United States Fire Administration Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999

Summary: United States Fire Administration Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999 - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999. 
Permits successor fire safety standards to be used as guidelines in addition to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 74, NFPA Standard 13 or 13-R, or NFPA Standard 101 (Life Safety Code) for installation of hard-wired, single-station smoke detectors or automatic sprinkler systems in:  (1) places of public accommodation affecting commerce; and (2) federally-assisted buildings. 
Requires the Administrator of the U.S. Fire Administration to report to the Congress at least 60 days in advance on the termination or transfer to a private sector entity of any significant function of the Administration. 
Urges the Administrator to give high priority to correcting, assess the risk to operations posed by, plan and budget for, and develop contingency plans for date-related year 2000 problems in its computer systems. 
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Administrator should donate educationally useful Federal equipment to schools in order to enhance science and mathematics programs.  Requires the Administrator to report to the President on such action. 
Directs the Administrator to report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Science on:  (1) risks to fire fighters in suppressing fires caused by burning tires; and (2) special training required to suppress such fires and how the training may be provided by the Administration.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``United States Fire Administration 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 17(g)(1) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 
1974 (15 U.S.C. 2216(g)(1)) is amended--
        (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (E);
        (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (F) and 
    inserting a semicolon; and
        (3) by adding at the end the following:
        ``(G) $29,664,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
    1998; and
        ``(H) $30,554,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
    1999.''.

SEC. 3. SUCCESSOR FIRE SAFETY STANDARDS.

    The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2201 
et seq.) is amended--
        (1) in section 29(a)(1), by inserting ``or any successor 
    standard to that standard'' after ``Association Standard 74'';
        (2) in section 29(a)(2), by inserting ``, or any successor 
    standard to that standard'' before ``, whichever is appropriate,'';
        (3) in section 29(b)(2), by inserting ``, or any successor 
    standard to that standard'' after ``Association Standard 13 or 13-
    R'';
        (4) in section 31(c)(2)(B)(i), by inserting ``or any successor 
    standard to that standard'' after ``Life Safety Code)''; and
        (5) in section 31(c)(2)(B)(ii), by inserting ``or any successor 
    standard to that standard'' after ``Association Standard 101''.

SEC. 4. TERMINATION OR PRIVATIZATION OF FUNCTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 60 days before the termination or 
transfer to a private sector person or entity of any significant 
function of the United States Fire Administration, as described in 
subsection (b), the Administrator of the United States Fire 
Administration shall transmit to Congress a report providing notice of 
that termination or transfer.
    (b) Covered Terminations and Transfers.--For purposes of subsection 
(a), a termination or transfer to a person or entity described in that 
subsection shall be considered to be a termination or transfer of a 
significant function of the United States Fire Administration if the 
termination or transfer--
        (1) relates to a function of the Administration that requires 
    the expenditure of more than 5 percent of the total amount of funds 
    made available by appropriations to the Administration; or
        (2) involves the termination of more than 5 percent of the 
    employees of the Administration.

SEC. 5. NOTICE.

    (a) Major Reorganization Defined.--With respect to the United 
States Fire Administration, the term ``major reorganization'' means any 
reorganization of the Administration that involves the reassignment of 
more than 25 percent of the employees of the Administration.
    (b) Notice of Reprogramming.--If any funds appropriated pursuant to 
the amendments made by this Act are subject to a reprogramming action 
that requires notice to be provided to the Committees on Appropriations 
of the Senate and the House of Representatives, notice of that action 
shall concurrently be provided to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science of the 
House of Representatives.
    (c) Notice of Reorganization.--Not later than 15 days before any 
major reorganization of any program, project, or activity of the United 
States Fire Administration, the Administrator of the United States Fire 
Administration shall provide notice to the Committees on Science and 
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committees on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Appropriations of the Senate.

SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE YEAR 2000 PROBLEM.

    With the year 2000 rapidly approaching, it is the sense of Congress 
that the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration 
should--
        (1) give high priority to correcting all 2-digit date-related 
    problems in the computer systems of the United States Fire 
    Administration to ensure that those systems continue to operate 
    effectively in the year 2000 and in subsequent years;
        (2) as soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this 
    Act, assess the extent of the risk to the operations of the United 
    States Fire Administration posed by the problems referred to in 
    paragraph (1), and plan and budget for achieving compliance for all 
    of the mission-critical systems of the system by the year 2000; and
        (3) develop contingency plans for those systems that the United 
    States Fire Administration is unable to correct by the year 2000.

SEC. 7. ENHANCEMENT OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS PROGRAMS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
        (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
    Administrator of the United States Fire Administration.
        (2) Educationally useful federal equipment.--The term 
    ``educationally useful Federal equipment'' means computers and 
    related peripheral tools and research equipment that is appropriate 
    for use in schools.
        (3) School.--The term ``school'' means a public or private 
    educational institution that serves any of the grades of 
    kindergarten through grade 12.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--
        (1) In general.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
    Administrator should, to the greatest extent practicable and in a 
    manner consistent with applicable Federal law (including Executive 
    Order No. 12999), donate educationally useful Federal equipment to 
    schools in order to enhance the science and mathematics programs of 
    those schools.
        (2) Reports.--
            (A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
        Administrator shall prepare and submit to the President a 
        report that meets the requirements of this paragraph. The 
        President shall submit that report to Congress at the same time 
        as the President submits a budget request to Congress under 
        section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code.
            (B) Contents of report.--The report prepared by the 
        Administrator under this paragraph shall describe any donations 
        of educationally useful Federal equipment to schools made 
        during the period covered by the report.

SEC. 8. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the United States Fire 
Administration (referred to in this section as the ``Administrator'') 
shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science of the House 
of Representatives a report that meets the requirements of this 
section.
    (b) Contents of Report.--The report under this section shall--
        (1) examine the risks to firefighters in suppressing fires 
    caused by burning tires;
        (2) address any risks that are uniquely attributable to fires 
    described in paragraph (1), including any risks relating to--
            (A) exposure to toxic substances (as that term is defined 
        by the Administrator);
            (B) personal protection;
            (C) the duration of those fires; and
            (D) site hazards associated with those fires;
        (3) identify any special training that may be necessary for 
    firefighters to suppress those fires; and
        (4) assess how the training referred to in paragraph (3) may be 
    provided by the United States Fire Administration.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.