I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2269 

To amend sections 33 and 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control 

Act of 1974, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 22, 2011 

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas (for herself, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. 

KING of New York, Mr. REICHERT, Mr. HOYER, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. 

ANDREWS, Mr. CRITZ, Mr. WU, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. CLARKE

of Michigan, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. MICHAUD, and Mr. GRIMM) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, 

and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend sections 33 and 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention 

and Control Act of 1974, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fire Grants Reauthor5 ization Act of 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT PROGRAM 

2 REAUTHORIZATION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 33 of the Federal Fire 

4 Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229) is 

5 amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 33. FIREFIGHTER ASSISTANCE. 

7 ‘‘(a) ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 

8 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—In accordance with this sec9 tion, the Director may— 

10 ‘‘(A) make grants on a competitive basis 

11 directly to fire departments of a State, in con12 sultation with the chief executive of the State, 

13 for the purpose of protecting the health and 

14 safety of the public and firefighting personnel 

15 throughout the Nation against fire and fire-re16 lated hazards; 

17 ‘‘(B) make grants on a competitive basis 

18 directly to State fire training academies, in con19 sultation with the chief executive of the State, 

20 in accordance with paragraph (11)(C); 

21 ‘‘(C) provide assistance for fire prevention 

22 and firefighter safety research and development 

23 programs and fire prevention or fire safety pro24 grams and activities in accordance with para25 graph (4); and 


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1 ‘‘(D) provide assistance for volunteer, non2 fire service EMS and rescue organizations for 

3 the purpose of paragraph (3)(F). 

4 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE.—The Di5 rector shall establish specific criteria for the selec6 tion of recipients of assistance under this section 

7 and shall provide grant-writing assistance to appli8 cants. 

9 ‘‘(3) USE OF FIRE DEPARTMENT GRANT

10 FUNDS.—The Director may make a grant under 

11 paragraph (1)(A) only if the applicant for the grant 

12 agrees to use the grant funds for one or more of the 

13 following purposes: 

14 ‘‘(A) To hire additional firefighting per15 sonnel. 

16 ‘‘(B) To train firefighting personnel in 

17 firefighting, emergency medical services and 

18 other emergency response (including response 

19 to a terrorism incident or use of a weapon of 

20 mass destruction), arson prevention and detec21 tion, maritime firefighting, or the handling of 

22 hazardous materials or to train firefighting per23 sonnel to provide any of the training described 

24 in this subparagraph. 


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1 ‘‘(C) To fund the creation of rapid inter2 vention teams to protect firefighting personnel 

3 at the scenes of fires and other emergencies. 

4 ‘‘(D) To certify fire and building inspec5 tors employed by a fire department or serving 

6 as a volunteer building inspector with a fire de7 partment. 

8 ‘‘(E) To establish wellness and fitness pro9 grams for firefighting personnel to ensure that 

10 the firefighting personnel can carry out their 

11 duties, including programs dedicated to raising 

12 awareness of, and prevention of, job-related 

13 mental health issues. 

14 ‘‘(F) To fund emergency medical services 

15 provided by fire departments and volunteer, 

16 non-fire service EMS and rescue organizations. 

17 ‘‘(G) To acquire additional firefighting ve18 hicles, including fire trucks. 

19 ‘‘(H) To acquire additional firefighting 

20 equipment, including equipment for communica21 tions, monitoring, and response to a terrorism 

22 incident or use of a weapon of mass destruc23 tion. 

24 ‘‘(I) To acquire personal protective equip25 ment required for firefighting personnel by the 


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1 Occupational Safety and Health Administration 

2 and other personal protective equipment for 

3 firefighting personnel, including protective 

4 equipment to respond to a terrorism incident or 

5 the use of a weapon of mass destruction. 

6 ‘‘(J) To modify fire stations, fire training 

7 facilities, and other facilities to protect the 

8 health and safety of firefighting personnel. 

9 ‘‘(K) To enforce fire codes and standards. 

10 ‘‘(L) To fund fire prevention programs. 

11 ‘‘(M) To educate the public about arson 

12 prevention and detection. 

13 ‘‘(N) To provide incentives for the recruit14 ment and retention of volunteer firefighting 

15 personnel for volunteer firefighting departments 

16 and other firefighting departments that utilize 

17 volunteers. 

18 ‘‘(4) FIRE PREVENTION AND FIREFIGHTER

19 SAFETY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PRO20 GRAMS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, 

22 the Director shall use not less than 10 percent 

23 of the funds made available under subsection 

24 (e)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) to make grants to fire depart2 ments for the purpose described in para3 graph (3)(L); 

4 ‘‘(ii) to make grants to, or enter into 

5 contracts or cooperative agreements with, 

6 national, State, local, or community orga7 nizations that are not fire departments 

8 but— 

9 ‘‘(I) that are recognized for their 

10 experience and expertise with respect 

11 to fire prevention or fire safety pro12 grams and activities and that partner 

13 with fire departments, for the purpose 

14 of carrying out such programs and ac15 tivities; 

16 ‘‘(II) engage in fire and life safe17 ty related activities as a primary pur18 pose or function, for the purpose of 

19 carrying out fire prevention or fire 

20 safety programs and activities; or 

21 ‘‘(III) that are recognized for 

22 their experience and expertise with re23 spect to firefighter research and devel24 opment programs, for the purpose of 

25 carrying out research on fire prevenVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:02 Jun 24, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2269.IH H2269

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1 tion or fire safety programs and ac2 tivities or to improve firefighter health 

3 and life safety; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) if the Director determines that 

5 it is necessary, to make grants or enter 

6 into contracts in accordance with sub7 section (c). 

8 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY.—In selecting organiza9 tions described in subparagraph (A)(ii) to re10 ceive assistance under this paragraph, the Di11 rector shall give priority to organizations that 

12 focus on prevention of injuries to high-risk 

13 groups from fire, as well as research programs 

14 that demonstrate the potential to improve fire15 fighter safety. 

16 ‘‘(C) GRANT LIMITATION.—A grant under 

17 this paragraph shall not exceed $1,500,000 for 

18 a fiscal year. 

19 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION.—None of the funds 

20 made available under this paragraph may be 

21 provided to the Association of Community Or22 ganizations for Reform Now (ACORN) or any 

23 of its affiliates, subsidiaries, or allied organiza24 tions. 


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1 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION.—The Director may provide 

2 assistance to a fire department or organization (in3 cluding a State fire training academy) under this 

4 subsection only if the fire department or organiza5 tion seeking the assistance submits to the Director 

6 an application that meets the following require7 ments: 

8 ‘‘(A) FORM.—The application shall be in 

9 such form as the Director may require. 

10 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION.—The application shall 

11 include the following information: 

12 ‘‘(i) Information that demonstrates 

13 the financial need of the applicant for the 

14 assistance for which applied. 

15 ‘‘(ii) An analysis of the costs and ben16 efits, with respect to public safety, of the 

17 use of the assistance. 

18 ‘‘(iii) An agreement to provide infor19 mation to the national fire incident report20 ing system for the period covered by the 

21 assistance. 

22 ‘‘(iv) A list of other sources of Federal 

23 funding received by the applicant. 

24 ‘‘(v) Any other information that the 

25 Director may require. 


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1 ‘‘(C) UNNECESSARY DUPLICATION.—The 

2 Director, in coordination with the Secretary of 

3 Homeland Security, shall use the list provided 

4 under subparagraph (B)(iv) to prevent the un5 necessary duplication of grant funds. 

6 ‘‘(6) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara8 graphs (B) and (C) and paragraph (8), the Di9 rector may provide assistance under this sub10 section only if the applicant for such assistance 

11 agrees to match 10 percent of such assistance 

12 for any fiscal year with an equal amount of 

13 non-Federal funds. 

14 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT FOR SMALL COMMU15 NITY ORGANIZATIONS.—In the case of an appli16 cant whose personnel serve jurisdictions of 

17 20,000 or fewer residents, the percent applied 

18 under the matching requirement of subpara19 graph (A) shall be 5 percent. 

20 ‘‘(C) FIRE PREVENTION AND FIREFIGHTER

21 SAFETY GRANTS EXCEPTION.—There shall be 

22 no matching requirement for a grant described 

23 in paragraph (4). 

24 ‘‘(7) MAINTENANCE OF EXPENDITURES.—Sub25 ject to paragraph (8), the Director may provide asVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:02 Jun 24, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2269.IH H2269

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1 sistance under this subsection only if the applicant 

2 for the assistance agrees to maintain in the fiscal 

3 year for which the assistance will be received the ap4 plicant’s aggregate expenditures for the uses de5 scribed in paragraph (3) or (4) at or above 80 per6 cent of the average level of such expenditures in the 

7 2 fiscal years preceding the fiscal year for which the 

8 assistance will be received. 

9 ‘‘(8) ECONOMIC HARDSHIP WAIVER.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In exceptional cir11 cumstances, the Director may waive or reduce 

12 the matching requirement under paragraph (6) 

13 and the maintenance of expenditures require14 ment under paragraph (7) for applicants facing 

15 demonstrated economic hardship. 

16 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA DEVELOPMENT.—The cri17 teria under which the Director may waive or re18 duce such requirements shall be developed in 

19 consultation with individuals who are— 

20 ‘‘(i) recognized for expertise in fire21 fighting, emergency medical services pro22 vided by fire services, or the economic af23 fairs of State and local governments; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) members of national fire service 

25 organizations or national organizations 


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1 representing the interests of State and 

2 local governments. 

3 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Director 

4 shall make the criteria developed under sub5 paragraph (B) publicly available. 

6 ‘‘(9) VARIETY OF FIRE DEPARTMENT GRANT

7 RECIPIENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made 

9 available under subsection (e), the Director 

10 shall ensure that grants under paragraph 

11 (1)(A) for a fiscal year are allocated, to the ex12 tent that there are eligible applicants to carry 

13 out the activities under paragraph (3), as fol14 lows: 

15 ‘‘(i) Twenty-five percent shall be made 

16 available to career fire departments. 

17 ‘‘(ii) Twenty-five percent shall be 

18 made available to volunteer fire depart19 ments. 

20 ‘‘(iii) Twenty-five percent shall be 

21 made available to combination fire depart22 ments. 

23 ‘‘(B) EVALUATION CRITERIA.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In awarding 

25 grants under paragraph (1)(A), the DirecVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:02 Jun 24, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2269.IH H2269

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1 tor shall, within each category of appli2 cants under subparagraph (A), consider a 

3 broad range of factors important to the ap4 plicant’s ability to respond to fires and re5 lated hazards, such as population served, 

6 geographic response area, hazard vulner7 ability, call volume, financial situation, and 

8 need for training or equipment. 

9 ‘‘(ii) HIGH POPULATION AND INCI10 DENT RESPONSE.—In considering such 

11 factors under clause (i), applicants serving 

12 areas with high population and with a high 

13 number of incidents requiring a response 

14 shall receive a higher level of consideration. 

15 ‘‘(C) REMAINDER.—Of the amounts made 

16 available under subsection (e) that are not allo17 cated for use and awarded under subparagraph 

18 (A) or designated for use under any other pro19 vision of this section, the Director shall provide 

20 for an open competition for grants among ca21 reer fire departments, volunteer fire depart22 ments, and combination fire departments to 

23 carry out the activities under paragraph (3). 

24 ‘‘(10) REPORT TO THE DIRECTOR.—The Direc25 tor may provide assistance under this subsection 


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1 only if the applicant for the assistance agrees to sub2 mit to the Director a report, including a description 

3 of how the assistance was used, with respect to each 

4 fiscal year for which the assistance was received. 

5 ‘‘(11) GRANT LIMITATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) RECIPIENT LIMITATIONS.—A grant 

7 recipient under paragraph (1)(A)— 

8 ‘‘(i) that serves a jurisdiction with 

9 100,000 people or less may not receive 

10 grants in excess of $1,000,000 for any fis11 cal year; 

12 ‘‘(ii) that serves a jurisdiction with 

13 more than 100,000 people but less than 

14 500,000 people may not receive grants in 

15 excess of $2,000,000 for any fiscal year; 

16 ‘‘(iii) that serves a jurisdiction with 

17 500,000 people or more but less than 

18 1,000,000 people may not receive grants in 

19 excess of $3,000,000 for any fiscal year; 

20 ‘‘(iv) that serves a jurisdiction with 

21 1,000,000 people or more but less than 

22 2,500,000 people may not receive grants in 

23 excess of $6,000,000 for any fiscal year; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(v) that serves a jurisdiction with 

2 2,500,000 people or more may not receive 

3 grants in excess of $9,000,000 for any fis4 cal year. 

5 The Director may award grants in excess of the 

6 limitations provided in clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and 

7 (iv) if the Director determines that extraor8 dinary need for assistance by a jurisdiction war9 rants a waiver. 

10 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON EXPENDITURES FOR

11 FIREFIGHTING VEHICLES.—Not more than 25 

12 percent of the funds appropriated to provide 

13 grants under this section for a fiscal year may 

14 be used to assist grant recipients to purchase 

15 vehicles, as authorized by paragraph (3)(G). 

16 ‘‘(C) STATE FIRE TRAINING ACADEMIES.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In accordance 

18 with clause (ii), the Director shall award 

19 not more than 3 percent of the amounts 

20 made available under subsection (e) for a 

21 fiscal year for grants under this subsection 

22 for State fire training academies. 

23 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—The Director 

24 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) award not more than 1 

2 grant under this subparagraph per 

3 State in a fiscal year; 

4 ‘‘(II) limit the amount of a grant 

5 to a State fire training academy to 

6 less than or equal to $1,000,000 in 

7 each fiscal year; and 

8 ‘‘(III) ensure that any grant 

9 awarded to a State fire training acad10 emy shall be used for the purposes de11 scribed in paragraphs 3(G), 3(H), or 

12 3(I). 

13 ‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS FOR

14 EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.—The Director 

15 shall award not more than 2 percent of the 

16 amounts made available under subsection (e) 

17 for a fiscal year to volunteer, non-fire service 

18 EMS and rescue organizations for the purposes 

19 described in paragraph (3)(F). 

20 ‘‘(E) APPLICATION OF SELECTION CRI21 TERIA TO GRANT APPLICATIONS FROM VOLUN22 TEER, NON-FIRE SERVICE EMS AND RESCUE OR23 GANIZATIONS.—In reviewing applications sub24 mitted by volunteer, non-fire service EMS and 

25 rescue organizations, the Director shall consider 


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1 the extent to which other sources of Federal 

2 funding are available to provide the assistance 

3 requested in such grant applications. 

4 ‘‘(F) CONSENSUS STANDARDS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any grant 

6 amounts used to obtain training under this 

7 section shall be limited to training that 

8 complies with applicable national voluntary 

9 consensus standards (if applicable national 

10 voluntary consensus standards have been 

11 established), unless a waiver has been 

12 granted under clause (ii). 

13 ‘‘(ii) WAIVER.— 

14 ‘‘(I) EXPLANATION FOR NON15 STANDARD TRAINING.—If an appli16 cant for a grant seeks to use the as17 sistance provided under the grant to 

18 obtain training that does not meet or 

19 exceed applicable voluntary consensus 

20 standards, the applicant shall include 

21 in the application an explanation of 

22 why such training will serve the needs 

23 of the applicant better than training 

24 that does meet or exceed such stand25 ards. 


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1 ‘‘(II) PROCEDURES.—In making 

2 a determination whether or not to 

3 waive the requirement under clause (i) 

4 with respect to a specific standard, 

5 the Director shall, to the greatest ex6 tent practicable— 

7 ‘‘(aa) consult with other 

8 members of the fire services re9 garding the impact on fire de10 partments of the requirement to 

11 meet or exceed the specific stand12 ard; 

13 ‘‘(bb) take into consideration 

14 the explanation provided by the 

15 applicant under subclause (I); 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(cc) seek to minimize the 

18 impact of the requirement to 

19 meet or exceed the specific stand20 ard on the applicant, particularly 

21 if meeting the standard would 

22 impose additional costs. 

23 ‘‘(III) ADDITIONAL REQUESTS.— 

24 Applicants that apply for a grant 

25 under the terms of subclause (I) may 


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1 include a second grant request in the 

2 application to be considered by the 

3 Director in the event that the Direc4 tor does not approve the primary 

5 grant request on the grounds of the 

6 training not meeting applicable vol7 untary consensus standards. 

8 ‘‘(12) ELIGIBLE GRANTEE ON BEHALF OF

9 ALASKA NATIVE VILLAGES.—The Alaska Village Ini10 tiatives, a non-profit organization incorporated in 

11 the State of Alaska, shall be considered an eligible 

12 grantee for purposes of receiving assistance under 

13 this section on behalf of Alaska Native villages. 

14 ‘‘(13) ANNUAL MEETING.—The Director shall 

15 convene an annual meeting of individuals who are 

16 members of national fire service organizations and 

17 are recognized for expertise in firefighting or emer18 gency medical services provided by fire services, and 

19 who are not employees of the Federal Government, 

20 for the purpose of recommending criteria for award21 ing grants under this section for the next fiscal year 

22 and any necessary administrative changes to the 

23 grant program. 

24 ‘‘(14) GUIDELINES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each year, prior to 

2 making any grants under this section, the Di3 rector shall publish in the Federal Register— 

4 ‘‘(i) guidelines that describe the proc5 ess for applying for grants and the criteria 

6 for awarding grants; 

7 ‘‘(ii) an explanation of any differences 

8 between the guidelines and the rec9 ommendations made pursuant to para10 graph (13); and 

11 ‘‘(iii) the criteria developed under 

12 paragraph (8) which the Director will use 

13 to evaluate applicants for waivers from 

14 program requirements. 

15 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT.—The cri16 teria for awarding grants under paragraph 

17 (1)(A) shall include the extent to which the 

18 grant would enhance the daily operations of the 

19 applicant and the impact of such a grant on the 

20 protection of lives and property. 

21 ‘‘(15) PEER REVIEW.—The Director, after con22 sultation with national fire service organizations, 

23 shall appoint fire service personnel to conduct peer 

24 review of applications received under paragraph (5). 

25 In making grants under this section, the Director 


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1 shall consider the results of such peer review evalua2 tions. 

3 ‘‘(16) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY

4 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

5 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to activities 

6 under paragraphs (13) and (15). 

7 ‘‘(17) ACCOUNTING DETERMINATION.—Not8 withstanding any other provision of law, rule, regu9 lation, or guidance, for purposes of receiving assist10 ance under this section, equipment costs shall in11 clude all costs attributable to any design, purchase 

12 of components, assembly, manufacture, and trans13 portation of equipment not otherwise commercially 

14 available. 

15 ‘‘(b) AUDITS.—A recipient of a grant under this sec16 tion shall be subject to audits to ensure that the grant 

17 proceeds are expended for the intended purposes and that 

18 the grant recipient complies with the requirements of 

19 paragraphs (6) and (7) of subsection (a) unless the Direc20 tor has granted a waiver under subsection (a)(8). 

21 ‘‘(c) FIRE SAFETY RESEARCH CENTERS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may make a 

23 grant under subsection (a)(4)(A)(iii) to an institu24 tion of higher education, a national fire service orgaVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:02 Jun 24, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2269.IH H2269

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1 nization, or a national fire safety organization to es2 tablish and operate a fire safety research center. 

3 ‘‘(2) OBJECTIVES.—A grant received under this 

4 subsection shall be used by such an institution or or5 ganization to advance significantly the Nation’s abil6 ity to reduce the number of fire-related deaths and 

7 injuries among firefighters and the general public 

8 through research, development, and technology 

9 transfer activities. 

10 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—The Director may establish 

11 no more than 3 fire safety research centers. An in12 stitution of higher education, a national fire service 

13 organization, or a national fire safety organization 

14 may not directly receive a grant under this section 

15 for a fiscal year for more than 1 fire safety research 

16 center. 

17 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.—In order to be eligible to 

18 receive a fire safety research center grant, an insti19 tution of higher education, a national fire service or20 ganization, or a national fire safety organization 

21 shall submit to the Director an application that is in 

22 such form and contains such information and assur23 ances as the Director may require. 

24 ‘‘(5) GENERAL SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Di25 rector shall select each recipient of a grant under 


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1 this subsection through a competitive process on the 

2 basis of the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) The demonstrated research and ex4 tension resources available to the recipient to 

5 carry out the research, development, and tech6 nology transfer activities. 

7 ‘‘(B) The capability of the recipient to pro8 vide leadership in making national contributions 

9 to fire safety. 

10 ‘‘(C) The recipient’s ability to disseminate 

11 the results of fire safety research. 

12 ‘‘(D) The strategic plan the recipient pro13 poses to carry out under the grant. 

14 ‘‘(6) CONSIDERATION.—The Director shall give 

15 special consideration under paragraph (5) to an ap16 plicant for a grant that consists of a partnership be17 tween a national fire service organization or a na18 tional fire safety organization and at least 1 of the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(A) An institution of higher education. 

21 ‘‘(B) A minority-serving institution (de22 fined as an eligible institution under section 

23 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

24 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a))). 


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1 ‘‘(7) RESEARCH NEEDS.—Within 90 days after 

2 the date of enactment of the Fire Grants Reauthor3 ization Act of 2011, the Director shall convene a 

4 workshop of the fire safety research community, fire 

5 service organizations, and other appropriate stake6 holders to identify and prioritize fire safety research 

7 needs. The results of the workshop shall be made 

8 public, and the Director shall consider such results 

9 in making awards under this section. 

10 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

11 definitions apply: 

12 ‘‘(1) CAREER FIRE DEPARTMENT.—The term 

13 ‘career fire department’ means a firefighting depart14 ment that has an all professional force of fire15 fighting personnel. 

16 ‘‘(2) COMBINATION FIRE DEPARTMENT.—The 

17 term ‘combination fire department’ means a fire18 fighting department that has a combined force of 

19 professional and volunteer firefighting personnel. 

20 ‘‘(3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

21 the Director, acting through the Administrator. 

22 ‘‘(4) FIREFIGHTING PERSONNEL.—The term 

23 ‘firefighting personnel’ means individuals, including 

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1 partments, or emergency medical service personnel 

2 of fire departments. 

3 ‘‘(5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

4 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

5 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High6 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

7 ‘‘(6) VOLUNTEER, NON-FIRE SERVICE EMS AND

8 RESCUE ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘volunteer, non9 fire service EMS and rescue organization’ means a 

10 public or private nonprofit emergency medical serv11 ices organization that— 

12 ‘‘(A) is not affiliated with a hospital; 

13 ‘‘(B) does not serve a geographic area in 

14 which the Director finds that emergency med15 ical services are adequately provided by a fire 

16 department; and 

17 ‘‘(C) is staffed primarily by volunteers. 

18 ‘‘(7) VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT.—The 

19 term ‘volunteer fire department’ means a firefighting 

20 department that has an all volunteer force of fire21 fighting personnel. 

22 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

24 appropriated for the purposes of this section 


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1 $1,000,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2012 

2 through 2016. 

3 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds appro5 priated pursuant to paragraph (1) for a fiscal 

6 year, the Director may use not more than 3 

7 percent of the funds to cover salaries and ex8 penses and other administrative costs incurred 

9 by the Director to make grants and provide as10 sistance under this section. 

11 ‘‘(B) FORMULA.—The Director shall sub12 tract the amount to be used for subparagraph 

13 (A) from the amount appropriated pursuant to 

14 paragraph (1) before making any allocations or 

15 apportioning any funds under subsections (a) or 

16 (c).’’. 

17 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con18 gress that— 

19 (1) from fiscal years 2003 through 2008— 

20 (A) the funding appropriated for activities 

21 under section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention 

22 and Control Act of 1974 declined by approxi23 mately 30 percent; and 

24 (B) the number of fire departments receiv25 ing awards declined by nearly 40 percent, while 


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1 the number of applicants increased, resulting in 

2 a reduction in applicant success rates from over 

3 43 percent to just 25 percent; 

4 (2) the House-passed conference report for the 

5 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations 

6 Act, 2010 appropriates $390 million for activities 

7 under such section 33, a decrease of over 30 percent 

8 below that provided in fiscal year 2009; 

9 (3) declining funding reduces the Director’s 

10 ability to successfully carry out the primary purpose 

11 of such section, which is to protect the health and 

12 safety of the public and firefighting personnel 

13 throughout the Nation against fire and fire-related 

14 hazards; and 

15 (4) halting and reversing the decline in appro16 priations to ensure a high level of funding for the 

17 activities under such section 33 should be a top pri18 ority. 

19 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF PRE-SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, FIRE 

20 GRANT PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION. 

21 Section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Con22 trol Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229a) is amended to read 

23 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 34. EXPANSION OF PRE-SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, FIRE 

2 GRANT PROGRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) EXPANDED AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) HIRING GRANTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall 

6 make grants directly to career, volunteer, and 

7 combination fire departments, in consultation 

8 with the chief executive of the State in which 

9 the applicant is located, for the purpose of in10 creasing the number of firefighters to help com11 munities meet industry minimum standards and 

12 attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate pro13 tection from fire and fire-related hazards and to 

14 fulfill traditional missions of fire departments 

15 that antedate the creation of the Department of 

16 Homeland Security. 

17 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) DURATION AND USE.—Grants 

19 made under this paragraph shall be for 3 

20 years and shall be used for programs to 

21 hire new, additional firefighters. 

22 ‘‘(ii) RETENTION.—Grant recipients 

23 are required to commit to retaining for at 

24 least the entire 3 years of the grant period 

25 those firefighters hired under this para26 graph. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) MAXIMUM.—The portion of the 

2 cost of hiring firefighters provided by a 

3 grant under this paragraph may not exceed 

4 80 percent of such cost for each fiscal 

5 year. 

6 ‘‘(C) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants 

7 under this subsection, the Director may give 

8 preferential consideration to applications that 

9 involve a non-Federal contribution exceeding 

10 the minimums under subparagraph (B)(iii). 

11 ‘‘(D) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Di12 rector may provide technical assistance to 

13 States, units of local government, Indian tribal 

14 governments, and other public entities in fur15 therance of the purposes of this section. 

16 ‘‘(E) VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES ALLOWED.— 

17 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 

18 firefighter hired with funds provided under this 

19 subsection shall not be discriminated against 

20 for, or be prohibited from, engaging in volun21 teer activities in another jurisdiction during off22 duty hours. 

23 ‘‘(F) COMPETITIVE BASIS.—The Director 

24 shall award all grants under this section on a 


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1 competitive basis through a neutral peer review 

2 process. 

3 ‘‘(G) SET ASIDE.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—At the beginning 

5 of the fiscal year, the Director shall set 

6 aside 10 percent of the funds made avail7 able for carrying out this paragraph for 

8 departments with majority volunteer or all 

9 volunteer personnel. 

10 ‘‘(ii) TRANSFER.—After awards have 

11 been made, if less than 10 percent of the 

12 funds made available for carrying out this 

13 paragraph are not awarded to departments 

14 with majority volunteer or all volunteer 

15 personnel, the Director shall transfer from 

16 funds made available for carrying out this 

17 paragraph to funds made available for car18 rying out paragraph (2) an amount equal 

19 to the difference between the amount that 

20 is provided to such fire departments and 

21 10 percent. 

22 ‘‘(2) RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION

23 GRANTS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any 

25 amounts transferred under paragraph 


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1 (1)(G)(ii), the Director shall direct at least 10 

2 percent of the total amount of funds made 

3 available under this section annually to a com4 petitive grant program for the recruitment and 

5 retention of volunteer firefighters who are in6 volved with or trained in the operations of fire7 fighting and emergency response. 

8 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—Eligible entities shall 

9 include volunteer or combination fire depart10 ments and organizations on a local, statewide, 

11 or national basis that represent the interests of 

12 volunteer firefighters. 

13 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No grant may be made 

15 under this section unless an application has been 

16 submitted to, and approved by, the Director. 

17 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—An application for a grant 

18 under this section shall be submitted in such form 

19 and contain such information and assurances as the 

20 Director may prescribe. 

21 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—At a minimum, each 

22 application for a grant under this section shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) explain the applicant’s inability to ad24 dress the need without Federal assistance; 


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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of a grant under sub2 section (a)(1), explain how the applicant plans 

3 to meet the requirements of subparagraphs 

4 (B)(ii) and (E) of such subsection; 

5 ‘‘(C) specify long-term plans for retaining 

6 firefighters following the conclusion of Federal 

7 support provided under this section; and 

8 ‘‘(D) provide assurances that the applicant 

9 will, to the extent practicable, seek, recruit, and 

10 hire members of racial and ethnic minority 

11 groups and women in order to increase their 

12 ranks within firefighting. 

13 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds 

15 made available under this section to fire depart16 ments for salaries and benefits to hire new, addi17 tional firefighters shall not be used to supplant State 

18 or local funds, or, in the case of Indian tribal gov19 ernments, funds supplied by the Bureau of Indian 

20 Affairs, but shall be used to increase the amount of 

21 funds that would, in the absence of Federal funds 

22 received under this section, be made available from 

23 State or local sources, or in the case of Indian tribal 

24 governments, from funds supplied by the Bureau of 

25 Indian Affairs. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REPLACEMENT FUNDING PROHIBITED.— 

2 No grant shall be awarded pursuant to this section 

3 to a municipality or other recipient whose annual 

4 budget at the time of the application for fire-related 

5 programs and emergency response has been reduced 

6 below 80 percent of the average funding level in the 

7 3 years prior to the date of application. 

8 ‘‘(3) INDIAN COST-SHARE.—Funds appro9 priated by the Congress for the activities of any 

10 agency of an Indian tribal government or the Bu11 reau of Indian Affairs performing firefighting func12 tions on any Indian lands may be used to provide 

13 the non-Federal share of the cost of programs or 

14 projects funded under this section. 

15 ‘‘(d) WAIVER.—In exceptional circumstances, the Di16 rector may waive the requirements of subsections 

17 (a)(1)(B)(ii), (a)(1)(B)(iii), (c)(1), and (c)(2) if the Direc18 tor determines that the jurisdiction is facing demonstrated 

19 economic hardship in accordance with section 33(a)(8). 

20 ‘‘(e) PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.—The Director 

21 may require a grant recipient to submit any information 

22 the Director considers reasonably necessary to evaluate 

23 the program. 

24 ‘‘(f) SUNSET; REPORTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) SUNSET.—The authority under this sec2 tion to make grants shall lapse at the end of the 10- 

3 year period that begins on the date of enactment of 

4 the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2011. 

5 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 6 years after 

6 such date of enactment, the Director shall submit to 

7 Congress a report concerning the experience with, 

8 and effectiveness of, such grants in meeting the ob9 jectives of this section. The report may include any 

10 recommendations the Director may have for amend11 ments to this section and related provisions of law. 

12 ‘‘(g) REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF FUNDING.— 

13 If the Director determines that a grant recipient under 

14 this section is not in substantial compliance with the terms 

15 and requirements of an approved grant application sub16 mitted under this section, the Director may revoke or sus17 pend funding of that grant, in whole or in part. 

18 ‘‘(h) ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall have ac20 cess for the purpose of audit and examination to any 

21 pertinent books, documents, papers, or records of a 

22 grant recipient under this section and to the perti23 nent books, documents, papers, or records of State 

24 and local governments, persons, businesses, and 

25 other entities that are involved in programs, 


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1 projects, or activities for which assistance is pro2 vided under this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—Paragraph (1) shall apply 

4 with respect to audits and examinations conducted 

5 by the Comptroller General of the United States or 

6 by an authorized representative of the Comptroller 

7 General. 

8 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term— 

9 ‘‘(1) ‘Director’ means the Director, acting 

10 through the Administrator; 

11 ‘‘(2) ‘firefighter’ has the meaning given the 

12 term ‘employee in fire protection activities’ under 

13 section 3(y) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

14 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(y)); and 

15 ‘‘(3) ‘Indian tribe’ means a tribe, band, pueblo, 

16 nation, or other organized group or community of 

17 Indians, including an Alaska Native village (as de18 fined in or established under the Alaska Native 

19 Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)), 

20 that is recognized as eligible for the special pro21 grams and services provided by the United States to 

22 Indians because of their status as Indians. 

23 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of carVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:02 Jun 24, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2269.IH H2269

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1 rying out this section $1,194,000,000 for each of the fiscal 

2 years 2012 through 2016.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT. 

4 (a) STUDY ON ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS

5 GRANT PROGRAM.—The Administrator of the United 

6 States Fire Administration, in conjunction with the Na7 tional Fire Protection Association, is authorized to con8 duct a study to— 

9 (1) define the current roles and activities asso10 ciated with the fire services on a national, State, re11 gional, and local level; 

12 (2) identify the equipment, staffing, and train13 ing required to fulfill the roles and activities defined 

14 under paragraph (1); 

15 (3) conduct an assessment to identify gaps be16 tween what fire departments currently possess and 

17 what they require to meet the equipment, staffing, 

18 and training needs identified under paragraph (2) 

19 on a national and State-by-State basis; and 

20 (4) measure the impact of the grant program 

21 under section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and 

22 Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229) in— 

23 (A) meeting the needs of the fire services 

24 identified in the report submitted to Congress 

25 under section 3603(a) of the Ronald W. Reagan 


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1 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

2 Year 2005; and 

3 (B) filling the gaps identified under para4 graph (3). 

5 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

7 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor8 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, 

9 and Technology of the House of Representatives a report 

10 on the findings of the study described in subsection (a). 

Æ 


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