U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

69–010 

" ! SENATE 115TH CONGRESS

1st Session 

REPORT

2017

115–128 

Calendar No. 168 

AFG AND SAFER PROGRAM 

REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2017 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

TO ACCOMPANY

S. 829 

TO REAUTHORIZE THE ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS 

PROGRAM, THE FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS 

PROGRAM, AND THE STAFFING FOR ADEQUATE FIRE AND 

EMERGENCY RESPONSE GRANT PROGRAM, AND FOR OTHER 

PURPOSES 

JULY 11, 2017.—Ordered to be printed 


congress.#13
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

JON TESTER, Montana 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

GARY C. PETERS, Michigan 

MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire 

KAMALA D. HARRIS, California 

CHRISTOPHER R. HIXON, Staff Director 

GABRIELLE D’ADAMO SINGER, Chief Counsel 

NATALIE F. ENCLADE, U.S. Department of Homeland Security 

Office of the Inspector General Detailee 

MARGARET E. DAUM, Minority Staff Director 

STACIA M. CARDILLE, Minority Chief Counsel 

CHARLES A. MOSKOWITZ, Minority Senior Legislative Counsel 

SUE RAMANATHAN, Minority Counsel 

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Chief Clerk 

Calendar No. 168 

115TH CONGRESS SENATE REPORT " ! 1st Session 115–128 

AFG AND SAFER PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 

2017 

JULY 11, 2017.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. JOHNSON, from the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 829] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

to which was referred the bill (S. 829) to reauthorize the Assistance 

to Firefighters Grants program, the Fire Prevention and Safety 

Grants program, and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant program, and for other purposes, reports favorably thereon with an amendment in the nature of a substitute 

and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

I. Purpose and Summary .................................................................................. 1 

II. Background and Need for the Legislation ................................................... 2 

III. Legislative History ......................................................................................... 4 

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis .......................................................................... 4 

V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact .................................................................. 5 

VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ................................................ 6 

VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ........................... 7 

I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

S. 829, the AFG and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 

2017, reauthorizes the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response 

(SAFER) grant program through fiscal year (FY) 2023. Additionally, the legislation incorporates important tools to improve the 

grant programs’ accountability to Congress and the American taxpayers. 

2 

1See National Fire Protection Association, Fire department calls, available at http:// 

www.nfpa.org/news-and-research/fire-statistics-and-reports/fire-statistics/the-fire-service/fire-department-calls/fire-department-calls (last visited July 6, 2017). 2FY2001 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 106–398), section 1701. 

3 Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for FY2005, P.L. 108–375, section 

3602. 4 National Defense Authorization Act for FT2013, P.L. 112–239, Section 1803. 

5The provisions governing the program are codified in section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (FFPCA), 15 U.S.C. 2229; see also Federal Emergency Management 

Agency, Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (2017), available at https://www.fema.gov/welcome-assistance-firefighters-grant-program. 6P.L. 108–375, section 3602 (2005). 

7 U.S. Fire Admin., A Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service, FA–240, Nov. 2016, p. iv, 

available at http://www.nfpa.org/news-and-research/fire-statistics-and-reports/fire-statistics/ 

the-fire-service/administration/needs-assessment. 8FY2004 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 108–136). It is codified as section 34 of the 

FFPCA, 15 U.S.C 2229a. 9 Nat’l. Fire Protection Assoc., Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career 

Fire Departments (NFPA 1710). Available at http://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/all-codesand-standards/list-of-codes-and-standards/detail?code=1710. 

II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Reauthorization 

Congress created the AFG and SAFER grant programs to help 

address the significant staffing, equipment, training, and health 

and safety needs of fire departments. SAFER provides funding to 

help pay the costs associated with hiring personnel to maintain 

safe staffing levels, while AFG grants fund equipment, training 

and other fire department needs. Together, these programs help 

ensure that our nation’s 30,000 fire departments have the necessary training, equipment, and staffing to respond to over 30 million emergency calls annually and to continue to reduce community 

risk.1

Congress created the AFG program in 2000 2 reauthorized it in 

2004 3 and again in the FY2013 National Defense Authorization 

Act.4 The primary goal of the AFG grant program is to meet the 

firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and 

nonaffiliated emergency medical service organizations by providing 

funds for the purchase of firefighting equipment, vehicles, training, 

or wellness and fitness programs.5 Fire Prevention and Safety 

(FP&S) grants are part of the AFG. The primary goal of these 

grants is to reduce injury and prevent death among high-risk populations. Congress reauthorized funding for FP&S in 2005 and expanded the eligible uses of funds to include Firefighter Safety Research and Development.6

In 2002, the U.S. Fire Administration conducted a Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service and found that many departments 

nationwide were lacking the minimum number of firefighters to 

safely fight building, vehicle, and other structure fires.7 To help alleviate these identified challenges, Congress created the SAFER 

program in 2003 to provide funding directly to fire departments 

and volunteer firefighter organizations to help them increase or 

maintain the number of trained, ‘‘front line’’ firefighters available 

in their communities.8

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) minimum 

standards call for four on-duty firefighters on a fire engine or 

pumper.9 Many jurisdictions still cannot meet that standard. For 

example, 51 percent of fire departments protecting populations of 

250,000 to 499,999 assign less than four firefighters to an appaVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:51 Jul 13, 2017 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR128.XXX SR128
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10Letter from International Association of Fire Chiefs to Sen. Gary Peters (May 9, 2017). 11 15 U.S.C. 2229. 12 1Dep’t of Homeland Sec. Office of Inspector General, OIG–16–100, FEMA’s Grant Programs 

Directorate Did Not Effectively Manage Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program—AFG Grants 

(2016) [hereinafter OIG Report AFG], available at https://www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/2016/OI16-100-Jun16.pdf.; see also Dep’t of Homeland Sec. Office of Inspector General, OIG–16–98, 

FEMA’s Grant Programs Directorate Did Not Effectively Manage Assistance to Firefighters 

Grant Program SAFER Grants (2016) [hereinafter OIG Report SAFER], available at https:// 

www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/2016/OIG-16-98-Jun16.pdf. 13OIG Report AFG, supra note 12. 14 Id. 15OIG Report SAFER, supra note 12. 16 Id. 17 17 OIG Report AFG and OIG Report SAFER, supra note 12. 18 Id. 

ratus, as do 80 percent of fire departments protecting populations 

of 50,000 to 99,000.10

The current authorization for the AFG and SAFER grant programs contains a sunset provision that would permanently eliminate both programs on January 2, 2018.11 Given the importance of 

these grant programs to emergency response, S. 829 eliminates the 

sunset provision, and authorizes the programs through FY 2023. In 

place of the sunset, oversight mechanisms have been added to require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to better manage and monitor these grants, as discussed below. 

Accountability 

Although the AFG and SAFER programs are important and necessary for enhancing the ability for fire departments to protect the 

public from fires and other hazards, the Department of Homeland 

Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) has alerted Congress to problems with FEMA’s oversight and monitoring of these 

grants programs.12 According to the DHS OIG, 64 percent (243 of 

379) of AFG grant recipients reviewed did not comply with grant 

guidance and requirements to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of 

grant funds.13 Out of the $50 million in grant funds reviewed by 

the OIG, investigators questioned whether $7.1 million complied 

with the grant requirements and Federal law.14

According to the same report, 63 percent (88 of 139) of SAFER 

grant recipients reviewed did not comply with grant guidance and 

requirements to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of grant funds.15

Out of the $72 million in grant funds examined by the OIG, investigators questioned whether $18.4 million of those funds complied 

with the grant requirements and Federal law.16

The OIG concluded that FEMA cannot assure AFG funds were 

used to help local fire departments and other first responder organizations obtain equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, 

training, and other resources; nor could FEMA assure that SAFER 

grant funds were used to help local fire departments and other first 

responder organizations hire and retain firefighters, obtain equipment, and provide training.17 The OIG recommended FEMA develop and implement an organizational framework to manage the 

risk of fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement.18

For this reason, S. 829 includes strong oversight provisions to 

make FEMA and the grant recipients under these grant programs 

more accountable to the American taxpayer. First, it authorizes the 

Administrator of FEMA, acting through the Administrator of the 

United States Fire Administration, to develop and make widely 

4 

available online grants administration training for members of the 

fire and emergency response community that will allow them to 

better access and manage grants. Second, S. 829 requires FEMA to 

develop and implement an oversight framework that will mitigate 

and minimize these grant programs’ susceptibility to waste, fraud, 

abuse, and mismanagement, as required by the OIG. With these 

additional oversight requirements, these grants will become more 

accountable to the American taxpayers. 

III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

On April 5, 2017, Senator John McCain (R–AZ) introduced S. 

829, the AFG and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017, 

with Senators Jon Tester (D–MT), Susan Collins (R–ME), and Tom 

Carper (D–DE). The bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Senators Richard 

Blumenthal (D–CT), Christopher Coons (D–DE), Kirsten Gillibrand 

(D–NY), Claire McCaskill (D–MO), Gary C. Peters (D–MI), Robert 

Menendez (D–NJ), Chris Van Hollen (D–MD) and Patrick Leahy 

(D–VT) later joined as cosponsors. 

The Committee considered S. 829 at a business meeting on May 

17, 2017. Senators McCain and Tester offered a manager’s amendment incorporating oversight language to require the FEMA Administrator and Assistant Administrator for the Grant Program Directorate to develop and implement a grant monitoring and oversight framework, as well as authorizing the development of electronic, online training for members of the fire and emergency response community on matters relating to the administration of 

these grants. 

Senators Peters and Heitkamp offered an additional amendment 

to allow SAFER funds to convert part-time firefighters to full-time 

firefighters. 

The Committee favorably reported the bill, as amended by both 

amendments, by voice vote en bloc. Senators present for the vote 

on the amendments and final passage were Johnson, McCain, 

Portman, Paul, Lankford, Enzi, Hoeven, Daines, McCaskill, Tester, 

Heitkamp, Peters, Hassan, and Harris. 

IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Short title 

This section specifies that the bill may be cited as the ‘‘AFG and 

SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017.’’ 

Sec. 2. Reauthorization of Assistance to Firefighters Grants program 

and the Fire Prevention and Safety Grants program 

Subsection (a) repeals the AFG grant program sunset. 

Subsection (b) authorizes appropriations through FY 2023. 

Subsection (c) makes a technical correction in The 21st Century 

Cures Act (P.L. 114–255), which amended the SAFER grant program, to detail the allowable uses for grant funds, including eligible training activities. 

Sec. 3. Reauthorization of Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant program 

Subsection (a) repeals the SAFER grant program sunset. 

5 

Subsection (b) authorizes appropriations through FY 2023. 

Subsection (c) is a technical correction to 15 U.S.C. 2229a(b), 

which details specific requirements that applicants for a SAFER 

grant must meet. The technical correction corrects the subsection 

referred to in (b)(3)(B). 

Subsection (d) removes an anachronism date of November 24, 

2004, and replaces it with the grant application date. 

Subsection (e) is a technical correction that ensures the statute 

properly permits a waiver for jurisdictions with demonstrated local 

hardship to use SAFER funds to supplant state and local funds, 

the local match, and the requirement that applicants have sustained their fire-related programs and emergency response budgets 

by at least 80 percent in the three preceding years. 

Subsection (f) is a technical correction outlining the use of grant 

funds. The SAFER program provides grants specifically for staffing, 

not training. This section moves this provision under 15 U.S.C. 

2229(c)(3), the section outlining the ‘‘Use of Grant Funds’’ under 

the Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) grant program. 

Subsection (g) expands the use for SAFER grants so that fire departments may change part-time or paid-on-call firefighters to fulltime firefighters. 

Sec. 4. Training on Administration of Fire Grant programs 

Subsection (a) authorizes the Administrator of FEMA, acting 

through the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration, to develop and make widely available an online grants management training course for members of the fire and emergency response community. 

Subsection (b) outlines the training requirements for the course, 

including that it must be tailored to the financial and time constraints of all individuals in the career field. 

Sec. 5. Framework for oversight and monitoring of the Assistance 

to Firefighters grants program, the Fire Prevention and Safety 

Grants program, and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant program 

Subsection (a) requires the FEMA Administrator, through the 

Administrator of the United States Fire Administration, to develop 

and implement an oversight framework that will mitigate and minimize these grant programs’ susceptibility to waste, fraud, abuse, 

and mismanagement. 

Section (b) outlines the requirements of the framework, including 

ensuring standardized guidance and training for grant recipients, 

conducting regular risk assessments, conducting desk reviews and 

site visits, enforcing mechanisms to recoup questioned costs, and 

ensuring any other oversight and monitoring tools deemed necessary to reduce the risks of waste, fraud, and abuse. 

V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of 

the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has considered 

the regulatory impact of this bill and determined that the bill will 

have no regulatory impact within the meaning of the rules. The 

Committee agrees with the Congressional Budget Office’s statement that the bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 

6 

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

JUNE 15, 2017. 

Hon. RON JOHNSON, 

Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 829, the AFG and SAFER 

Program Reauthorization Act of 2017. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Robert Reese. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL. 

Enclosure. 

S. 829—AFG and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017 

Summary: S. 829 would extend through 2023 the authorization 

of appropriations for two programs—Staffing for Adequate Fire and 

Emergency Response (SAFER) and Assistance to Firefighter 

Grants (AFG). The authorization for those programs expires at the 

end of fiscal year 2017. Assuming appropriation of the full 

amounts, CBO estimates that implementing S. 829 would cost 

about $4.8 billion over the 2018–2022 period, and $5.2 billion in 

years after 2022. 

Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates 

that enacting S. 829 would not increase net direct spending or onbudget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028. 

S. 829 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 

as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). 

Estimated Cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary effect of S. 829 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— 

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2017–2022 

INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 

Estimated Authorization Level ......... 0 1,611 1,649 1,688 1,728 1,770 8,446 

Estimated Outlays ........................... 0 32 436 1,171 1,521 1,653 4,813 

Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that S. 829 

will be enacted near the end of 2017 and that the estimated 

amounts will be appropriated each fiscal year. 

Under current law, $750 million was authorized in 2013 for the 

SAFER program, which provides grants to fire departments to facilitate retention and hiring of personnel, and another $750 million 

for the AFG program, which provides grants to fire departments, 

state fire-training academies, and other organizations. The law provides that those specified amounts be adjusted each year for the 

7 

change in the Consumer Price Index through 2017. Under S. 829, 

that authorization of appropriations would be extended through 

2023. 

Including the adjustments for anticipated inflation, CBO esti- mates that S. 829 would authorize the appropriation of about $8.4 

billion, in total, over the next five years for the two programs. 

Based on historical spending patterns, CBO estimates that implementing S. 829 would cost about $4.8 billion over the 2018–2022 

period and another $5.2 billion in years after 2022. In 2017, a total 

of $690 million was appropriated for those grant programs. 

Pay-As-You-Go considerations: None. 

Increase in long-term direct spending and deficits: CBO estimates that enacting S. 829 would not increase net direct spending 

or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods 

beginning in 2028. 

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 829 contains no 

intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA. 

State, local, and tribal governments would benefit from grants reauthorized in the bill to fund specialized training for first responders. Any costs to state, local, or tribal governments would result 

from complying with conditions of assistance. 

Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Robert Reese; Impact on 

state, local, and tribal governments: Rachel Austin; Impact on the 

private sector: Logan Smith. 

Estimate approved by: H. Samuel Papenfuss Deputy Assistant 

Director for Budget Analysis. 

VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill, as 

reported, are shown as follows: (existing law proposed to be omitted 

is enclosed in brackets, new matter is printed in italic, and existing 

law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

UNITED STATES CODE 

* * * * * * * 

TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 49—FIRE PREVENTION AND CONTROL 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 2229. FIREFIGHTER ASSISTANCE 

(a) * * * 

(b) * * * 

(c) ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS.— (1) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(3) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— (A) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

8 

(N) To provide specialized training to firefighters, paramedics, emergency medical service workers, and other first 

responders to recognize individuals who have mental illness and how to properly intervene with individual with 

mental illness, including strategies for verbal de-escalation 

of crisis. 

* * * * * * * 

(q) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(A) * * * 

(B) for each of the fiscal years 2014 through ø2017¿ 

2023, an amount equal to the amount authorized for the 

previous fiscal year increased by the percentage by 

which— 

* * * * * * * 

ø(r) SUNSET OF AUTHORITIES.—The authority to award assistance 

and grants under this section shall expire on the date that is 5 

years after January 2, 2013.¿ 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 2229a. STAFFING FOR ADEQUATE FIRE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE 

(a) EXPANDED AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.— HIRING GRANTS.— 

(A) * * * 

(B) Grants made under this paragraph shall be for 3 

years and be used for programs to hire new, additional 

firefighters øand to provide specialized training to paramedics, emergency medical service workers, and other first 

responders to recognize individuals who have mental illness and how to properly intervene with individuals with 

mental illness, including strategies for verbal de-escalation 

of crises¿ or to change the status of part-time or paid-oncall (as defined in section 33(a)) firefighters to full-time 

firefighters. 

(b) APPLICATIONS.— 

(1) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(3) At a minimum, each application for a grant under this 

section shall— 

(A) * * * 

(B) in the case of a grant under subsection (a)(1), explain 

how the applicant plans to meet the requirements øof subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii) and (F)¿ of subsection (a)(1)(F); 

(C) * * * 

(D) * * * 

(c) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.— 

(1) * * * 

(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 øprior to November 24, 2003¿ prior 

to the date of the application for the grant. 

9 

(3) * * * 

(4) * * * 

(d) WAIVERS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—In a case of demonstrated economic hardship, the Administrator of FEMA may— 

(A) * * * 

(B) waive or reduce the requirements in øsubsection 

(a)(1)(E) or subsection (c)(2)¿ (a)(1)(E), (c)(2), or (c)(4). 

* * * * * * * 

(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appropriated for 

the purposes of carrying out this section— 

(A) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(I) for each of fiscal years 2014 through ø2017¿ 2023, an 

amount equal to the amount authorized for the previous 

fiscal year increased by which— 

* * * * * * * 

ø(k) SUNSET OF AUTHORITIES.—The authority to award assistance and grants under this section shall expire on the date that is 

5 years after January 2, 2013.¿ 

* * * * * * * 

Æ