial by legislature? Will the gentleman agree to that?
        Mr. Broun. No, sir, I will not, and I asked counsel to help
    us with this, and I think all this is a determination of the
    court and I would like to yield to Mr. Sensenbrenner.
        Mr. Grayson. Well, I am sorry, but it is my time, not yours
    or Mr. Sensenbrenner's, so I will reclaim my time and I will
    point out that what you just said you would not agree to is
    from a Supreme Court case called United States v. Brown,
    something I would expect you might know about, given your name.
    Listen----
        Mr. Broun. Would the gentleman yield?
        Mr. Grayson. No. Listen, we are trampling on people's
    constitutional rights, and I think it is unfortunate that the
    mania that exists on the other side of the aisle regarding this
    organization, and we know why that mania exists. It is because
    they have registered an awful lot of Democrats, continues to
    distort and waste the time of this committee and many other
    committees here in Congress. Enough is enough. I yield my
    remaining five seconds.
        Mr. Sensenbrenner. Mr. Chairman.
        Mr. Grayson. My time is expired.
        Chairman Gordon. The gentleman's time is expired but Mr.
    Sensenbrenner can claim his own time.
        Mr. Sensenbrenner. Mr. Chairman, I would move to strike the
    last word.
        Chairman Gordon. The gentleman is recognized for five
    minutes.
        Mr. Sensenbrenner. Mr. Chairman, as former Chairman of the
    Judiciary Committee, we have dealt with questions of bills of
    attainder quite a bit, and I noticed that earlier this year
    there was such a bill of attainder passed called the AIG tax or
    more properly to impose an additional tax on bonuses received
    from certain TARP recipients. The bill passed the House of
    Representatives. Even the President of the United States, who
    used to be a law professor, as I recall, referred to this as a
    bill of attainder, and I noticed that the gentleman from
    Florida voted ``aye.'' So I guess we have different bills of
    attainder. Some are good and some are bad.
        Mr. Grayson. Will the gentleman yield?
        Mr. Sensenbrenner. They all are unconstitutional. Of course
    I am happy to yield, unlike you.
        Mr. Grayson. Well, sir, I would point out that unlike you,
    I did not vote for the war in Iraq on the basis of weapons of
    mass destruction that didn't exist or make any of the other
    mistakes that you might have made over----
        Mr. Sensenbrenner. I will reclaim my time and I will just
    say that the whole business of the gentleman from Florida's
    debate shows how irrelevant it is to the question of whether we
    are going to make a priority determination on whether to give
    federal funds to ACORN or federal funds to firefighters, and
    Mr. Broun of Georgia----
        Mr. Grayson. Will the gentleman yield?
        Mr. Sensenbrenner. I would like to finish my sentence,
    please. Mr. Broun of Georgia, I think, has stated that this is
    a question of where we spend scarce federal dollars. Now, a
    bill of attainder has always been taking away property that
    already belongs to somebody such as imposing a confiscatory and
    punitive tax rather than saying that an organization and its
    affiliates are not going to get any funds in the future. Now,
    Mr. Broun's amendment does say that ACORN and its affiliates
    are not getting any funds in the future. We are not taking away
    the funds that they already have, even though that might have
    been a mistake for Congress to appropriate it. We are just
    saying enough is enough, no more funds for ACORN and its
    affiliates and let us spend the funds on the firefighters. So
    that is why this amendment is not a bill of attainder. It is
    good policy and we all want to vote for it, and I yield back
    the balance of my time.
        Chairman Gordon. The Chairman has the authority to call a
    previous question at any time. He has never done that and
    doesn't want to do it because I want us to have full, open
    conversations here, but as Dr. Ehlers pointed out several
    minutes ago, I think everything has been said, just everyone
    hasn't said it, and so----
        Mr. Ehlers. Mr. Chairman, I will move the previous
    question.
        Chairman Gordon. Well, if there no further discussion, then
    that won't be necessary. I think Ms. Johnson had a question.
        Ms. Johnson. Thank you very much. Strike the last word.
        Mr. Chairman, I am getting more and more confused. The part
    that I heard about ACORN, weren't there some locations and not
    all of the country that they were guilty of anything? Can
    someone--my point here is that we are punishing the entire
    organization for something that perhaps two or three people
    might have done and they haven't proven they have done but
    might have done in a particular location. Are you saying that
    every ACORN chapter is guilty of the same?
        Mr. Broun. I assume the gentlelady is asking a question
    here. This is not a punishment. It just says that ACORN will
    not get the funds in this grant program and that the
    firefighters should and would, so it is not convicting anybody,
    it is not indicting anybody. It just says that these funds will
    be utilized for firefighters and for what they need to perform
    their job and keep us safe, and so that is what it is all
    about. It is directed towards ACORN and all affiliates. It says
    what it says, and that is it.
        Ms. Johnson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Gordon. As I said earlier, we will continue
    efforts to perfect this language. If there is no further
    discussion, the vote is on the amendment. All in favor, say
    aye. Opposed, no. The ayes have it. The----
        Mr. Grayson. Mr. Chairman?
        Chairman Gordon. The Clerk will call the roll.
        The Clerk. Chairman Gordon?
        Chairman Gordon. Aye.
        The Clerk. Chairman Gordon votes aye. Mr. Costello?
        Mr. Costello. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Costello votes aye. Ms. Johnson?
        Ms. Johnson. No.
        The Clerk. Ms. Johnson votes no. Ms. Woolsey?
        Ms. Woolsey. No.
        The Clerk. Ms. Woolsey votes no. Mr. Wu?
        Mr. Wu. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Wu votes aye. Mr. Baird?
        Mr. Baird. No.
        The Clerk. Mr. Baird votes no. Mr. Miller?
        Mr. Miller. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Miller votes aye. Mr. Lipinski?
        Mr. Lipinski. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Lipinski votes aye. Ms. Giffords?
        Ms. Giffords. Aye.
        The Clerk. Ms. Giffords votes aye. Ms. Edwards?
        Ms. Edwards. No.
        The Clerk. Ms. Edwards votes no. Ms. Fudge?
        Ms. Fudge. No.
        The Clerk. Ms. Fudge votes no. Mr. Lujan?
        Mr. Lujan. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Lujan votes aye. Mr. Tonko?
        Mr. Tonko. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Tonko votes aye. Mr. Griffith?
        Mr. Griffith. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Griffith votes aye. Mr. Rothman?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Mr. Matheson?
        Mr. Matheson. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Matheson votes aye. Mr. Davis?
        Mr. Davis. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Davis votes aye. Mr. Chandler?
        Mr. Chandler. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Chandler votes aye. Mr. Carnahan?
        Mr. Carnahan. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Carnahan votes aye. Mr. Hill?
        Mr. Hill. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Hill votes aye. Mr. Mitchell?
        Mr. Mitchell. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Mitchell votes aye. Mr. Wilson?
        Mr. Wilson. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Wilson votes aye. Ms. Dahlkemper?
        Ms. Dahlkemper. Aye.
        The Clerk. Ms. Dahlkemper votes aye. Mr. Grayson?
        Mr. Grayson. Present.
        The Clerk. Mr. Grayson votes present. Ms. Kosmas?
        Ms. Kosmas. Aye.
        The Clerk. Ms. Kosmas votes aye. Mr. Peters?
        Mr. Peters. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Peters votes aye. Mr. Hall?
        Mr. Hall. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Hall votes aye. Mr. Sensenbrenner?
        Mr. Sensenbrenner. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Sensenbrenner votes aye. Mr. Lamar Smith?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Mr. Rohrabacher?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Mr. Bartlett?
        The Clerk. Mr. Bartlett votes aye. Mr. Ehlers?
        Mr. Ehlers. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Ehlers votes aye. Mr. Lucas?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Ms. Biggert?
        Ms. Biggert. Aye.
        The Clerk. Ms. Biggert votes aye. Mr. Akin?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Mr. Neugebauer?
        Mr. Neugebauer. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Neugebauer votes aye. Mr. Inglis?
        Mr. Inglis. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Inglis votes aye. Mr. McCaul?
        Mr. McCaul. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. McCaul votes aye. Mr. Diaz-Balart?
        Mr. Diaz-Balart. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Diaz-Balart votes aye. Mr. Bilbray?
        Mr. Bilbray. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Bilbray votes aye. Mr. Adrian Smith?
        Mr. Smith of Nebraska. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Adrian Smith votes aye. Mr. Broun?
        Mr. Broun. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Broun votes aye. Mr. Olson?
        Mr. Olson. Aye.
        The Clerk. Mr. Olson votes aye.
        Chairman Gordon. How is Mr. Rohrabacher recorded?
        The Clerk. Mr. Rohrabacher is not recorded.
        Mr. Rohrabacher. Well, I guess he should be recorded yes.
        The Clerk. Mr. Rohrabacher votes yes.
        Chairman Gordon. And I saw Mr. Rothman somewhere. Is he
    still with us? Is there anybody else here who has not been
    recorded? Then the Clerk will report the vote.
        The Clerk. Mr. Chairman, 33 Members vote aye, 5 Members
    vote no, and one Member votes present.

        Chairman Gordon. The amendment passes. And my understanding
    now, we are going to move to the sixth amendment offered by the
    gentleman from Nebraska, Mr. Smith.
        Mr. Broun. Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Gordon. Dr. Broun.
        Mr. Broun. I ask unanimous consent that Mr. Smith's and my
    letter to FEMA be entered into the record.
        [The information follows:]

        Chairman Gordon. Without objection, so ordered.
        Mr. Broun. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Gordon. So Mr. Smith, we will proceed with you
    having the last amendment.
        Mr. Smith of Nebraska. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have
    an amendment at the desk.
        Chairman Gordon. The Clerk will report the amendment.
        The Clerk. Amendment 012, amendment to the amendment in the
    nature of a substitute to H.R. 3791, offered by Mr. Smith of
    Nebraska.
        Chairman Gordon. I ask unanimous consent to dispense with
    the reading. Without objection, so ordered.
        I recognize the gentleman for five minutes to explain his
    amendment.
        Mr. Smith of Nebraska. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank
    you as to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for
    cooperation in this amendment. It is very simple. It is a sense
    of Congress emphasizing restoring funding to the Assistance to
    Firefighters Grant Programs should be a priority. The program
    is authorized in this legislation at $1 billion per year.
    However, its appropriated funding has never reached that amount
    and in fact it steadily declined in recent years, and that is
    why in 2003 $750 million was appropriated for AFG. Since this
    time, funding has steadily declined. Last year it was $565
    million and this year the Administration only requested $390
    million. This represents a 48 percent decline since fiscal year
    2003. Given the importance of AFG in helping fire departments
    around the country meet minimum response requirements,
    especially those in rural areas with limited tax bases, this
    trend is troubling and should certainly be reversed. The
    underlying reauthorization legislation attempts to do that, and
    I support it.
        This amendment adds to the bill by explicitly calling
    attention to this issue and stating that addressing this
    funding decline should be a priority. I urge Members to support
    it. Thank you. I yield back.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Smith follows:]

               Prepared Statement of Representative Adrian Smith

        This amendment is very simple. It is a sense of Congress
    emphasizing restoring funding for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant
    program should be a priority. The program is authorized in this
    legislation at a billion dollars per year. However, its appropriated
    funding has never reached that amount, and in fact has steadily
    declined in recent years. In FY 2003, $750 million was appropriated for
    AFG. Last year, it was $565 million, and this year the Administration
    only requested $390 million. This represents a 48 percent decline since
    FY 2003.
        Given the importance of AFG in helping fire departments around the
    country meet minimum response requirements--especially those in rural
    areas with limited tax bases--this trend is troubling, and should be
    reversed. The underlying reauthorization legislation attempts do that--
    and I support it--but this amendment adds to the bill by explicitly
    calling attention to this funding decline. I urge Members to support
    it.

        Chairman Gordon. Is there further discussion on the
    amendment? Mr. Hall is recognized.
        Mr. Hall. Thank you. I will be very brief.
        This is simply a sense of Congress expressing
    disappointment with the declining funding for assistance to
    firefighters. I think we are all for that, and restoring this
    funding ought to be a priority. I think we all support that
    program. And I understand funding is always limited to
    competing needs but Mr. Smith is simply trying to emphasize
    that this program warrants priority attention and I think that
    is a good move. I certainly support it and I yield back, and I
    thank the Chairman.
        Chairman Gordon. The record will show that Mr. Hall
    supports more funding for firefighters.
        Does anyone else wish to be recognized? If not, then the
    vote occurs on the amendment. All in favor say aye. Opposed,
    no. The ayes have it and the amendment is agreed to.
        Are there any further amendments? If not, then the vote
    occurs on the amendment in the nature of a substitute offered
    by the gentleman from Arizona as amended. All in favor, say
    aye. Opposed, no. The ayes have it. The amendment is agreed to.
        The vote is now on the bill, H.R. 3791 as amended. All
    those in favor, say aye. All those opposed, no. In the opinion
    of the Chair, the ayes have it.
        I recognize Mr. Tonko for a motion.
        Mr. Tonko. Yes, Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee
    favorably report H.R. 3791 as amended to the House with the
    recommendation that the bill do pass. Furthermore, I move that
    staff be instructed to prepare the legislative report and make
    necessary technical and conforming changes and that the Chair
    take all necessary steps to bring the bill before the House for
    consideration.
        Chairman Gordon. The question is on the motion to report
    the bill favorably. Those in favor of the motion will signify
    by saying aye. Opposed, no. The ayes have it. The bill is
    favorably reported.
        Before he gets away, Mr. Neugebauer, we welcome you back
    and glad to see you look fit, trim and ready for action.
        Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon
    the table. Members will have two subsequent calendar days in
    which to submit supplemental, Minority or additional views on
    the measure.
        Chairman Gordon. I want to thank all the Members for being
    here and taking part in this good markup. Thank you.
        [Whereupon, at 11:35 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

                                   Appendix:

                                  ----------

                     H.R. 3791 as amended, Amendment Roster