Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act

Summary: Requires: (1) ten percent non-Federal matching funds; (2) each grantee to report to the Director on grant uses; and (3) grants to be made to a variety of recipients, including paid and volunteer firefighters and urban, suburban, and rural.
Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 through 2005.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Firefighter Investment and Response 
Enhancement (FIRE) Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) increased demands on firefighting personnel have made 
        it difficult for local governments to adequately fund necessary 
        fire safety precautions;
            (2) the Federal Government has an obligation to protect the 
        health and safety of the firefighting personnel of the United 
        States and to ensure that the personnel have the financial 
        resources to protect the public; and
            (3) the high rates in the United States of death, injury, 
        and property damage caused by fires demonstrates a critical 
        need for Federal investment in support of firefighting 
        personnel.

SEC. 3. FIREFIGHTER INVESTMENT AND RESPONSE ENHANCEMENT.

    The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2201 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 33. FIREFIGHTER INVESTMENT AND RESPONSE ENHANCEMENT.

    ``(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 to fire 
                departments for the purpose of protecting the health 
                and safety of the public and firefighting personnel 
                against fire and fire-related hazards; and
                    ``(B) provide assistance for fire prevention 
                programs in accordance with paragraph (4).
            ``(2) Establishment of office for administration of 
        assistance.--Before providing assistance under paragraph (1), 
        the Director shall establish an office in the Federal Emergency 
        Management Agency that shall have the duties of establishing 
        specific criteria for the selection of recipients of the 
        assistance, and administering the assistance, under this 
        section.
            ``(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--
                    ``(A) to hire additional firefighting personnel;
                    ``(B) to train firefighting personnel in 
                firefighting, emergency response, arson prevention and 
                detection, 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;
                    ``(G) to acquire additional firefighting vehicles, 
                including fire trucks;
                    ``(H) to acquire additional firefighting equipment, 
                including equipment for communications and monitoring;
                    ``(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;
                    ``(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; or
                    ``(M) to educate the public about arson prevention 
                and detection.
            ``(4) Fire prevention programs.--
                    ``(A) In general.--For each fiscal year, the 
                Director shall use not less than 10 percent of the 
                funds made available under subsection (c)--
                            ``(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 recognized for their 
                        experience and expertise with respect to fire 
                        prevention or fire safety programs and 
                        activities, for the purpose of carrying out 
                        fire prevention programs.
                    ``(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 children from fire.
            ``(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 in such form and 
        containing such information as the Director may require.
            ``(6) Matching requirement.--The Director may provide 
        assistance under this subsection only if the applicant for the 
        assistance agrees to match with an equal amount of non-Federal 
        funds 10 percent of the assistance received under this 
        subsection for any fiscal year.
            ``(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 2 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) Limitation on expenditures for firefighting 
        vehicles.--The Director shall ensure that not more than 25 
        percent of the assistance made available under this subsection 
        for a fiscal year is used for the use described in paragraph 
        (3)(G).
    ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
        to the Director $1,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 
        through 2005.
            ``(2) Limitation on administrative costs.--Of the amounts 
        made available under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the 
        Director may use not more than 10 percent for the 
        administrative costs of carrying out this section.''.