89–006 

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 


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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. 


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‘‘(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. 


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‘‘(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 


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‘‘(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. 


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‘‘(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 


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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. 


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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 nonFederal 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; 


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‘‘(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. 


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1The National Fire Protection Association, Four Years Later: A Second Needs Assessment of 

the U.S. Fire Service, October 2006. 

‘‘(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. 


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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 Luja ́n 

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 Luja ́n 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 allowVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:10 Nov 14, 2009 Jkt 089006 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR333P1.XXX HR333P1

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able 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, Luja ́n, 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 setaside 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 popVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:10 Nov 14, 2009 Jkt 089006 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR333P1.XXX HR333P1

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ulations 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: 


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• 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 


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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 


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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. 


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(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. 


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• 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 setaside 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 


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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. 


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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. 


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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 


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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. 


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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 

* * * * * * * 

øSEC. 33. FIREFIGHTER ASSISTANCE. 

ø(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. 

ø(b) ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 


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ø(1) AUTHORITY.—In accordance with this section, the Director may— 

ø(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; 

ø(B) provide assistance for fire prevention and firefighter 

safety research and development programs in accordance 

with paragraph (4); and 

ø(C) provide assistance for nonaffiliated EMS organizations for the purpose of paragraph (3)(F). 

ø(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. 

ø(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: 

ø(A) To hire additional firefighting personnel. 

ø(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. 

ø(C) To fund the creation of rapid intervention teams to 

protect firefighting personnel at the scenes of fires and 

other emergencies. 

ø(D) To certify fire inspectors. 

ø(E) To establish wellness and fitness programs for firefighting personnel to ensure that the firefighting personnel 

can carry out their duties. 

ø(F) To fund emergency medical services provided by fire 

departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations. 

ø(G) To acquire additional firefighting vehicles, including fire trucks. 

ø(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. 

ø(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. 

ø(J) To modify fire stations, fire training facilities, and 

other facilities to protect the health and safety of firefighting personnel. 

ø(K) To enforce fire codes. 

ø(L) To fund fire prevention programs. 


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ø(M) To educate the public about arson prevention and 

detection. 

ø(N) To provide incentives for the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighting personnel for volunteer firefighting departments and other firefighting departments 

that utilize volunteers. 

ø(4) FIRE PREVENTION AND FIREFIGHTER SAFETY RESEARCH

AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.— 

ø(A) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, the Director 

shall use not less than 5 percent of the funds made available under subsection (e)— 

ø(i) to make grants to fire departments for the purpose described in paragraph (3)(L); and 

ø(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. 

ø(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. 

ø(C) GRANT LIMITATION.—A grant under this paragraph 

shall not be greater than $1,000,000 for a fiscal year. 

ø(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: 

ø(A) FORM.—The application shall be in such form as the 

Director may require. 

ø(B) INFORMATION.—The application shall include the 

following information: 

ø(i) FINANCIAL NEED.—Information that demonstrates the financial need of the applicant for the 

assistance for which applied. 

ø(ii) COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS.—An analysis of the 

costs and benefits, with respect to public safety, of the 

use of the assistance. 

ø(iii) REPORTING SYSTEMS DATA.—An agreement to 

provide information to the national fire incident reporting system for the period covered by the assistance. 

ø(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. 


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ø(v) OTHER INFORMATION.—Any other information 

that the Director may require. 

ø(6) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

ø(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. 

ø(B) REQUIREMENT FOR SMALL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.—In the case of an applicant whose personnel— 

ø(i) serve jurisdictions of 50,000 or fewer residents, 

the percent applied under the matching requirement 

of subparagraph (A) shall be 10 percent; and 

ø(ii) serve jurisdictions of 20,000 or fewer residents, 

the percent applied under the matching requirement 

of subparagraph (A) shall be 5 percent. 

ø(C) FIRE PREVENTION AND FIREFIGHTER SAFETY

GRANTS.—There shall be no matching requirement for a 

grant described in paragraph (4)(A)(ii). 

ø(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. 

ø(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. 

ø(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— 

ø(A) paid, volunteer, and combination fire departments; 

ø(B) fire departments located in communities of varying 

sizes; and 

ø(C) fire departments located in urban, suburban, and 

rural communities. 

ø(10) GRANT LIMITATIONS.— 

ø(A) RECIPIENT LIMITATIONS.—A grant recipient under 

subsection (b)(1)(A)— 

ø(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; 

ø(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 

ø(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. 


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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. 

ø(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. 

ø(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). 

ø(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). 

ø(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. 

ø(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. 

ø(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. 

ø(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. 

ø(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. 

ø(14) GUIDELINES.—(A) Each year, prior to making any 

grants under this section, the Director shall publish in the 

Federal Register— 

ø(i) guidelines that describe the process for applying for 

grants and the criteria for awarding grants; and 


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ø(ii) an explanation of any differences between the 

guidelines and the recommendations made pursuant to 

paragraph (13). 

ø(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. 

ø(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. 

ø(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). 

ø(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. 

ø(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). 

ø(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

ø(1) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director, acting through 

the Administrator; 

ø(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 

ø(3) the term ‘‘State’’ includes the District of Columbia and 

the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

ø(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

ø(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. 

ø(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. 

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

ø(a) EXPANDED AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.— 


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ø(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. 

ø(B)(i) Grants made under this paragraph shall be for 4 

years and be used for programs to hire new, additional firefighters. 

ø(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. 

ø(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). 

ø(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. 

ø(E) The portion of the costs of hiring firefighters provided 

by a grant under this paragraph may not exceed— 

ø(i) 90 percent in the first year of the grant; 

ø(ii) 80 percent in the second year of the grant; 

ø(iii) 50 percent in the third year of the grant; and 

ø(iv) 30 percent in the fourth year of the grant. 

ø(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 offduty hours. 

ø(G) All grants made pursuant to this subsection shall be 

awarded on a competitive basis through a neutral peer review 

process. 

ø(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. 

ø(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 entiVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:10 Nov 14, 2009 Jkt 089006 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR333P1.XXX HR333P1

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ties shall include volunteer or combination fire departments, 

and organizations on a local or statewide basis that represent 

the interests of volunteer firefighters. 

ø(b) APPLICATIONS.—(1) No grant may be made under this section unless an application has been submitted to, and approved by, 

the Administrator. 

ø(2) An application for a grant under this section shall be submitted in such form, and contain such information, as the Administrator may prescribe. 

ø(3) At a minimum, each application for a grant under this section shall— 

ø(A) explain the applicant’s inability to address the need 

without Federal assistance; 

ø(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); 

ø(C) specify long-term plans for retaining firefighters following the conclusion of Federal support provided under this 

section; and 

ø(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. 

ø(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. 

ø(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. 

ø(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. 

ø(4)(A) Total funding provided under this section over 4 years for 

hiring a firefighter may not exceed $100,000. 

ø(B) The $100,000 cap shall be adjusted annually for inflation beginning in fiscal year 2005. 

ø(d) PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.—The Administrator may require a grant recipient to submit any information the Administrator considers reasonably necessary to evaluate the program. 

ø(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 


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report may include any recommendations the Administrator may 

have for amendments to this section and related provisions of law. 

ø(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. 

ø(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. 

ø(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. 

ø(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term— 

ø(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 

ø(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. 

ø(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized 

to be appropriated for the purposes of carrying out this section— 

ø(1) $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; 

ø(2) $1,030,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

ø(3) $1,061,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

ø(4) $1,093,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

ø(5) $1,126,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

ø(6) $1,159,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

ø(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 


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(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. 

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fighting 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. 


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(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.— 


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(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. 


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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. 


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(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 VIL- LAGES.—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 


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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: 


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(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 approVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:10 Nov 14, 2009 Jkt 089006 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6603 E:\HR\OC\HR333P1.XXX HR333P1

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priated 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 


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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. 


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(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. 


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(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. 


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(44) 

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. 


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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. 


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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. 


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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. 


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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 


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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. 


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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, 


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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, nonfire 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. 


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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 


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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 


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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. Luja ́n. 

Mr. LUJA ́ N. 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. Luja ́n. 

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. 


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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.] 


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Appendix: 

H.R. 3791, SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS, AMENDMENT ROSTER


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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 firerelated 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, nonfire service EMS and rescue organizations. 

ALASKA NATIVE VILLAGES: Allows Alaska Native Villages to be eligible for 

grants made under this Act. 


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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. 


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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. 


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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, 


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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 


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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. 


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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. 


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116 

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. 


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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 estabVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:10 Nov 14, 2009 Jkt 089006 PO 00000 Frm 00117 Fmt 6604 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR333P1.XXX HR333P1

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lish 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. 


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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 


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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 


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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. 


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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. 


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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. 


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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. 


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Chairman GORDON. Mr. Luja ́n is recognized. 

Mr. LUJA ́ N. 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. LUJA ́ N. 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. LUJA ́ N. 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. LUJA ́ N. 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. LUJA ́ N. 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 


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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. LUJA ́ N. Mr. Chairman, would the gentlelady yield? 

Ms. EDWARDS. I yield. 

Mr. LUJA ́ N. 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 


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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. 


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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. 


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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 inVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:10 Nov 14, 2009 Jkt 089006 PO 00000 Frm 00129 Fmt 6604 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR333P1.XXX HR333P1

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tended 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—— 


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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. 


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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. Luja ́n? 

Mr. LUJA ́ N. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Luja ́n 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. 


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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. 


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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:] 


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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 


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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. 


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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.] 


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Appendix: 

H.R. 3791 AS AMENDED, AMENDMENT ROSTER


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jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791w4.eps
183 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791x4.eps
184 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791y4.eps
185 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791z4.eps
186 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791a5.eps
187 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791b5.eps
188 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791c5.eps
189 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791d5.eps
190 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791e5.eps
191 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791f5.eps
192 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791g5.eps
193 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791h5.eps
194 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791i5.eps
195 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791j5.eps
196 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791k5.eps
197 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791l5.eps
198 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791m5.eps
199 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791n5.eps
200 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791o5.eps
201 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791p5.eps
202 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791q5.eps
203 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791r5.eps
204 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791s5.eps
205 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791t5.eps
206 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791u5.eps
207 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791v5.eps
208 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791w5.eps
209 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791x5.eps
210 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791k4.eps
211 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791l4.eps
212 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791m4.eps
213 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791o4.eps
214 


jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with REPORTShr3791p4.eps