IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3791 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 19, 2009 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fire Grants Reauthor3 ization Act of 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT PROGRAM 

5 REAUTHORIZATION. 

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

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

8 amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 33. FIREFIGHTER ASSISTANCE. 

10 ‘‘(a) ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 

11 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—In accordance with this sec12 tion, the Director may— 

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

14 directly to fire departments of a State, in con15 sultation with the chief executive of the State, 

16 for the purpose of protecting the health and 

17 safety of the public and firefighting personnel 

18 throughout the Nation against fire and fire-re19 lated hazards; 

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

21 directly to State fire training academies, in con22 sultation with the chief executive of the State, 

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

24 ‘‘(C) provide assistance for fire prevention 

25 and firefighter safety research and development 

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1 grams and activities in accordance with para2 graph (4); and 

3 ‘‘(D) provide assistance for volunteer, non4 fire service EMS and rescue organizations for 

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

6 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE.—The Di7 rector shall establish specific criteria for the selec8 tion of recipients of assistance under this section 

9 and shall provide grant-writing assistance to appli10 cants. 

11 ‘‘(3) USE OF FIRE DEPARTMENT GRANT

12 FUNDS.—The Director may make a grant under 

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

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

15 following purposes: 

16 ‘‘(A) To hire additional firefighting per17 sonnel. 

18 ‘‘(B) To train firefighting personnel in 

19 firefighting, emergency medical services and 

20 other emergency response (including response 

21 to a terrorism incident or use of a weapon of 

22 mass destruction), arson prevention and detec23 tion, maritime firefighting, or the handling of 

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1 sonnel to provide any of the training described 

2 in this subparagraph. 

3 ‘‘(C) To fund the creation of rapid inter4 vention teams to protect firefighting personnel 

5 at the scenes of fires and other emergencies. 

6 ‘‘(D) To certify fire and building inspec7 tors employed by a fire department or serving 

8 as a volunteer building inspector with a fire de9 partment. 

10 ‘‘(E) To establish wellness and fitness pro11 grams for firefighting personnel to ensure that 

12 the firefighting personnel can carry out their 

13 duties, including programs dedicated to raising 

14 awareness of, and prevention of, job-related 

15 mental health issues. 

16 ‘‘(F) To fund emergency medical services 

17 provided by fire departments and volunteer, 

18 non-fire service EMS and rescue organizations. 

19 ‘‘(G) To acquire additional firefighting ve20 hicles, including fire trucks. 

21 ‘‘(H) To acquire additional firefighting 

22 equipment, including equipment for communica23 tions, monitoring, and response to a terrorism 

24 incident or use of a weapon of mass destruc25 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(I) To acquire personal protective equip2 ment required for firefighting personnel by the 

3 Occupational Safety and Health Administration 

4 and other personal protective equipment for 

5 firefighting personnel, including protective 

6 equipment to respond to a terrorism incident or 

7 the use of a weapon of mass destruction. 

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

9 facilities, and other facilities to protect the 

10 health and safety of firefighting personnel. 

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

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

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

14 prevention and detection. 

15 ‘‘(N) To provide incentives for the recruit16 ment and retention of volunteer firefighting 

17 personnel for volunteer firefighting departments 

18 and other firefighting departments that utilize 

19 volunteers. 

20 ‘‘(O) To acquire equipment designed to re21 duce the amount of water used in firefighting 

22 or training firefighting personnel. 

23 ‘‘(4) FIRE PREVENTION AND FIREFIGHTER

24 SAFETY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PRO25 GRAMS.— 


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

2 the Director shall use not less than 10 percent 

3 of the funds made available under subsection 

4 (e)— 

5 ‘‘(i) to make grants to fire depart6 ments for the purpose described in para7 graph (3)(L); 

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

9 contracts or cooperative agreements with, 

10 national, State, local, or community orga11 nizations that are not fire departments 

12 but— 

13 ‘‘(I) that are recognized for their 

14 experience and expertise with respect 

15 to fire prevention or fire safety pro16 grams and activities and that partner 

17 with fire departments, for the purpose 

18 of carrying out such programs and ac19 tivities; 

20 ‘‘(II) engage in fire- and life 

21 safety-related activities as a primary 

22 purpose or function, for the purpose 

23 of carrying out fire prevention or fire 

24 safety programs and activities; or 


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1 ‘‘(III) that are recognized for 

2 their experience and expertise with re3 spect to firefighter research and devel4 opment programs, for the purpose of 

5 carrying out research on fire preven6 tion or fire safety programs and ac7 tivities or to improve firefighter health 

8 and life safety; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) if the Director determines that 

10 it is necessary, to make grants or enter 

11 into contracts in accordance with sub12 section (c). 

13 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY.—In selecting organiza14 tions described in subparagraph (A)(ii) to re15 ceive assistance under this paragraph, the Di16 rector shall give priority to organizations that 

17 focus on prevention of injuries to high risk 

18 groups from fire, as well as research programs 

19 that demonstrate the potential to improve fire20 fighter safety. 

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

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

23 a fiscal year. 

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

25 made available under this paragraph may be 


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1 provided to the Association of Community Or2 ganizations for Reform Now (ACORN) or any 

3 of its affiliates, subsidiaries, or allied organiza4 tions. 

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

6 assistance to a fire department or organization (in7 cluding a State fire training academy) under this 

8 subsection only if the fire department or organiza9 tion seeking the assistance submits to the Director 

10 an application that meets the following require11 ments: 

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

13 such form as the Director may require. 

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

15 include the following information: 

16 ‘‘(i) Information that demonstrates 

17 the financial need of the applicant for the 

18 assistance for which applied. 

19 ‘‘(ii) An analysis of the costs and ben20 efits, with respect to public safety, of the 

21 use of the assistance. 

22 ‘‘(iii) An agreement to provide infor23 mation to the national fire incident report24 ing system for the period covered by the 

25 assistance. 


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

2 funding received by the applicant. 

3 ‘‘(v) Any other information that the 

4 Director may require. 

5 ‘‘(C) UNNECESSARY DUPLICATION.—The 

6 Director, in coordination with the Secretary of 

7 Homeland Security, shall use the list provided 

8 under subparagraph (B)(iv) to prevent the un9 necessary duplication of grant funds. 

10 ‘‘(6) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara12 graphs (B) and (C) and paragraph (8), the Di13 rector may provide assistance under this sub14 section only if the applicant for such assistance 

15 agrees to match 10 percent of such assistance 

16 for any fiscal year with an equal amount of 

17 non-Federal funds. 

18 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT FOR SMALL COMMU19 NITY ORGANIZATIONS.—In the case of an appli20 cant whose personnel serve jurisdictions of 

21 20,000 or fewer residents, the percent applied 

22 under the matching requirement of subpara23 graph (A) shall be 5 percent. 

24 ‘‘(C) FIRE PREVENTION AND FIREFIGHTER

25 SAFETY GRANTS EXCEPTION.—There shall be 


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1 no matching requirement for a grant described 

2 in paragraph (4). 

3 ‘‘(7) MAINTENANCE OF EXPENDITURES.—Sub4 ject to paragraph (8), the Director may provide as5 sistance under this subsection only if the applicant 

6 for the assistance agrees to maintain in the fiscal 

7 year for which the assistance will be received the ap8 plicant’s aggregate expenditures for the uses de9 scribed in paragraph (3) or (4) at or above 80 per10 cent of the average level of such expenditures in the 

11 2 fiscal years preceding the fiscal year for which the 

12 assistance will be received. 

13 ‘‘(8) ECONOMIC HARDSHIP WAIVER.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In exceptional cir15 cumstances, the Director may waive or reduce 

16 the matching requirement under paragraph (6) 

17 and the maintenance of expenditures require18 ment under paragraph (7) for applicants facing 

19 demonstrated economic hardship. 

20 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA DEVELOPMENT.—The cri21 teria under which the Director may waive or re22 duce such requirements shall be developed in 

23 consultation with individuals who are— 

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1 vided by fire services, or the economic af2 fairs of State and local governments; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) members of national fire service 

4 organizations or national organizations 

5 representing the interests of State and 

6 local governments. 

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

8 shall make the criteria developed under sub9 paragraph (B) publicly available. 

10 ‘‘(9) VARIETY OF FIRE DEPARTMENT GRANT

11 RECIPIENTS.— 

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

13 available under subsection (e), the Director 

14 shall ensure that grants under paragraph 

15 (1)(A) for a fiscal year are allocated, to the ex16 tent that there are eligible applicants to carry 

17 out the activities under paragraph (3), as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(i) 25 percent shall be made avail20 able to career fire departments. 

21 ‘‘(ii) 25 percent shall be made avail22 able to volunteer fire departments. 

23 ‘‘(iii) 25 percent shall be made avail24 able to combination fire departments. 

25 ‘‘(B) EVALUATION CRITERIA.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In awarding 

2 grants under paragraph (1)(A), the Direc3 tor shall, within each category of appli4 cants under subparagraph (A), consider a 

5 broad range of factors important to the ap6 plicant’s ability to respond to fires and re7 lated hazards, such as population served, 

8 geographic response area, hazard vulner9 ability, call volume, financial situation in10 cluding unemployment rate of the area 

11 being served, and need for training or 

12 equipment. 

13 ‘‘(ii) HIGH POPULATION AND INCI14 DENT RESPONSE.—In considering such 

15 factors under clause (i), applicants serving 

16 areas with high population and with a high 

17 number of incidents requiring a response 

18 shall receive a higher level of consideration. 

19 ‘‘(iii) PROHIBITED BASIS FOR DE20 NIAL.—In considering such factors under 

21 clause (i), the Director may not deny a 

22 grant to an applicant solely based on such 

23 applicant failing to demonstrate that the 

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1 spond to a terrorism incident or use of a 

2 weapon of mass destruction. 

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

4 available under subsection (e) that are not allo5 cated for use and awarded under subparagraph 

6 (A) or designated for use under any other pro7 vision of this section, the Director shall provide 

8 for an open competition for grants among ca9 reer fire departments, volunteer fire depart10 ments, and combination fire departments to 

11 carry out the activities under paragraph (3). 

12 ‘‘(10) REPORT TO THE DIRECTOR.—The Direc13 tor may provide assistance under this subsection 

14 only if the applicant for the assistance agrees to sub15 mit to the Director a report, including a description 

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

17 fiscal year for which the assistance was received. 

18 ‘‘(11) GRANT LIMITATIONS.— 

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

20 recipient under paragraph (1)(A)— 

21 ‘‘(i) that serves a jurisdiction with 

22 100,000 people or less may not receive 

23 grants in excess of $1,000,000 for any fis24 cal year; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) that serves a jurisdiction with 

2 more than 100,000 people but less than 

3 500,000 people may not receive grants in 

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

5 ‘‘(iii) that serves a jurisdiction with 

6 500,000 people or more but less than 

7 1,000,000 people may not receive grants in 

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

9 ‘‘(iv) that serves a jurisdiction with 

10 1,000,000 people or more but less than 

11 2,500,000 people may not receive grants in 

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

13 and 

14 ‘‘(v) that serves a jurisdiction with 

15 2,500,000 people or more may not receive 

16 grants in excess of $9,000,000 for any fis17 cal year. 

18 The Director may award grants in excess of the 

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

20 (iv) if the Director determines that extraor21 dinary need for assistance by a jurisdiction war22 rants a waiver. 

23 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON EXPENDITURES FOR

24 FIREFIGHTING VEHICLES.—Not more than 25 

25 percent of the funds appropriated to provide 


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1 grants under this section for a fiscal year may 

2 be used to assist grant recipients to purchase 

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

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

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In accordance 

6 with clause (ii), the Director shall award 

7 not more than 3 percent of the amounts 

8 made available under subsection (e) for a 

9 fiscal year for grants under this subsection 

10 for State fire training academies. 

11 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—The Director 

12 shall— 

13 ‘‘(I) award not more than 1 

14 grant under this subparagraph per 

15 State in a fiscal year; 

16 ‘‘(II) limit the amount of a grant 

17 to a State fire training academy to 

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

19 each fiscal year; and 

20 ‘‘(III) ensure that any grant 

21 awarded to a State fire training acad22 emy shall be used for the purposes de23 scribed in paragraphs 3(G), 3(H), or 

24 3(I). 


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1 ‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS FOR

2 EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.—The Director 

3 shall award not more than 2 percent of the 

4 amounts made available under subsection (e) 

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

6 EMS and rescue organizations for the purposes 

7 described in paragraph (3)(F). 

8 ‘‘(E) APPLICATION OF SELECTION CRI9 TERIA TO GRANT APPLICATIONS FROM VOLUN10 TEER, NON-FIRE SERVICE EMS AND RESCUE OR11 GANIZATIONS.—In reviewing applications sub12 mitted by volunteer, non-fire service EMS and 

13 rescue organizations, the Director shall consider 

14 the extent to which other sources of Federal 

15 funding are available to provide the assistance 

16 requested in such grant applications. 

17 ‘‘(F) CONSENSUS STANDARDS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any grant 

19 amounts used to obtain training under this 

20 section shall be limited to training that 

21 complies with applicable national voluntary 

22 consensus standards (if applicable national 

23 voluntary consensus standards have been 

24 established), unless a waiver has been 

25 granted under clause (ii). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) WAIVER.— 

2 ‘‘(I) EXPLANATION FOR NON3 STANDARD TRAINING.—If an appli4 cant for a grant seeks to use the as5 sistance provided under the grant to 

6 obtain training that does not meet or 

7 exceed applicable voluntary consensus 

8 standards, the applicant shall include 

9 in the application an explanation of 

10 why such training will serve the needs 

11 of the applicant better than training 

12 that does meet or exceed such stand13 ards. 

14 ‘‘(II) PROCEDURES.—In making 

15 a determination whether or not to 

16 waive the requirement under clause (i) 

17 with respect to a specific standard, 

18 the Director shall, to the greatest ex19 tent practicable— 

20 ‘‘(aa) consult with other 

21 members of the fire services re22 garding the impact on fire de23 partments of the requirement to 

24 meet or exceed the specific stand25 ard; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) take into consideration 

2 the explanation provided by the 

3 applicant under subclause (I); 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(cc) seek to minimize the 

6 impact of the requirement to 

7 meet or exceed the specific stand8 ard on the applicant, particularly 

9 if meeting the standard would 

10 impose additional costs. 

11 ‘‘(III) ADDITIONAL REQUESTS.— 

12 Applicants that apply for a grant 

13 under the terms of subclause (I) may 

14 include a second grant request in the 

15 application to be considered by the 

16 Director in the event that the Direc17 tor does not approve the primary 

18 grant request on the grounds of the 

19 training not meeting applicable vol20 untary consensus standards. 

21 ‘‘(12) ELIGIBLE GRANTEE ON BEHALF OF

22 ALASKA NATIVE VILLAGES.—The Alaska Village Ini23 tiatives, a non-profit organization incorporated in 

24 the State of Alaska, shall be considered an eligible 


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1 grantee for purposes of receiving assistance under 

2 this section on behalf of Alaska Native villages. 

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

4 convene an annual meeting of individuals who are 

5 members of national fire service organizations and 

6 are recognized for expertise in firefighting or emer7 gency medical services provided by fire services, and 

8 who are not employees of the Federal Government, 

9 for the purpose of recommending criteria for award10 ing grants under this section for the next fiscal year 

11 and any necessary administrative changes to the 

12 grant program. 

13 ‘‘(14) GUIDELINES.— 

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

15 accepting any application for a grant under 

16 each program under this section, the Director 

17 shall publish in the Federal Register— 

18 ‘‘(i) guidelines that describe the proc19 ess for applying for grants and the criteria 

20 for awarding grants; 

21 ‘‘(ii) an explanation of any differences 

22 between the guidelines and the rec23 ommendations made pursuant to para24 graph (13); and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the criteria developed under 

2 paragraph (8) which the Director will use 

3 to evaluate applicants for waivers from 

4 program requirements. 

5 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT.—The cri6 teria for awarding grants under paragraph 

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

8 grant would enhance the daily operations of the 

9 applicant and the impact of such a grant on the 

10 protection of lives and property. 

11 ‘‘(15) PEER REVIEW.—The Director, after con12 sultation with national fire service organizations, 

13 shall appoint fire service personnel to conduct peer 

14 review of applications received under paragraph (5). 

15 In making grants under this section, the Director 

16 shall consider the results of such peer review evalua17 tions. 

18 ‘‘(16) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY

19 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

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

21 under paragraphs (13) and (15). 

22 ‘‘(17) ACCOUNTING DETERMINATION.—Not23 withstanding any other provision of law, rule, regu24 lation, or guidance, for purposes of receiving assist25 ance under this section, equipment costs shall inVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:06 Nov 20, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3791.RFS H3791

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1 clude all costs attributable to any design, purchase 

2 of components, assembly, manufacture, and trans3 portation of equipment not otherwise commercially 

4 available. 

5 ‘‘(b) AUDITS.—A recipient of a grant under this sec6 tion shall be subject to audits to ensure that the grant 

7 proceeds are expended for the intended purposes and that 

8 the grant recipient complies with the requirements of 

9 paragraphs (6) and (7) of subsection (a) unless the Direc10 tor has granted a waiver under subsection (a)(8). 

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

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

13 grant under subsection (a)(4)(A)(iii) to an institu14 tion of higher education, a national fire service orga15 nization, or a national fire safety organization to es16 tablish and operate a fire safety research center. 

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

18 subsection shall be used by such an institution or or19 ganization to advance significantly the Nation’s abil20 ity to reduce the number of fire-related deaths and 

21 injuries among firefighters and the general public 

22 through research, development, and technology 

23 transfer activities. 

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

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1 stitution of higher education, a national fire service 

2 organization, or a national fire safety organization 

3 may not directly receive a grant under this section 

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

5 center. 

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

7 receive a fire safety research center grant, an insti8 tution of higher education, a national fire service or9 ganization, or a national fire safety organization 

10 shall submit to the Director an application that is in 

11 such form and contains such information and assur12 ances as the Director may require. 

13 ‘‘(5) GENERAL SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Di14 rector shall select each recipient of a grant under 

15 this subsection through a competitive process on the 

16 basis of the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) The demonstrated research and ex18 tension resources available to the recipient to 

19 carry out the research, development, and tech20 nology transfer activities. 

21 ‘‘(B) The capability of the recipient to pro22 vide leadership in making national contributions 

23 to fire safety. 

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

25 the results of fire safety research. 


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1 ‘‘(D) The strategic plan the recipient pro2 poses to carry out under the grant. 

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

4 special consideration under paragraph (5) to an ap5 plicant for a grant that consists of a partnership be6 tween a national fire service organization or a na7 tional fire safety organization and at least 1 of the 

8 following: 

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

10 ‘‘(B) A minority-serving institution (de11 fined as an eligible institution under section 

12 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

13 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a))). 

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

15 the date of enactment of the Fire Grants Reauthor16 ization Act of 2009, the Director shall convene a 

17 workshop of the fire safety research community, fire 

18 service organizations, and other appropriate stake19 holders to identify and prioritize fire safety research 

20 needs. The results of the workshop shall be made 

21 public, and the Director shall consider such results 

22 in making awards under this section. 

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

24 definitions apply: 


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

2 ‘career fire department’ means a firefighting depart3 ment that has an all professional force of fire4 fighting personnel. 

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

6 term ‘combination fire department’ means a fire7 fighting department that has a combined force of 

8 professional and volunteer firefighting personnel. 

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

10 the Director, acting through the Administrator. 

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

12 ‘firefighting personnel’ means individuals, including 

13 volunteers, who are firefighters, officers of fire de14 partments, or emergency medical service personnel 

15 of fire departments. 

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

17 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

18 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High19 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

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

21 RESCUE ORGANIZATION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘volunteer, 

23 non-fire service EMS and rescue organization’ 

24 means a public or private nonprofit emergency 

25 medical services organization that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is not affiliated with a hospital; 

2 ‘‘(ii) does not serve a geographic area 

3 in which the Director finds that emergency 

4 medical services are adequately provided by 

5 a fire department; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) is staffed primarily by volun7 teers. 

8 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—Such term includes a 

9 river rescue organization if such organization 

10 otherwise meets the definition in subparagraph 

11 (A). 

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

13 term ‘volunteer fire department’ means a firefighting 

14 department that has an all volunteer force of fire15 fighting personnel. 

16 ‘‘(8) RIVER RESCUE ORGANIZATION.—The term 

17 ‘river rescue organization’ means an organization 

18 that provides emergency search and rescue services 

19 to a person affected by a flood, a water-related acci20 dent, or another disaster for which services, includ21 ing water rescue and patrol, dive rescue and recov22 ery, emergency first response, flood recovery, or fire 

23 and rescue services on the water, are required. 

24 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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

2 appropriated for the purposes of this section 

3 $1,000,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 

4 through 2014. 

5 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds appro7 priated pursuant to paragraph (1) for a fiscal 

8 year, the Director may use not more than 3 

9 percent of the funds to cover salaries and ex10 penses and other administrative costs incurred 

11 by the Director to make grants and provide as12 sistance under this section. 

13 ‘‘(B) FORMULA.—The Director shall sub14 tract the amount to be used for subparagraph 

15 (A) from the amount appropriated pursuant to 

16 paragraph (1) before making any allocations or 

17 apportioning any funds under subsections (a) or 

18 (c).’’. 

19 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con20 gress that— 

21 (1) from fiscal years 2003 through 2008— 

22 (A) the funding appropriated for activities 

23 under section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention 

24 and Control Act of 1974 declined by approxi25 mately 30 percent; and 


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1 (B) the number of fire departments receiv2 ing awards declined by nearly 40 percent, while 

3 the number of applicants increased, resulting in 

4 a reduction in applicant success rates from over 

5 43 percent to just 25 percent; 

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

7 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations 

8 Act, 2010 appropriates $390 million for activities 

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

10 below that provided in fiscal year 2009; 

11 (3) declining funding reduces the Director’s 

12 ability to successfully carry out the primary purpose 

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

14 safety of the public and firefighting personnel 

15 throughout the Nation against fire and fire-related 

16 hazards; and 

17 (4) halting and reversing the decline in appro18 priations to ensure a high level of funding for the 

19 activities under such section 33 should be a top pri20 ority. 

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

22 GRANT PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION. 

23 Section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Con24 trol Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229a) is amended to read 

25 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 2009. 

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 

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

2 years 2010 through 2014.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT. 

4 (a) STUDY AND REPORT ON ASSISTANCE TO FIRE5 FIGHTERS GRANT PROGRAM.— 

6 (1) STUDY.—The Administrator of the United 

7 States Fire Administration, in conjunction with the 

8 National Fire Protection Association, shall conduct a 

9 study to— 

10 (A) define the current roles and activities 

11 associated with the fire services on a national, 

12 State, regional, and local level; 

13 (B) identify the equipment, staffing, and 

14 training required to fulfill the roles and activi15 ties defined under subparagraph (A); 

16 (C) conduct an assessment to identify gaps 

17 between what fire departments currently pos18 sess and what they require to meet the equip19 ment, staffing, and training needs identified 

20 under subparagraph (B) on a national and 

21 State-by-State basis; and 

22 (D) measure the impact of the grant pro23 gram under section 33 of the Federal Fire Pre24 vention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 

25 2229) in— 


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1 (i) meeting the needs of the fire serv2 ices identified in the report submitted to 

3 Congress under section 3603(a) of the 

4 Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Au5 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005; and 

6 (ii) filling the gaps identified under 

7 subparagraph (C). 

8 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

10 shall submit to Congress a report on the findings of 

11 the study described in paragraph (1). 

12 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator of 

14 the United States Fire Administration a total of $300,000 

15 for fiscal years 2010 and 2011 to carry out subsection 

16 (a). 

17 SEC. 5. NATIONAL VOLUNTARY CONSENSUS STANDARDS. 

18 (a) SURVEY BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND

19 SECURITY.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 

21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec22 retary of Homeland Security, in consultation with 

23 the Task Force established under subsection (b), 

24 shall begin to conduct a survey of each career fire 

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1 tion fire department located in the United States in 

2 order to ascertain whether each fire department is in 

3 compliance with the national voluntary consensus 

4 standards for staffing, training, safe operations, per5 sonal protective equipment, and fitness. 

6 (2) CONTENTS.—In carrying out the survey, 

7 the Secretary shall ascertain, for each fire depart8 ment in the United States, the rates of compliance 

9 with each such standard of— 

10 (A) career fire departments, volunteer fire 

11 departments, and combination fire departments; 

12 (B) fire departments located in commu13 nities of varying sizes; and 

14 (C) fire departments in each of the States. 

15 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

17 submit to Congress a summary of the findings of the 

18 survey required under paragraph (1), including the 

19 rates of compliance under the categories specified 

20 under subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph 

21 (2). 

22 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE TO ENHANCE

23 FIREFIGHTER SAFETY.— 

24 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 60 days 

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1 retary shall establish a task force to be known as the 

2 ‘‘Task Force to Enhance Firefighter Safety’’ (in this 

3 section referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 

4 (2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ap6 point members of the Task Force from among 

7 the general public and shall include— 

8 (i) representatives of national organi9 zations representing firefighters and fire 

10 chiefs; 

11 (ii) individuals representing stand12 ards-setting and accrediting organizations, 

13 including representatives from the vol14 untary consensus codes and standards de15 velopment community; and 

16 (iii) other individuals as the Secretary 

17 determines to be appropriate. 

18 (B) REPRESENTATIVES OF OTHER DE19 PARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—The Secretary 

20 may invite representatives of other departments 

21 and agencies of the United States that have an 

22 interest in the fire service to participate in the 

23 meetings and other activities of the Task Force. 

24 (C) NUMBER; TERMS OF SERVICE; PAY

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1 mine the number, terms of service, and pay and 

2 allowances of members of the Task Force ap3 pointed by the Secretary, except that a term of 

4 service of any such member may not exceed 2 

5 years. 

6 (3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Task Force 

7 shall— 

8 (A) consult with the Secretary to conduct 

9 the survey required under subsection (a); and 

10 (B) develop a plan to enhance firefighter 

11 safety by increasing fire department compliance 

12 with national voluntary consensus standards for 

13 staffing, training, safe operations, personal pro14 tective equipment, and fitness, including by— 

15 (i) reviewing and evaluating the report 

16 required under subsection (a) to determine 

17 the extent of and barriers to achieving 

18 compliance with national voluntary con19 sensus standards among fire departments; 

20 and 

21 (ii) considering ways in which the 

22 Federal Government, States, and localities 

23 can promote or encourage fire departments 

24 to comply with national voluntary con25 sensus standards. 


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1 (4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 6 

2 months after the date on which the Secretary sub3 mits the report required under subsection (a)(3), the 

4 Task Force shall submit to Congress and the Sec5 retary a report containing the findings and rec6 ommendations of the Task Force together with the 

7 plan described in paragraph (3)(B). 

8 (c) DEFINITIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The terms used in this sec10 tion that are defined in sections 4, 33, or 34 of the 

11 Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 

12 shall have the meaning given such terms in such 

13 Act. 

14 (2) NATIONAL VOLUNTARY CONSENSUS STAND15 ARDS.—For the purposes of this section, the term 

16 ‘‘national voluntary consensus standards’’ means the 

17 latest edition of the national voluntary consensus 

18 standards for firefighter and fire department staff19 ing, training, safe operations, personal protective 

20 equipment, and fitness available on the date of the 

21 enactment of this Act. 

22 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

24 Homeland Security such sums as may be necessary to 


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1 carry out this section for each of fiscal years 2010 through 

2 2013. 

3 SEC. 6. PROHIBITION ON EARMARKS. 

4 None of the funds appropriated to carry out the 

5 amendments made by this Act may be used for a congres6 sional earmark as defined in clause 9, of Rule XXI of the 

7 rules of the House of Representatives of the 111th Con8 gress. 

Passed the House of Representatives November 18, 

2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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