H. Res. 413

In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

April 26, 1994.

Resolved, That, upon adoption of this resolution, the bill

(H.R. 1727) to establish a program of grants to States for

arson research, prevention, and control, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, shall be considered to have been taken from the Speaker’s table, and the

same are hereby agreed to with an amendment as follows: In

lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the Senate, insert the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Arson Prevention Act of

1994’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that—

(1) arson is a serious and costly problem, and is responsible for approximately 25 percent of all fires in the

United States;

(2) arson is a leading cause of fire deaths, accounting for approximately 700 deaths annually in the United
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States, and is the leading cause of property damage due

to fire in the United States;

(3) estimates of arson property losses are in the

range of $2,000,000,000 annually, or approximately 1 of

every 4 dollars lost to fire;

(4) the incidence of arson in the United States is

seriously underreported, in part because of the lack of

adequate participation by local jurisdictions in the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and the

Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program;

(5) there is a need for expanded training programs

for arson investigators;

(6) there is a need for improved programs designed

to enable volunteer firefighters to detect arson crimes

and to preserve evidence vital to the investigation and

prosecution of arson cases;

(7) according to the National Fire Protection Association, of all the suspicious and incendiary fires estimated to occur, only 1⁄3 are confirmed as arson; and

(8) improved training of arson investigators will increase the ability of fire departments to identify suspicious and incendiary fires, and will result in increased

and more effective prosecution of arson offenses.
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SEC. 3. ARSON PREVENTION GRANTS.

The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 is

amended by inserting after section 24 (15 U.S.C. 2220) the

following new section:

‘‘SEC. 25. ARSON PREVENTION GRANTS.

‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:

‘‘(1) ARSON.—The term ‘arson’ includes all incendiary and suspicious fires.

‘‘(2) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the Office

of Fire Prevention and Arson Control of the United

States Fire Administration.

‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Administrator, acting through the

Office, shall carry out a demonstration program under which

not more than 10 grant awards shall be made to States, or

consortia of States, for programs relating to arson research,

prevention, and control.

‘‘(c) GOALS.—In carrying out this section, the Administrator shall award 2-year grants on a competitive, merit basis

to States, or consortia of States, for projects that promote

one or more of the following goals:

‘‘(1) To improve the training by States leading to

professional certification of arson investigators, in accordance with nationally recognized certification standards.

‘‘(2) To provide resources for the formation of

arson task forces or interagency organizational arrange-
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ments involving police and fire departments and other

relevant local agencies, such as a State arson bureau and

the office of a fire marshal of a State.

‘‘(3) To combat fraud as a cause of arson and to

advance research at the State and local levels on the significance and prevention of fraud as a motive for setting

fires.

‘‘(4) To provide for the management of arson

squads, including—

‘‘(A) training courses for fire departments in

arson case management, including standardization

of investigative techniques and reporting methodology;

‘‘(B) the preparation of arson unit management guides; and

‘‘(C) the development and dissemination of new

public education materials relating to the arson

problem.

‘‘(5) To combat civil unrest as a cause of arson and

to advance research at the State and local levels on the

prevention and control of arson linked to urban disorders.

‘‘(6) To combat juvenile arson, such as juvenile firesetter counseling programs and similar intervention pro-
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grams, and to advance research at the State and local

levels on the prevention of juvenile arson.

‘‘(7) To combat drug-related arson and to advance

research at the State and local levels on the causes and

prevention of drug-related arson.

‘‘(8) To combat domestic violence as a cause of

arson and to advance research at the State and local levels on the prevention of arson arising from domestic violence.

‘‘(9) To combat arson in rural areas and to improve

the capability of firefighters to identify and prevent

arson initiated fires in rural areas and public forests.

‘‘(10) To improve the capability of firefighters to

identify and combat arson through expanded training

programs, including—

‘‘(A) training courses at the State fire academies; and

‘‘(B) innovative courses developed with the

Academy and made available to volunteer firefighters through regional delivery methods, including teleconferencing and satellite delivered television

programs.

‘‘(d) STRUCTURING OF APPLICATIONS.—The Administrator shall assist grant applicants in structuring their appli-
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cations so as to ensure that at least one grant is awarded for

each goal described in subsection (c).

‘‘(e) STATE QUALIFICATION CRITERIA.—In order to

qualify for a grant under this section, a State, or consortium

of States, shall provide assurances adequate to the Administrator that the State or consortium—

‘‘(1) will obtain at least 25 percent of the cost of

programs funded by the grant, in cash or in kind, from

non-Federal sources;

‘‘(2) will not as a result of receiving the grant decrease the prior level of spending of funds of the State

or consortium from non-Federal sources for arson research, prevention, and control programs;

‘‘(3) will use no more than 10 percent of funds provided under the grant for administrative costs of the

programs; and

‘‘(4) is making efforts to ensure that all local jurisdictions will provide arson data to the National Fire Incident Reporting System or the Uniform Crime Reporting program.

‘‘(f) EXTENSION.—A grant awarded under this section

may be extended for one or more additional periods, at the

discretion of the Administrator, subject to the availability of

appropriations.
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‘‘(g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator shall

provide technical assistance to States in carrying out programs funded by grants under this section.

‘‘(h) CONSULTATION AND COOPERATION.—In carrying

out this section, the Administrator shall consult and cooperate with other Federal agencies to enhance program effectiveness and avoid duplication of effort, including the conduct of

regular meetings initiated by the Administrator with representatives of other Federal agencies concerned with arson

and concerned with efforts to develop a more comprehensive

profile of the magnitude of the national arson problem.

‘‘(i) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 18 months after the

date of enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall

submit a report to Congress that—

‘‘(1) identifies grants made under this section;

‘‘(2) specifies the identity of grantees;

‘‘(3) states the goals of each grant; and

‘‘(4) contains a preliminary assessment of the effectiveness of the grant program under this section.

‘‘(j) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the

date of enactment of this subsection, the Administrator shall

issue regulations to implement this section, including procedures for grant applications.

‘‘(k) ADMINISTRATION.—The Administrator shall directly administer the grant program required by this section,
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and shall not enter into any contract under which the grant

program or any portion of the program will be administered

by another party.

‘‘(l) PURCHASE OF AMERICAN MADE EQUIPMENT AND

PRODUCTS.—

‘‘(1) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that any recipient of a grant under this section

should purchase, when available and cost-effective,

American made equipment and products when expending

grant monies.

‘‘(2) NOTICE TO RECIPIENTS OF ASSISTANCE.—In

allocating grants under this section, the Administrator

shall provide to each recipient a notice describing the

statement made in paragraph (1) by the Congress.’’.

SEC. 4. VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER TRAINING.

Section 24(a)(2) of the Federal Fire Prevention and

Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2220(a)(2)) is amended by

inserting before the semicolon the following: ‘‘, with particular emphasis on the needs of volunteer firefighters for improved and more widely available arson training courses’’.

SEC. 5. CPR TRAINING.

The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 is

amended by adding at the end the following new section:
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‘‘SEC. 32. CPR TRAINING.

‘‘No funds shall be made available to a State or local

government under section 25 unless such government has a

policy to actively promote the training of its firefighters in

cardiopulmonary resuscitation.’’.

SEC. 6. FEDERAL EMPLOYEE HOUSING EXCEPTIONS.

Section 31(c)(1) of the Federal Fire Prevention and

Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2227(c)(1)) is amended—

(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘No Federal’’

and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, no Federal’’; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:

‘‘(C) Housing covered by this paragraph that does not

have an adequate and reliable electrical system shall not be

subject to the requirement under subparagraph (A) for protection by hard-wired smoke detectors, but shall be protected

by battery operated smoke detectors.

‘‘(D) If funding has been programmed or designated for

the demolition of housing covered by this paragraph, such

housing shall not be subject to the fire protection requirements of subparagraph (A), but shall be protected by battery

operated smoke detectors.’’.
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SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

Section 17 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control

Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2216) is amended by adding at the

end the following new subsection:

‘‘(h) In addition to any other amounts that are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act—

‘‘(1) $500,000 for fiscal year 1995 for basic research on the development of an advanced course on

arson prevention;

‘‘(2) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1996 for the expansion of arson investigator training programs at the

Academy under section 24 and at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, or through regional delivery

sites;

‘‘(3) $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1995 and

1996 for carrying out section 25, except for salaries and

expenses for carrying out section 25; and

‘‘(4) $250,000 for each of the fiscal years 1995 and

1996 for salaries and expenses for carrying out section

25.’’.

SEC. 8. SUNSET.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, no

funds are authorized to be appropriated for any fiscal year

after fiscal year 1996 for carrying out the programs for
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which funds are authorized by this Act, or the amendments

made by this Act.

Attest:

Clerk.