II 

Calendar No. 89 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 550 

[Report No. 112–28] 

To improve the provision of assistance to fire departments, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 10, 2011 

Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. CARPER, Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts, Mr. MCCAIN, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

JUNE 29, 2011 

Reported by Mr. LIEBERMAN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To improve the provision of assistance to fire departments, 

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. AMENDMENTS TO DEFINITIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the Federal Fire Pre3 vention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2203) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, except as 

6 otherwise provided,’’ after ‘‘means’’; 

7 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘ ‘Director’ 

8 means’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Agency;’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘ ‘Administrator of FEMA’ means the Ad10 ministrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

11 Agency;’’; 

12 (3) in paragraph (5)— 

13 (A) by inserting ‘‘Indian tribe,’’ after 

14 ‘‘county,’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘and ‘firecontrol’ ’’ and in16 serting ‘‘and ‘fire control’ ’’; 

17 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through 

18 (9) as paragraphs (7) through (10), respectively; 

19 (5) by inserting after paragraph (5), the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(6) ‘Indian tribe’ has the meaning given that 

22 term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

23 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b) and 

24 ‘tribal’ means of or pertaining to an Indian tribe;’’; 


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1 (6) by redesignating paragraphs (9) and (10), 

2 as redesignated by paragraph (4), as paragraphs 

3 (10) and (11); 

4 (7) by inserting after paragraph (8), as redesig5 nated by paragraph (4), the following: 

6 ‘‘(9) ‘Secretary’ means, except as otherwise pro7 vided, the Secretary of Homeland Security;’’; and 

8 (8) by amending paragraph (10), as redesig9 nated by paragraph (6), to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(10) ‘State’ has the meaning given the term in 

11 section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

12 U.S.C. 101).’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

14 (1) ADMINISTRATOR OF FEMA.—The Federal 

15 Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 

16 2201 et seq.) is amended by striking ‘‘Director’’ 

17 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Administrator 

18 of FEMA’’. 

19 (2) ADMINISTRATOR OF FEMA’S AWARD.—Sec20 tion 15 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 2214) is amended by 

21 striking ‘‘Director’s Award’’ each place it appears 

22 and inserting ‘‘Administrator’s Award’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTER GRANTS. 

2 Section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Con3 trol Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229) is amended to read 

4 as follows: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 33. FIREFIGHTER ASSISTANCE. 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) AVAILABLE GRANT FUNDS.—The term 

8 ‘available grant funds’, with respect to a fiscal year, 

9 means those funds appropriated pursuant to the au10 thorization of appropriations in subsection (p)(1) for 

11 such fiscal year less any funds used for administra12 tive costs pursuant to subsection (p)(2) in such fis13 cal year. 

14 ‘‘(2) CAREER FIRE DEPARTMENT.—The term 

15 ‘career fire department’ means a fire department 

16 that has an all-paid force of firefighting personnel 

17 other than paid-on-call firefighters. 

18 ‘‘(3) COMBINATION FIRE DEPARTMENT.—The 

19 term ‘combination fire department’ means a fire de20 partment that has— 

21 ‘‘(A) paid firefighting personnel; and 

22 ‘‘(B) volunteer firefighting personnel. 

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

24 ‘firefighting personnel’ means individuals, including 

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1 partments, or emergency medical service personnel 

2 of fire departments. 

3 ‘‘(5) NONAFFILIATED EMS ORGANIZATION.— 

4 The term ‘nonaffiliated EMS organization’ means a 

5 public or private nonprofit emergency medical serv6 ices organization that is not affiliated with a hospital 

7 and does not serve a geographic area in which the 

8 Administrator of FEMA finds that emergency med9 ical services are adequately provided by a fire de10 partment. 

11 ‘‘(6) PAID-ON-CALL.—The term ‘paid-on-call’ 

12 with respect to firefighting personnel means fire13 fighting personnel who are paid a stipend for each 

14 event to which they respond. 

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

16 term ‘volunteer fire department’ means a fire de17 partment that has an all-volunteer force of fire18 fighting personnel. 

19 ‘‘(b) ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 

20 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—In accordance with this sec21 tion, the Administrator of FEMA may, in consulta22 tion with the Administrator of the United States 

23 Fire Administration, award— 

24 ‘‘(A) assistance to firefighters grants under 

25 subsection (c); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) fire prevention and safety grants and 

2 other assistance under subsection (d). 

3 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE.—The Ad4 ministrator of FEMA shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) establish specific criteria for the se6 lection of grant recipients under this section; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) provide assistance with application 

9 preparation to applicants for such grants. 

10 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of 

12 FEMA may, in consultation with the chief executives 

13 of the States in which the recipients are located, 

14 award grants on a competitive basis directly to— 

15 ‘‘(A) fire departments, for the purpose of 

16 protecting the health and safety of the public 

17 and firefighting personnel throughout the 

18 United States against fire, fire-related, and 

19 other hazards; 

20 ‘‘(B) nonaffiliated EMS organizations to 

21 support the provision of emergency medical 

22 services; and 

23 ‘‘(C) State fire training academies for the 

24 purposes described in subparagraphs (G), (H), 

25 and (I) of paragraph (3). 


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1 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNTS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) POPULATION.—The Administrator of 

3 FEMA may not award a grant under this sub4 section in excess of amounts as follows: 

5 ‘‘(i) In the case of a recipient that 

6 serves a jurisdiction with 100,000 people 

7 or fewer, the amount of the grant awarded 

8 to such recipient shall not exceed 

9 $1,000,000 in any fiscal year. 

10 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a recipient that 

11 serves a jurisdiction with more than 

12 100,000 people but not more than 500,000 

13 people, the amount of the grant awarded 

14 to such recipient shall not exceed 

15 $2,000,000 in any fiscal year. 

16 ‘‘(iii) In the case of a recipient that 

17 serves a jurisdiction with more than 

18 500,000 but not more than 1,000,000 peo19 ple, the amount of the grant awarded to 

20 such recipient shall not exceed $3,000,000 

21 in any fiscal year. 

22 ‘‘(iv) In the case of a recipient that 

23 serves a jurisdiction with more than 

24 1,000,000 people but not more than 

25 2,500,000 people, the amount of the grant 


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1 awarded to such recipient shall not exceed 

2 $6,000,000 for any fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(v) In the case of a recipient that 

4 serves a jurisdiction with more than 

5 2,500,000 people, the amount of the grant 

6 awarded to such recipient shall not exceed 

7 $9,000,000 in any fiscal year. 

8 ‘‘(B) STATE FIRE TRAINING ACADEMIES.— 

9 The Administrator of FEMA may not award a 

10 grant under this subsection to a State fire 

11 training academy in an amount that exceeds 

12 $1,000,000 in any fiscal year. 

13 ‘‘(C) AGGREGATE.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

15 subparagraphs (A) and (B) and except as 

16 provided under clause (ii), the Adminis17 trator of FEMA may not award a grant 

18 under this subsection in a fiscal year in an 

19 amount that exceeds the amount that is 

20 one percent of the available grant funds in 

21 such fiscal year. 

22 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The Administrator 

23 of FEMA may waive the limitation in 

24 clause (i) with respect to a grant recipient 

25 if the Administrator of FEMA determines 


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1 that such recipient has an extraordinary 

2 need for a grant in an amount that exceeds 

3 the limit under clause (i). 

4 ‘‘(3) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Each entity re5 ceiving a grant under this subsection shall use the 

6 grant for one or more of the following purposes: 

7 ‘‘(A) To train firefighting personnel in— 

8 ‘‘(i) firefighting; 

9 ‘‘(ii) emergency medical services and 

10 other emergency response (including re11 sponse to natural disasters, acts of ter12 rorism, and other man-made disasters); 

13 ‘‘(iii) arson prevention and detection; 

14 ‘‘(iv) maritime firefighting; or 

15 ‘‘(v) the handling of hazardous mate16 rials. 

17 ‘‘(B) To train firefighting personnel to 

18 provide any of the training described under sub19 paragraph (A). 

20 ‘‘(C) To fund the creation of rapid inter21 vention teams to protect firefighting personnel 

22 at the scenes of fires and other emergencies. 

23 ‘‘(D) To certify— 

24 ‘‘(i) fire inspectors; and 

25 ‘‘(ii) building inspectors— 


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1 ‘‘(I) whose responsibilities include 

2 fire safety inspections; and 

3 ‘‘(II) who are employed by or 

4 serving as volunteers with a fire de5 partment. 

6 ‘‘(E) To establish wellness and fitness pro7 grams for firefighting personnel to ensure that 

8 the firefighting personnel are able to carry out 

9 their duties as firefighters. 

10 ‘‘(F) To fund emergency medical services 

11 provided by fire departments and nonaffiliated 

12 EMS organizations. 

13 ‘‘(G) To acquire additional firefighting ve14 hicles, including fire trucks and other appa15 ratus. 

16 ‘‘(H) To acquire additional firefighting 

17 equipment, including equipment for— 

18 ‘‘(i) fighting fires with foam in remote 

19 areas without access to water; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) communications, monitoring, and 

21 response to a natural disaster, act of ter22 rorism, or other man-made disaster, in23 cluding the use of a weapon of mass de24 struction. 


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1 ‘‘(I) To acquire personal protective equip2 ment, including personal protective equip3 ment— 

4 ‘‘(i) prescribed for firefighting per5 sonnel by the Occupational Safety and 

6 Health Administration of the Department 

7 of Labor; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) for responding to a natural dis9 aster or act of terrorism or other man10 made disaster, including the use of a weap11 on of mass destruction. 

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

13 facilities, and other facilities to protect the 

14 health and safety of firefighting personnel. 

15 ‘‘(K) To educate the public about arson 

16 prevention and detection. 

17 ‘‘(L) To provide incentives for the recruit18 ment and retention of volunteer firefighting 

19 personnel for volunteer firefighting departments 

20 and other firefighting departments that utilize 

21 volunteers. 

22 ‘‘(M) To support such other activities, con23 sistent with the purposes of this subsection, as 

24 the Administrator of FEMA determines appro25 priate. 


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1 ‘‘(d) FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of assist3 ing fire prevention programs and supporting fire4 fighter health and safety research and development, 

5 the Administrator of FEMA may, on a competitive 

6 basis— 

7 ‘‘(A) award grants to fire departments; 

8 ‘‘(B) award grants to, or enter into con9 tracts or cooperative agreements with, national, 

10 State, local, tribal, or nonprofit organizations 

11 that are not fire departments and that are rec12 ognized for their experience and expertise with 

13 respect to fire prevention or fire safety pro14 grams and activities and firefighter research 

15 and development programs, for the purpose of 

16 carrying out— 

17 ‘‘(i) fire prevention programs; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) research to improve firefighter 

19 health and life safety; and 

20 ‘‘(C) award grants to, or enter into con21 tracts with, regionally accredited institutions of 

22 higher education and national fire service orga23 nizations or national fire safety organizations to 

24 support joint programs focused on reducing 

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1 cluding programs for establishing fire safety re2 search centers as the Administrator of FEMA 

3 determines appropriate. 

4 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant 

5 awarded under this subsection may not exceed 

6 $1,500,000 for a fiscal year. 

7 ‘‘(3) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Each entity re8 ceiving a grant under this subsection shall use the 

9 grant for one or more of the following purposes: 

10 ‘‘(A) To enforce fire codes and promote 

11 compliance with fire safety standards. 

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

13 ‘‘(C) To fund wildland fire prevention pro14 grams, including education, awareness, and 

15 mitigation programs that protect lives, prop16 erty, and natural resources from fire in the 

17 wildland-urban interface. 

18 ‘‘(D) In the case of a grant awarded under 

19 paragraph (1)(C), to fund the establishment or 

20 operation of— 

21 ‘‘(i) a fire safety research center; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) a program at such a center. 

23 ‘‘(E) To support such other activities, con24 sistent with the purposes of this subsection, as 


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1 the Administrator of FEMA determines appro2 priate. 

3 ‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS FOR GRANTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An entity seeking a grant 

5 under this section shall submit to the Administrator 

6 of FEMA an application therefor in such form and 

7 in such manner as the Administrator of FEMA de8 termines appropriate. 

9 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Each application submitted 

10 under paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) A description of the financial need of 

12 the applicant for the grant. 

13 ‘‘(B) An analysis of the costs and benefits, 

14 with respect to public safety, of the use for 

15 which a grant is requested. 

16 ‘‘(C) An agreement to provide information 

17 to the national fire incident reporting system 

18 for the period covered by the grant. 

19 ‘‘(D) A list of other sources of funding re20 ceived by the applicant— 

21 ‘‘(i) for the same purpose for which 

22 the application for a grant under this sec23 tion was submitted; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) from the Federal Government for 

25 other fire-related purposes. 


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1 ‘‘(E) Such other information as the Ad2 ministrator of FEMA determines appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(3) JOINT OR REGIONAL APPLICATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Two or more entities 

5 may submit an application under paragraph (1) 

6 for a grant under this section to fund a joint 

7 program or initiative, including acquisition of 

8 shared equipment or vehicles. 

9 ‘‘(B) NONEXCLUSIVITY.—Applications 

10 under this paragraph may be submitted instead 

11 of or in addition to any other application sub12 mitted under paragraph (1). 

13 ‘‘(C) GUIDANCE.—The Administrator of 

14 FEMA shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) publish guidance on applying for 

16 and administering grants awarded for joint 

17 programs and initiatives described in sub18 paragraph (A); and 

19 ‘‘(ii) encourage applicants to apply for 

20 grants for joint programs and initiatives 

21 described in subparagraph (A) as the Ad22 ministrator of FEMA determines appro23 priate to achieve greater cost effectiveness 

24 and regional efficiency. 

25 ‘‘(f) PEER REVIEW OF GRANT APPLICATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of 

2 FEMA shall, after consultation with national fire 

3 service and emergency medical services organiza4 tions, appoint fire service personnel and personnel 

5 from nonaffiliated EMS organizations to conduct 

6 peer reviews of applications received under sub7 section (e)(1). 

8 ‘‘(2) ASSIGNMENT OF REVIEWS.—In admin9 istering the peer review process under paragraph 

10 (1), the Administrator of FEMA shall ensure that— 

11 ‘‘(A) applications submitted by career fire 

12 departments are reviewed primarily by per13 sonnel from career fire departments; 

14 ‘‘(B) applications submitted by volunteer 

15 fire departments are reviewed primarily by per16 sonnel from volunteer fire departments; 

17 ‘‘(C) applications submitted by combina18 tion fire departments and fire departments 

19 using paid-on-call firefighting personnel are re20 viewed primarily by personnel from such fire 

21 departments; and 

22 ‘‘(D) applications for grants to fund emer23 gency medical services pursuant to subsection 

24 (c)(3)(F) are reviewed primarily by emergency 

25 medical services personnel, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) emergency medical service per2 sonnel affiliated with fire departments; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) personnel from nonaffiliated 

4 EMS organizations. 

5 ‘‘(3) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS FOR FIRE PRE6 VENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS SUBMITTED BY NON7 PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE NOT FIRE DE8 PARTMENTS.—In conducting a review of an applica9 tion submitted under subsection (e)(1) by a non10 profit organization described in subsection (d)(1)(B), 

11 a peer reviewer may not recommend the applicant 

12 for a grant under subsection (d) unless such appli13 cant is recognized for its experience and expertise 

14 with respect to— 

15 ‘‘(A) fire prevention or safety programs 

16 and activities; or 

17 ‘‘(B) firefighter research and development 

18 programs. 

19 ‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY

20 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

21 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to activities car22 ried out pursuant to this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(g) PRIORITIZATION AND ALLOCATION OF GRANT

24 AWARDS.—In awarding grants under this section, the Ad25 ministrator of FEMA shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) consider the findings and recommendations 

2 of the peer reviews carried out under subsection (f); 

3 ‘‘(2) consider the degree to which an award will 

4 reduce deaths, injuries, and property damage by re5 ducing the risks associated with fire-related and 

6 other hazards; 

7 ‘‘(3) consider the extent of the need of an appli8 cant for a grant under this section and the need to 

9 protect the United States as a whole; 

10 ‘‘(4) consider the number of calls requesting or 

11 requiring a fire fighting or emergency medical re12 sponse received by an applicant; and 

13 ‘‘(5) ensure that of the available grant funds— 

14 ‘‘(A) not less than 25 percent are awarded 

15 to career fire departments; 

16 ‘‘(B) not less than 25 percent are awarded 

17 to volunteer fire departments; and 

18 ‘‘(C) not less than 25 percent are awarded 

19 to combination fire departments and fire de20 partments using paid-on-call firefighting per21 sonnel. 

22 ‘‘(h) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITA23 TIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) FUNDING FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL

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1 able grant funds for a fiscal year shall be awarded 

2 under this section for purposes described in sub3 section (c)(3)(F). 

4 ‘‘(2) GRANT AWARDS TO NONAFFILIATED EMS

5 ORGANIZATIONS.—Not more than 2 percent of the 

6 available grant funds for a fiscal year shall be 

7 awarded under this section to nonaffiliated EMS or8 ganizations. 

9 ‘‘(3) FUNDING FOR FIRE PREVENTION AND

10 SAFETY GRANTS.—For each fiscal year, not less 

11 than 10 percent of the aggregate of grant amounts 

12 under this section in that fiscal year shall be award13 ed under subsection (d). 

14 ‘‘(4) STATE FIRE TRAINING ACADEMIES.—Not 

15 more than 3 percent of the available grant funds for 

16 a fiscal year shall be awarded under subsection 

17 (c)(1)(C). 

18 ‘‘(5) AMOUNTS FOR PURCHASING FIRE19 FIGHTING VEHICLES.—Not more than 25 percent of 

20 the available grant funds for a fiscal year may be 

21 used to assist grant recipients to purchase vehicles 

22 pursuant to subsection (c)(3)(G). 

23 ‘‘(i) FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS TO

25 FIRE DEPARTMENTS.—In considering applications 


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1 for grants under subsection (c)(1)(A), the Adminis2 trator of FEMA shall consider the extent to which 

3 the grant would enhance the daily operations of the 

4 applicant and the impact of such a grant on the pro5 tection of lives and property. 

6 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS FROM NONAFFILIATED EMS

7 ORGANIZATIONS.—In the case of an application sub8 mitted under subsection (e)(1) by a nonaffiliated 

9 EMS organization, the Administrator of FEMA 

10 shall consider the extent to which other sources of 

11 Federal funding are available to the applicant to 

12 provide the assistance requested in such application. 

13 ‘‘(3) AWARDING FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFE14 TY GRANTS TO CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE

15 NOT FIRE DEPARTMENTS.—In the case of applicants 

16 for grants under this section who are described in 

17 subsection (d)(1)(B), the Administrator of FEMA 

18 shall give priority to applicants who focus on— 

19 ‘‘(A) prevention of injuries to high risk 

20 groups from fire; and 

21 ‘‘(B) research programs that demonstrate 

22 a potential to improve firefighter safety. 

23 ‘‘(4) AVOIDING DUPLICATION.—The Adminis24 trator of FEMA shall review lists submitted by ap25 plicants pursuant to subsection (e)(2)(D) and take 


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1 such actions as the Administrator of FEMA con2 siders necessary to prevent unnecessary duplication 

3 of grant awards. 

4 ‘‘(j) MATCHING AND MAINTENANCE OF EXPENDI5 TURE REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) MATCHING REQUIREMENT FOR ASSIST7 ANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

9 subparagraph (B), an applicant seeking a grant 

10 to carry out an activity under subsection (c) 

11 shall agree to make available non-Federal funds 

12 to carry out such activity in an amount equal 

13 to not less than 15 percent of the grant award14 ed to such applicant under such subsection. 

15 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR ENTITIES SERVING

16 SMALL COMMUNITIES.—In the case that an ap17 plicant seeking a grant to carry out an activity 

18 under subsection (c) serves a jurisdiction of— 

19 ‘‘(i) more than 20,000 residents but 

20 not more than 50,000 residents, the appli21 cant shall agree to make available non22 Federal funds in an amount equal to not 

23 less than 10 percent of the grant award to 

24 such applicant under such subsection; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) 20,000 residents or fewer, the 

2 applicant shall agree to make available 

3 non-Federal funds in an amount equal to 

4 not less than 5 percent of the grant award5 ed to such applicant under such sub6 section. 

7 ‘‘(2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT FOR FIRE PRE8 VENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An applicant seeking 

10 a grant to carry out an activity under sub11 section (d) shall agree to make available non12 Federal funds to carry out such activity in an 

13 amount equal to not less than 5 percent of the 

14 grant awarded to such applicant under such 

15 subsection. 

16 ‘‘(B) MEANS OF MATCHING.—An applicant 

17 for a grant under subsection (d) may meet the 

18 matching requirement under subparagraph (A) 

19 through direct funding, funding of complemen20 tary activities, or the provision of staff, facili21 ties, services, material, or equipment. 

22 ‘‘(3) MAINTENANCE OF EXPENDITURES.—An 

23 applicant seeking a grant under subsection (c) or (d) 

24 shall agree to maintain during the term of the grant 

25 the applicant’s aggregate expenditures relating to 


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1 the uses described in subsections (c)(3) and (d)(3) 

2 at not less than 80 percent of the average amount 

3 of such expenditures in the 2 fiscal years preceding 

4 the fiscal year in which the grant amounts are re5 ceived. 

6 ‘‘(4) WAIVER.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

8 subparagraph (C)(ii), the Administrator of 

9 FEMA may waive or reduce the requirements 

10 of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) in cases of dem11 onstrated economic hardship. 

12 ‘‘(B) GUIDELINES.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

14 of FEMA shall establish and publish 

15 guidelines for determining what constitutes 

16 economic hardship for purposes of this 

17 paragraph. 

18 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATIONS.—In devel19 oping guidelines under clause (i), the Ad20 ministrator of FEMA shall consider, with 

21 respect to relevant communities, the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(I) Changes in rates of unem24 ployment from previous years. 


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1 ‘‘(II) Whether the rates of unem2 ployment of the relevant communities 

3 are currently and have consistently ex4 ceeded the annual national average 

5 rates of unemployment. 

6 ‘‘(III) Changes in percentages of 

7 individuals eligible to receive food 

8 stamps from previous years. 

9 ‘‘(IV) Such other factors as the 

10 Administrator of FEMA considers ap11 propriate. 

12 ‘‘(C) CERTAIN APPLICANTS FOR FIRE PRE13 VENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS.—The authority 

14 under subparagraph (A) shall not apply with 

15 respect to a nonprofit organization that— 

16 ‘‘(i) is described in subsection 

17 (d)(1)(B); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) is not a fire department or emer19 gency medical services organization. 

20 ‘‘(k) GRANT GUIDELINES.— 

21 ‘‘(1) GUIDELINES.—For each fiscal year, prior 

22 to awarding any grants under this section, the Ad23 ministrator of FEMA shall publish in the Federal 

24 Register— 

25 ‘‘(A) guidelines that describe— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the process for applying for 

2 grants under this section; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the criteria that will be used for 

4 selecting grant recipients; and 

5 ‘‘(B) an explanation of any differences be6 tween such guidelines and the recommendations 

7 obtained under paragraph (2). 

8 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL MEETING TO OBTAIN REC9 OMMENDATIONS.— 

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

11 the Administrator of FEMA shall convene a 

12 meeting of qualified members of national fire 

13 service organizations and qualified members of 

14 emergency medical service organizations to ob15 tain recommendations regarding the following: 

16 ‘‘(i) Criteria for the awarding of 

17 grants under this section. 

18 ‘‘(ii) Administrative changes to the as19 sistance program established under sub20 section (b). 

21 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED MEMBERS.—For purposes 

22 of this paragraph, a qualified member of an or23 ganization is a member who— 

24 ‘‘(i) is recognized for expertise in fire25 fighting or emergency medical services; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) is not an employee of the Federal 

2 Government; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a member of an 

4 emergency medical service organization, is 

5 a member of an organization that rep6 resents— 

7 ‘‘(I) providers of emergency med8 ical services that are affiliated with 

9 fire departments; or 

10 ‘‘(II) nonaffiliated EMS pro11 viders. 

12 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY

13 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

14 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to activities car15 ried out pursuant to this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(l) ACCOUNTING DETERMINATION.—Notwith17 standing any other provision of law, for purposes of this 

18 section, equipment costs shall include all costs attributable 

19 to any design, purchase of components, assembly, manu20 facture, and transportation of equipment not otherwise 

21 commercially available. 

22 ‘‘(m) ELIGIBLE GRANTEE ON BEHALF OF ALASKA

23 NATIVE VILLAGES.—The Alaska Village Initiatives, a 

24 non-profit organization incorporated in the State of Alas25 ka, shall be eligible to apply for and receive a grant or 


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1 other assistance under this section on behalf of Alaska Na2 tive villages. 

3 ‘‘(n) TRAINING STANDARDS.—If an applicant for a 

4 grant under this section is applying for such grant to pur5 chase training that does not meet or exceed any applicable 

6 national voluntary consensus standards developed under 

7 section 647 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management 

8 Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 747), the applicant shall 

9 submit to the Administrator of FEMA an explanation of 

10 the reasons that the training proposed to be purchased 

11 will serve the needs of the applicant better than training 

12 that meets or exceeds such standards. 

13 ‘‘(o) ENSURING EFFECTIVE USE OF GRANTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) AUDITS.—The Administrator of FEMA 

15 may audit a recipient of a grant awarded under this 

16 section to ensure that— 

17 ‘‘(A) the grant amounts are expended for 

18 the intended purposes; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the grant recipient complies with the 

20 requirements of subsection (j). 

21 ‘‘(2) PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of 

23 FEMA shall develop and implement a perform24 ance assessment system, including quantifiable 

25 performance metrics, to evaluate the extent to 


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1 which grants awarded under this section are 

2 furthering the purposes of this section, includ3 ing protecting the health and safety of the pub4 lic and firefighting personnel against fire and 

5 fire-related hazards. 

6 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator 

7 of FEMA shall consult with fire service rep8 resentatives and with the Comptroller General 

9 of the United States in developing the assess10 ment system required by subparagraph (A). 

11 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORTS TO ADMINISTRATOR OF

12 FEMA.—The recipient of a grant awarded under this 

13 section shall submit to the Administrator of FEMA 

14 an annual report describing how the recipient used 

15 the grant amounts. 

16 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Sep18 tember 30, 2012, and each year thereafter 

19 through 2016, the Administrator of FEMA 

20 shall submit to the Committee on Homeland 

21 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen22 ate and the Committee on Science and Tech23 nology of the House of Representatives a report 

24 that provides— 


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1 ‘‘(i) information on the performance 

2 assessment system developed under para3 graph (2); and 

4 ‘‘(ii) using the performance metrics 

5 developed under such paragraph, an eval6 uation of the effectiveness of the grants 

7 awarded under this section. 

8 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—The re9 port due under subparagraph (A) on September 

10 30, 2015, shall also include recommendations 

11 for legislative changes to improve grants under 

12 this section, including recommendations as to 

13 whether the provisions described in section 5(a) 

14 of the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2011 

15 should be extended to apply on and after the 

16 date described in such section. 

17 ‘‘(p) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

19 appropriated to carry out this section— 

20 ‘‘(A) $950,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(B) for each of fiscal years 2013 through 

23 2016, an amount equal to the amount author24 ized for the previous fiscal year increased by 

25 the percentage by which— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Consumer Price Index (all 

2 items, United States city average) for the 

3 previous fiscal year, exceeds 

4 ‘‘(ii) the Consumer Price Index for 

5 the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year de6 scribed in clause (i). 

7 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

8 amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) for 

9 a fiscal year, the Administrator of FEMA may use 

10 not more than 5 percent of such amounts for sala11 ries and expenses and other administrative costs in12 curred by the Administrator of FEMA in the course 

13 of awarding grants and providing assistance under 

14 this section. 

15 ‘‘(3) CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPEND16 ING.—Consistent with the requirements in sub17 sections (c)(1) and (d)(1) that grants under those 

18 subsections be awarded on a competitive basis, none 

19 of the funds appropriated pursuant to this sub20 section may be used for any congressionally directed 

21 spending item (as such term is defined in paragraph 

22 5(a) of rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Sen23 ate).’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. STAFFING FOR ADEQUATE FIRE AND EMERGENCY 

2 RESPONSE. 

3 (a) IMPROVEMENTS TO HIRING GRANTS.— 

4 (1) TERM OF GRANTS.—Subsection (a)(1)(B) of 

5 section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Con6 trol Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229a) is amended by 

7 striking ‘‘4 years’’ and inserting ‘‘3 years’’. 

8 (2) LIMITATION ON PORTION OF COSTS OF HIR9 ING FIREFIGHTERS.—Subsection (a)(1)(E) of such 

10 section 34 is amended by striking ‘‘not exceed—’’ 

11 and all that follows through the period and inserting 

12 ‘‘not exceed 75 percent in any fiscal year.’’. 

13 (b) CLARIFICATION REGARDING ELIGIBLE ENTITIES

14 FOR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION GRANTS.—The sec15 ond sentence of subsection (a)(2) of such section 34 is 

16 amended by striking ‘‘organizations on a local or statewide 

17 basis’’ and inserting ‘‘national, State, local, or tribal orga18 nizations’’. 

19 (c) MAXIMUM AMOUNT FOR HIRING FIRE20 FIGHTER.—Paragraph (4) of subsection (c) of such sec21 tion 34 is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(4) The amount of funding provided under this sec23 tion to a recipient fire department for hiring a firefighter 

24 in any fiscal year may not exceed 75 percent of the usual 

25 annual cost of a first-year firefighter in that department 

26 at the time the grant application was submitted.’’. 


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1 (d) WAIVERS.—Such section 34 is further amend2 ed— 

3 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (i) 

4 as subsection (e) through (j), respectively; and 

5 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(d) WAIVERS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In a case of demonstrated 

9 economic hardship, the Administrator of FEMA 

10 may— 

11 ‘‘(A) waive the requirements of subsection 

12 (a)(1)(B)(ii) or subsection (c)(1); or 

13 ‘‘(B) waive or reduce the requirements in 

14 subsection (a)(1)(E) or subsection (c)(2). 

15 ‘‘(2) GUIDELINES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of 

17 FEMA shall establish and publish guidelines for 

18 determining what constitutes economic hardship 

19 for purposes of paragraph (1). 

20 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing 

21 guidelines under subparagraph (A), the Admin22 istrator of FEMA shall consider, with respect to 

23 relevant communities, the following: 

24 ‘‘(i) Changes in rates of unemploy25 ment from previous years. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Whether the rates of unemploy2 ment of the relevant communities are cur3 rently and have consistently exceeded the 

4 annual national average rates of unemploy5 ment. 

6 ‘‘(iii) Changes in percentages of indi7 viduals eligible to receive food stamps from 

8 previous years. 

9 ‘‘(iv) Such other factors as the Ad10 ministrator of FEMA considers appro11 priate.’’. 

12 (e) IMPROVEMENTS TO PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

13 REQUIREMENTS.—Subsection (e) of such section 34, as 

14 redesignated by subsection (d)(1) of this section, is 

15 amended by inserting before the first sentence the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of 

18 FEMA shall establish a performance assessment sys19 tem, including quantifiable performance metrics, to 

20 evaluate the extent to which grants awarded under 

21 this section are furthering the purposes of this sec22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—’’. 

24 (f) REPORT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (f) of such sec2 tion 34, as redesignated by subsection (d)(1) of this 

3 section, is amended by striking ‘‘The authority’’ and 

4 all that follows through ‘‘Congress concerning’’ and 

5 inserting the following: ‘‘Not later than September 

6 30, 2015, the Administrator of FEMA shall submit 

7 to the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov8 ernmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 

9 on Science and Technology of the House of Rep10 resentatives a report on’’. 

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading 

12 for such subsection (f) is amended by striking ‘‘SUN13 SET AND REPORTS’’ and inserting ‘‘REPORT’’. 

14 (g) ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (i) of such sec16 tion 34, as redesignated by subsection (d)(1) of this 

17 section, is amended— 

18 (A) in the matter before paragraph (1), by 

19 striking ‘‘In this section, the term—’’ and in20 serting ‘‘In this section:’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

22 (i) by inserting ‘‘The term’’ before 

23 ‘‘ ‘firefighter’ has’’; and 

24 (ii) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting 

25 a period; 


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1 (C) by striking paragraph (2); and 

2 (D) by inserting at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(2) The terms ‘career fire department’, ‘com4 bination fire department’, and ‘volunteer fire depart5 ment’ have the meaning given such terms in section 

6 33(a).’’. 

7 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection 

8 (a)(1)(A) of such section 34 is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘career, volunteer, and combination fire depart10 ments’’ and inserting ‘‘career fire departments, com11 bination fire departments, and volunteer fire depart12 ments’’. 

13 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (j) of such sec15 tion 34, as redesignated by subsection (d)(1) of this 

16 section, is amended— 

17 (A) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

18 the end; 

19 (B) in paragraph (7), by striking the pe20 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

21 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(8) $950,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 

23 ‘‘(9) for each of fiscal years 2013 through 

24 2016, an amount equal to the amount authorized for 


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1 the previous fiscal year increased by the percentage 

2 by which— 

3 ‘‘(A) the Consumer Price Index (all items, 

4 United States city average) for the previous fis5 cal year, exceeds 

6 ‘‘(B) the Consumer Price Index for the fis7 cal year preceding the fiscal year described in 

8 subparagraph (A).’’. 

9 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Such sub10 section (j) is further amended— 

11 (A) in paragraph (9), as added by para12 graph (1) of this subsection, by redesignating 

13 subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and 

14 (ii), respectively, and moving the left margin of 

15 such clauses, as so redesignated, 2 ems to the 

16 right; 

17 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

18 through (9) as subparagraphs (A) through (I), 

19 respectively, and moving the left margin of such 

20 subparagraphs, as so redesignated, 2 ems to the 

21 right; 

22 (C) by striking ‘‘There are’’ and inserting 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are’’; and 

25 (D) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

2 amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) for 

3 a fiscal year, the Administrator of FEMA may use 

4 not more than 5 percent of such amounts to cover 

5 salaries and expenses and other administrative costs 

6 incurred by the Administrator of FEMA to make 

7 grants and provide assistance under this section.’’. 

8 (3) CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING.— 

9 Such subsection (j) is further amended by adding at 

10 the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(3) CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPEND12 ING.—Consistent with the requirement in subsection 

13 (a) that grants under this section be awarded on a 

14 competitive basis, none of the funds appropriated 

15 pursuant to this subsection may be used for any 

16 congressionally direct spending item (as defined in 

17 paragraph 5(a) of Rule XLIV of the Standing Rules 

18 of the Senate).’’. 

19 (i) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Such section 34 is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a), in paragraphs (1)(A) and 

22 (2), by striking ‘‘Administrator shall’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘Administrator of FEMA shall, in consultation with 

24 the Administrator,’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘Administrator’’ each place it 

2 appears, other than in subsection (a)(1)(A) and 

3 (a)(2), and inserting ‘‘Administrator of FEMA’’. 

4 (j) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 34 of such Act 

5 (15 U.S.C. 2229a) is amended by striking ‘‘EXPANSION

6 OF PRE-SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, FIRE GRANT PRO7 GRAM’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘STAFFING FOR

8 ADEQUATE FIRE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE’’. 

9 SEC. 5. SUNSET AND PRIOR PROVISIONS. 

10 (a) SUNSET.—Section 3 and subsections (a), (c), (d), 

11 (e), (f), (g), and (h) of section 4, and the amendments 

12 made by such section and subsections shall not apply on 

13 or after October 1, 2016. 

14 (b) APPLICATION OF PRIOR LAW.—On and after Oc15 tober 1, 2016, sections 33 and 34 of the Federal Fire Pre16 vention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229 and 

17 2229a) are amended to read as such sections read on the 

18 day before the date of the enactment of this Act, except 

19 that the amendments made by subsections (b), (i), and 

20 (j) of section 4 shall continue to apply to such section 34. 

21 SEC. 6. REPORT. 

22 Not later than September 30, 2015, the Comptroller 

23 General of the United States shall submit to the Com24 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

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1 nology of the House of Representatives a report on the 

2 effect of the amendments made by this Act. Such report 

3 shall include the following: 

4 (1) An assessment of the effect of the amend5 ments made by sections 3 and 4 on the effectiveness, 

6 relative allocation, accountability, and administration 

7 of the grants awarded under sections 33 and 34 of 

8 the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 

9 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229 and 2229a) after the date of 

10 the enactment of this Act. 

11 (2) An evaluation of the extent to which the 

12 amendments made by sections 3 and 4 have enabled 

13 recipients of grants awarded under such sections 33 

14 and 34 after the date of the enactment of this Act 

15 to mitigate fire and fire-related and other hazards 

16 more effectively. 

17 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

18 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fire Grants Reauthor19 ization Act of 2011’’. 

20 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO DEFINITIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the Federal Fire Pre22 vention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2203) is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, except as 

25 otherwise provided,’’ after ‘‘means’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘ ‘Director’ 

2 means’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Agency;’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘ ‘Administrator of FEMA’ means the Ad4 ministrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

5 Agency;’’; 

6 (3) in paragraph (5)— 

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘Indian tribe,’’ after 

8 ‘‘county,’’; and 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘and ‘firecontrol’ ’’ and in10 serting ‘‘and ‘fire control’ ’’; 

11 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (9) 

12 as paragraphs (7) through (10), respectively; 

13 (5) by inserting after paragraph (5), the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(6) ‘Indian tribe’ has the meaning given that 

16 term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

17 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b) and 

18 ‘tribal’ means of or pertaining to an Indian tribe;’’; 

19 (6) by redesignating paragraphs (9) and (10), as 

20 redesignated by paragraph (4), as paragraphs (10) 

21 and (11); 

22 (7) by inserting after paragraph (8), as redesig23 nated by paragraph (4), the following: 

24 ‘‘(9) ‘Secretary’ means, except as otherwise pro25 vided, the Secretary of Homeland Security;’’; and 


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1 (8) by amending paragraph (10), as redesig2 nated by paragraph (6), to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(10) ‘State’ has the meaning given the term in 

4 section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

5 U.S.C. 101).’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (1) ADMINISTRATOR OF FEMA.—The Federal 

8 Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 

9 2201 et seq.) is amended by striking ‘‘Director’’ each 

10 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Administrator of 

11 FEMA’’. 

12 (2) ADMINISTRATOR OF FEMA’S AWARD.—Section 

13 15 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 2214) is amended by strik14 ing ‘‘Director’s Award’’ each place it appears and in15 serting ‘‘Administrator’s Award’’. 

16 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTER GRANTS. 

17 Section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control 

18 Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229) is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 33. FIREFIGHTER ASSISTANCE. 

20 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) AVAILABLE GRANT FUNDS.—The term 

22 ‘available grant funds’, with respect to a fiscal year, 

23 means those funds appropriated pursuant to the au24 thorization of appropriations in subsection (p)(1) for 

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1 tive costs pursuant to subsection (p)(2) in such fiscal 

2 year. 

3 ‘‘(2) CAREER FIRE DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘ca4 reer fire department’ means a fire department that 

5 has an all-paid force of firefighting personnel other 

6 than paid-on-call firefighters. 

7 ‘‘(3) COMBINATION FIRE DEPARTMENT.—The 

8 term ‘combination fire department’ means a fire de9 partment that has— 

10 ‘‘(A) paid firefighting personnel; and 

11 ‘‘(B) volunteer firefighting personnel. 

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

13 ‘firefighting personnel’ means individuals, including 

14 volunteers, who are firefighters, officers of fire depart15 ments, or emergency medical service personnel of fire 

16 departments. 

17 ‘‘(5) NONAFFILIATED EMS ORGANIZATION.—The 

18 term ‘nonaffiliated EMS organization’ means a pub19 lic or private nonprofit emergency medical services 

20 organization that is not affiliated with a hospital and 

21 does not serve a geographic area in which the Admin22 istrator of FEMA finds that emergency medical serv23 ices are adequately provided by a fire department. 

24 ‘‘(6) PAID-ON-CALL.—The term ‘paid-on-call’ 

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1 fighting personnel who are paid a stipend for each 

2 event to which they respond. 

3 ‘‘(7) VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT.—The term 

4 ‘volunteer fire department’ means a fire department 

5 that has an all-volunteer force of firefighting per6 sonnel. 

7 ‘‘(b) ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 

8 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—In accordance with this sec9 tion, the Administrator of FEMA may, in consulta10 tion with the Administrator of the United States Fire 

11 Administration, award— 

12 ‘‘(A) assistance to firefighters grants under 

13 subsection (c); and 

14 ‘‘(B) fire prevention and safety grants and 

15 other assistance under subsection (d). 

16 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE.—The Ad17 ministrator of FEMA shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) establish specific criteria for the selec19 tion of grant recipients under this section; and 

20 ‘‘(B) provide assistance with application 

21 preparation to applicants for such grants. 

22 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of FEMA 

24 may, in consultation with the chief executives of the 


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1 States in which the recipients are located, award 

2 grants on a competitive basis directly to— 

3 ‘‘(A) fire departments, for the purpose of 

4 protecting the health and safety of the public and 

5 firefighting personnel throughout the United 

6 States against fire, fire-related, and other haz7 ards; 

8 ‘‘(B) nonaffiliated EMS organizations to 

9 support the provision of emergency medical serv10 ices; and 

11 ‘‘(C) State fire training academies for the 

12 purposes described in subparagraphs (G), (H), 

13 and (I) of paragraph (3). 

14 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) POPULATION.—The Administrator of 

16 FEMA may not award a grant under this sub17 section in excess of amounts as follows: 

18 ‘‘(i) In the case of a recipient that 

19 serves a jurisdiction with 100,000 people or 

20 fewer, the amount of the grant awarded to 

21 such recipient shall not exceed $1,000,000 

22 in any fiscal year. 

23 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a recipient that 

24 serves a jurisdiction with more than 

25 100,000 people but not more than 500,000 


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1 people, the amount of the grant awarded to 

2 such recipient shall not exceed $2,000,000 

3 in any fiscal year. 

4 ‘‘(iii) In the case of a recipient that 

5 serves a jurisdiction with more than 

6 500,000 but not more than 1,000,000 peo7 ple, the amount of the grant awarded to 

8 such recipient shall not exceed $3,000,000 

9 in any fiscal year. 

10 ‘‘(iv) In the case of a recipient that 

11 serves a jurisdiction with more than 

12 1,000,000 people but not more than 

13 2,500,000 people, the amount of the grant 

14 awarded to such recipient shall not exceed 

15 $6,000,000 for any fiscal year. 

16 ‘‘(v) In the case of a recipient that 

17 serves a jurisdiction with more than 

18 2,500,000 people, the amount of the grant 

19 awarded to such recipient shall not exceed 

20 $9,000,000 in any fiscal year. 

21 ‘‘(B) STATE FIRE TRAINING ACADEMIES.— 

22 The Administrator of FEMA may not award a 

23 grant under this subsection to a State fire train24 ing academy in an amount that exceeds 

25 $1,000,000 in any fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(C) AGGREGATE.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

3 subparagraphs (A) and (B) and except as 

4 provided under clause (ii), the Adminis5 trator of FEMA may not award a grant 

6 under this subsection in a fiscal year in an 

7 amount that exceeds the amount that is one 

8 percent of the available grant funds in such 

9 fiscal year. 

10 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The Administrator 

11 of FEMA may waive the limitation in 

12 clause (i) with respect to a grant recipient 

13 if the Administrator of FEMA determines 

14 that such recipient has an extraordinary 

15 need for a grant in an amount that exceeds 

16 the limit under clause (i). 

17 ‘‘(3) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Each entity receiv18 ing a grant under this subsection shall use the grant 

19 for one or more of the following purposes: 

20 ‘‘(A) To train firefighting personnel in— 

21 ‘‘(i) firefighting; 

22 ‘‘(ii) emergency medical services and 

23 other emergency response (including re24 sponse to natural disasters, acts of ter25 rorism, and other man-made disasters); 


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1 ‘‘(iii) arson prevention and detection; 

2 ‘‘(iv) maritime firefighting; or 

3 ‘‘(v) the handling of hazardous mate4 rials. 

5 ‘‘(B) To train firefighting personnel to pro6 vide any of the training described under sub7 paragraph (A). 

8 ‘‘(C) To fund the creation of rapid interven9 tion teams to protect firefighting personnel at the 

10 scenes of fires and other emergencies. 

11 ‘‘(D) To certify— 

12 ‘‘(i) fire inspectors; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) building inspectors— 

14 ‘‘(I) whose responsibilities include 

15 fire safety inspections; and 

16 ‘‘(II) who are employed by or 

17 serving as volunteers with a fire de18 partment. 

19 ‘‘(E) To establish wellness and fitness pro20 grams for firefighting personnel to ensure that 

21 the firefighting personnel are able to carry out 

22 their duties as firefighters. 

23 ‘‘(F) To fund emergency medical services 

24 provided by fire departments and nonaffiliated 

25 EMS organizations. 


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1 ‘‘(G) To acquire additional firefighting ve2 hicles, including fire trucks and other apparatus. 

3 ‘‘(H) To acquire additional firefighting 

4 equipment, including equipment for— 

5 ‘‘(i) fighting fires with foam in remote 

6 areas without access to water; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) communications, monitoring, and 

8 response to a natural disaster, act of ter9 rorism, or other man-made disaster, includ10 ing the use of a weapon of mass destruction. 

11 ‘‘(I) To acquire personal protective equip12 ment, including personal protective equipment— 

13 ‘‘(i) prescribed for firefighting per14 sonnel by the Occupational Safety and 

15 Health Administration of the Department of 

16 Labor; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) for responding to a natural dis18 aster or act of terrorism or other man-made 

19 disaster, including the use of a weapon of 

20 mass destruction. 

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

22 facilities, and other facilities to protect the health 

23 and safety of firefighting personnel. 

24 ‘‘(K) To educate the public about arson pre25 vention and detection. 


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1 ‘‘(L) To provide incentives for the recruit2 ment and retention of volunteer firefighting per3 sonnel for volunteer firefighting departments and 

4 other firefighting departments that utilize volun5 teers. 

6 ‘‘(M) To support such other activities, con7 sistent with the purposes of this subsection, as 

8 the Administrator of FEMA determines appro9 priate. 

10 ‘‘(d) FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of assisting 

12 fire prevention programs and supporting firefighter 

13 health and safety research and development, the Ad14 ministrator of FEMA may, on a competitive basis— 

15 ‘‘(A) award grants to fire departments; 

16 ‘‘(B) award grants to, or enter into con17 tracts or cooperative agreements with, national, 

18 State, local, tribal, or nonprofit organizations 

19 that are not fire departments and that are recog20 nized for their experience and expertise with re21 spect to fire prevention or fire safety programs 

22 and activities and firefighter research and devel23 opment programs, for the purpose of carrying 

24 out— 

25 ‘‘(i) fire prevention programs; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) research to improve firefighter 

2 health and life safety; and 

3 ‘‘(C) award grants to, or enter into con4 tracts with, regionally accredited institutions of 

5 higher education and national fire service orga6 nizations or national fire safety organizations to 

7 support joint programs focused on reducing fire8 fighter fatalities and non-fatal injuries, includ9 ing programs for establishing fire safety research 

10 centers as the Administrator of FEMA deter11 mines appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant 

13 awarded under this subsection may not exceed 

14 $1,500,000 for a fiscal year. 

15 ‘‘(3) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Each entity receiv16 ing a grant under this subsection shall use the grant 

17 for one or more of the following purposes: 

18 ‘‘(A) To enforce fire codes and promote com19 pliance with fire safety standards. 

20 ‘‘(B) To fund fire prevention programs. 

21 ‘‘(C) To fund wildland fire prevention pro22 grams, including education, awareness, and 

23 mitigation programs that protect lives, property, 

24 and natural resources from fire in the wildland25 urban interface. 


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1 ‘‘(D) In the case of a grant awarded under 

2 paragraph (1)(C), to fund the establishment or 

3 operation of— 

4 ‘‘(i) a fire safety research center; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) a program at such a center. 

6 ‘‘(E) To support such other activities, con7 sistent with the purposes of this subsection, as 

8 the Administrator of FEMA determines appro9 priate. 

10 ‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS FOR GRANTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An entity seeking a grant 

12 under this section shall submit to the Administrator 

13 of FEMA an application therefor in such form and 

14 in such manner as the Administrator of FEMA deter15 mines appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Each application submitted 

17 under paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) A description of the financial need of 

19 the applicant for the grant. 

20 ‘‘(B) An analysis of the costs and benefits, 

21 with respect to public safety, of the use for which 

22 a grant is requested. 

23 ‘‘(C) An agreement to provide information 

24 to the national fire incident reporting system for 

25 the period covered by the grant. 


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1 ‘‘(D) A list of other sources of funding re2 ceived by the applicant— 

3 ‘‘(i) for the same purpose for which the 

4 application for a grant under this section 

5 was submitted; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) from the Federal Government for 

7 other fire-related purposes. 

8 ‘‘(E) Such other information as the Admin9 istrator of FEMA determines appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(3) JOINT OR REGIONAL APPLICATIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Two or more entities 

12 may submit an application under paragraph (1) 

13 for a grant under this section to fund a joint 

14 program or initiative, including acquisition of 

15 shared equipment or vehicles. 

16 ‘‘(B) NONEXCLUSIVITY.—Applications 

17 under this paragraph may be submitted instead 

18 of or in addition to any other application sub19 mitted under paragraph (1). 

20 ‘‘(C) GUIDANCE.—The Administrator of 

21 FEMA shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) publish guidance on applying for 

23 and administering grants awarded for joint 

24 programs and initiatives described in sub25 paragraph (A); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) encourage applicants to apply for 

2 grants for joint programs and initiatives 

3 described in subparagraph (A) as the Ad4 ministrator of FEMA determines appro5 priate to achieve greater cost effectiveness 

6 and regional efficiency. 

7 ‘‘(f) PEER REVIEW OF GRANT APPLICATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of FEMA 

9 shall, after consultation with national fire service and 

10 emergency medical services organizations, appoint 

11 fire service personnel and personnel from non12 affiliated EMS organizations to conduct peer reviews 

13 of applications received under subsection (e)(1). 

14 ‘‘(2) ASSIGNMENT OF REVIEWS.—In admin15 istering the peer review process under paragraph (1), 

16 the Administrator of FEMA shall ensure that— 

17 ‘‘(A) applications submitted by career fire 

18 departments are reviewed primarily by personnel 

19 from career fire departments; 

20 ‘‘(B) applications submitted by volunteer 

21 fire departments are reviewed primarily by per22 sonnel from volunteer fire departments; 

23 ‘‘(C) applications submitted by combination 

24 fire departments and fire departments using 

25 paid-on-call firefighting personnel are reviewed 


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1 primarily by personnel from such fire depart2 ments; and 

3 ‘‘(D) applications for grants to fund emer4 gency medical services pursuant to subsection 

5 (c)(3)(F) are reviewed primarily by emergency 

6 medical services personnel, including— 

7 ‘‘(i) emergency medical service per8 sonnel affiliated with fire departments; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) personnel from nonaffiliated EMS 

10 organizations. 

11 ‘‘(3) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS FOR FIRE PRE12 VENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS SUBMITTED BY NON13 PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE NOT FIRE DEPART14 MENTS.—In conducting a review of an application 

15 submitted under subsection (e)(1) by a nonprofit or16 ganization described in subsection (d)(1)(B), a peer 

17 reviewer may not recommend the applicant for a 

18 grant under subsection (d) unless such applicant is 

19 recognized for its experience and expertise with re20 spect to— 

21 ‘‘(A) fire prevention or safety programs and 

22 activities; or 

23 ‘‘(B) firefighter research and development 

24 programs. 


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1 ‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM2 MITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act 

3 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to activities carried 

4 out pursuant to this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(g) PRIORITIZATION AND ALLOCATION OF GRANT

6 AWARDS.—In awarding grants under this section, the Ad7 ministrator of FEMA shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) consider the findings and recommendations 

9 of the peer reviews carried out under subsection (f); 

10 ‘‘(2) consider the degree to which an award will 

11 reduce deaths, injuries, and property damage by re12 ducing the risks associated with fire-related and other 

13 hazards; 

14 ‘‘(3) consider the extent of the need of an appli15 cant for a grant under this section and the need to 

16 protect the United States as a whole; 

17 ‘‘(4) consider the number of calls requesting or 

18 requiring a fire fighting or emergency medical re19 sponse received by an applicant; and 

20 ‘‘(5) ensure that of the available grant funds— 

21 ‘‘(A) not less than 25 percent are awarded 

22 to career fire departments; 

23 ‘‘(B) not less than 25 percent are awarded 

24 to volunteer fire departments; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) not less than 25 percent are awarded 

2 to combination fire departments and fire depart3 ments using paid-on-call firefighting personnel. 

4 ‘‘(h) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITA5 TIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) FUNDING FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERV7 ICES.—Not less than 3.5 percent of the available 

8 grant funds for a fiscal year shall be awarded under 

9 this section for purposes described in subsection 

10 (c)(3)(F). 

11 ‘‘(2) GRANT AWARDS TO NONAFFILIATED EMS

12 ORGANIZATIONS.—Not more than 2 percent of the 

13 available grant funds for a fiscal year shall be award14 ed under this section to nonaffiliated EMS organiza15 tions. 

16 ‘‘(3) FUNDING FOR FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFE17 TY GRANTS.—For each fiscal year, not less than 10 

18 percent of the aggregate of grant amounts under this 

19 section in that fiscal year shall be awarded under 

20 subsection (d). 

21 ‘‘(4) STATE FIRE TRAINING ACADEMIES.—Not 

22 more than 3 percent of the available grant funds for 

23 a fiscal year shall be awarded under subsection 

24 (c)(1)(C). 


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1 ‘‘(5) AMOUNTS FOR PURCHASING FIREFIGHTING

2 VEHICLES.—Not more than 25 percent of the avail3 able grant funds for a fiscal year may be used to as4 sist grant recipients to purchase vehicles pursuant to 

5 subsection (c)(3)(G). 

6 ‘‘(i) FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS TO

8 FIRE DEPARTMENTS.—In considering applications for 

9 grants under subsection (c)(1)(A), the Administrator 

10 of FEMA shall consider the extent to which the grant 

11 would enhance the daily operations of the applicant 

12 and the impact of such a grant on the protection of 

13 lives and property. 

14 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS FROM NONAFFILIATED EMS

15 ORGANIZATIONS.—In the case of an application sub16 mitted under subsection (e)(1) by a nonaffiliated 

17 EMS organization, the Administrator of FEMA shall 

18 consider the extent to which other sources of Federal 

19 funding are available to the applicant to provide the 

20 assistance requested in such application. 

21 ‘‘(3) AWARDING FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY

22 GRANTS TO CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE NOT

23 FIRE DEPARTMENTS.—In the case of applicants for 

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1 section (d)(1)(B), the Administrator of FEMA shall 

2 give priority to applicants who focus on— 

3 ‘‘(A) prevention of injuries to high risk 

4 groups from fire; and 

5 ‘‘(B) research programs that demonstrate a 

6 potential to improve firefighter safety. 

7 ‘‘(4) AVOIDING DUPLICATION.—The Adminis8 trator of FEMA shall review lists submitted by appli9 cants pursuant to subsection (e)(2)(D) and take such 

10 actions as the Administrator of FEMA considers nec11 essary to prevent unnecessary duplication of grant 

12 awards. 

13 ‘‘(j) MATCHING AND MAINTENANCE OF EXPENDITURE

14 REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) MATCHING REQUIREMENT FOR ASSISTANCE

16 TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

18 subparagraph (B), an applicant seeking a grant 

19 to carry out an activity under subsection (c) 

20 shall agree to make available non-Federal funds 

21 to carry out such activity in an amount equal 

22 to not less than 15 percent of the grant awarded 

23 to such applicant under such subsection. 

24 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR ENTITIES SERVING

25 SMALL COMMUNITIES.—In the case that an apVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:34 Jun 29, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S550.RS S550

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1 plicant seeking a grant to carry out an activity 

2 under subsection (c) serves a jurisdiction of— 

3 ‘‘(i) more than 20,000 residents but not 

4 more than 50,000 residents, the applicant 

5 shall agree to make available non-Federal 

6 funds in an amount equal to not less than 

7 10 percent of the grant award to such ap8 plicant under such subsection; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) 20,000 residents or fewer, the ap10 plicant shall agree to make available non11 Federal funds in an amount equal to not 

12 less than 5 percent of the grant awarded to 

13 such applicant under such subsection. 

14 ‘‘(2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT FOR FIRE PRE15 VENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An applicant seeking a 

17 grant to carry out an activity under subsection 

18 (d) shall agree to make available non-Federal 

19 funds to carry out such activity in an amount 

20 equal to not less than 5 percent of the grant 

21 awarded to such applicant under such sub22 section. 

23 ‘‘(B) MEANS OF MATCHING.—An applicant 

24 for a grant under subsection (d) may meet the 

25 matching requirement under subparagraph (A) 


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1 through direct funding, funding of complemen2 tary activities, or the provision of staff, facilities, 

3 services, material, or equipment. 

4 ‘‘(3) MAINTENANCE OF EXPENDITURES.—An ap5 plicant seeking a grant under subsection (c) or (d) 

6 shall agree to maintain during the term of the grant 

7 the applicant’s aggregate expenditures relating to the 

8 uses described in subsections (c)(3) and (d)(3) at not 

9 less than 80 percent of the average amount of such ex10 penditures in the 2 fiscal years preceding the fiscal 

11 year in which the grant amounts are received. 

12 ‘‘(4) WAIVER.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

14 subparagraph (C)(ii), the Administrator of 

15 FEMA may waive or reduce the requirements of 

16 paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) in cases of dem17 onstrated economic hardship. 

18 ‘‘(B) GUIDELINES.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

20 of FEMA shall establish and publish guide21 lines for determining what constitutes eco22 nomic hardship for purposes of this para23 graph. 

24 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing 

25 guidelines under clause (i), the AdminisVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:34 Jun 29, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S550.RS S550

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1 trator of FEMA shall consider, with respect 

2 to relevant communities, the following: 

3 ‘‘(I) Changes in rates of unem4 ployment from previous years. 

5 ‘‘(II) Whether the rates of unem6 ployment of the relevant communities 

7 are currently and have consistently ex8 ceeded the annual national average 

9 rates of unemployment. 

10 ‘‘(III) Changes in percentages of 

11 individuals eligible to receive food 

12 stamps from previous years. 

13 ‘‘(IV) Such other factors as the 

14 Administrator of FEMA considers ap15 propriate. 

16 ‘‘(C) CERTAIN APPLICANTS FOR FIRE PRE17 VENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS.—The authority 

18 under subparagraph (A) shall not apply with re19 spect to a nonprofit organization that— 

20 ‘‘(i) is described in subsection 

21 (d)(1)(B); and 

22 ‘‘(ii) is not a fire department or emer23 gency medical services organization. 

24 ‘‘(k) GRANT GUIDELINES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) GUIDELINES.—For each fiscal year, prior to 

2 awarding any grants under this section, the Adminis3 trator of FEMA shall publish in the Federal Reg4 ister— 

5 ‘‘(A) guidelines that describe— 

6 ‘‘(i) the process for applying for grants 

7 under this section; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the criteria that will be used for 

9 selecting grant recipients; and 

10 ‘‘(B) an explanation of any differences be11 tween such guidelines and the recommendations 

12 obtained under paragraph (2). 

13 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL MEETING TO OBTAIN RECOMMENDA14 TIONS.— 

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

16 the Administrator of FEMA shall convene a 

17 meeting of qualified members of national fire 

18 service organizations and qualified members of 

19 emergency medical service organizations to ob20 tain recommendations regarding the following: 

21 ‘‘(i) Criteria for the awarding of 

22 grants under this section. 

23 ‘‘(ii) Administrative changes to the as24 sistance program established under sub25 section (b). 


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1 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED MEMBERS.—For purposes 

2 of this paragraph, a qualified member of an or3 ganization is a member who— 

4 ‘‘(i) is recognized for expertise in fire5 fighting or emergency medical services; 

6 ‘‘(ii) is not an employee of the Federal 

7 Government; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a member of an 

9 emergency medical service organization, is 

10 a member of an organization that rep11 resents— 

12 ‘‘(I) providers of emergency med13 ical services that are affiliated with 

14 fire departments; or 

15 ‘‘(II) nonaffiliated EMS pro16 viders. 

17 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM18 MITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act 

19 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to activities carried 

20 out pursuant to this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(l) ACCOUNTING DETERMINATION.—Notwithstanding 

22 any other provision of law, for purposes of this section, 

23 equipment costs shall include all costs attributable to any 

24 design, purchase of components, assembly, manufacture, 


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1 and transportation of equipment not otherwise commer2 cially available. 

3 ‘‘(m) ELIGIBLE GRANTEE ON BEHALF OF ALASKA NA4 TIVE VILLAGES.—The Alaska Village Initiatives, a non5 profit organization incorporated in the State of Alaska, 

6 shall be eligible to apply for and receive a grant or other 

7 assistance under this section on behalf of Alaska Native vil8 lages. 

9 ‘‘(n) TRAINING STANDARDS.—If an applicant for a 

10 grant under this section is applying for such grant to pur11 chase training that does not meet or exceed any applicable 

12 national voluntary consensus standards developed under 

13 section 647 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management 

14 Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 747), the applicant shall sub15 mit to the Administrator of FEMA an explanation of the 

16 reasons that the training proposed to be purchased will 

17 serve the needs of the applicant better than training that 

18 meets or exceeds such standards. 

19 ‘‘(o) ENSURING EFFECTIVE USE OF GRANTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) AUDITS.—The Administrator of FEMA 

21 may audit a recipient of a grant awarded under this 

22 section to ensure that— 

23 ‘‘(A) the grant amounts are expended for 

24 the intended purposes; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the grant recipient complies with the 

2 requirements of subsection (j). 

3 ‘‘(2) PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of 

5 FEMA shall develop and implement a perform6 ance assessment system, including quantifiable 

7 performance metrics, to evaluate the extent to 

8 which grants awarded under this section are fur9 thering the purposes of this section, including 

10 protecting the health and safety of the public and 

11 firefighting personnel against fire and fire-re12 lated hazards. 

13 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator 

14 of FEMA shall consult with fire service rep15 resentatives and with the Comptroller General of 

16 the United States in developing the assessment 

17 system required by subparagraph (A). 

18 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORTS TO ADMINISTRATOR OF

19 FEMA.—The recipient of a grant awarded under this 

20 section shall submit to the Administrator of FEMA 

21 an annual report describing how the recipient used 

22 the grant amounts. 

23 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Sep25 tember 30, 2012, and each year thereafter 


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1 through 2016, the Administrator of FEMA shall 

2 submit to the Committee on Homeland Security 

3 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 

4 Committee on Science and Technology of the 

5 House of Representatives a report that pro6 vides— 

7 ‘‘(i) information on the performance 

8 assessment system developed under para9 graph (2); and 

10 ‘‘(ii) using the performance metrics de11 veloped under such paragraph, an evalua12 tion of the effectiveness of the grants award13 ed under this section. 

14 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—The re15 port due under subparagraph (A) on September 

16 30, 2015, shall also include recommendations for 

17 legislative changes to improve grants under this 

18 section, including recommendations as to wheth19 er the provisions described in section 5(a) of the 

20 Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2011 should 

21 be extended to apply on and after the date de22 scribed in such section. 

23 ‘‘(p) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be ap25 propriated to carry out this section— 


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1 ‘‘(A) $950,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 

2 ‘‘(B) for each of fiscal years 2013 through 

3 2016, an amount equal to the amount authorized 

4 for the previous fiscal year increased by the per5 centage by which— 

6 ‘‘(i) the Consumer Price Index (all 

7 items, United States city average) for the 

8 previous fiscal year, exceeds 

9 ‘‘(ii) the Consumer Price Index for the 

10 fiscal year preceding the fiscal year de11 scribed in clause (i). 

12 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

13 amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) for 

14 a fiscal year, the Administrator of FEMA may use 

15 not more than 5 percent of such amounts for salaries 

16 and expenses and other administrative costs incurred 

17 by the Administrator of FEMA in the course of 

18 awarding grants and providing assistance under this 

19 section. 

20 ‘‘(3) CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING.— 

21 Consistent with the requirements in subsections (c)(1) 

22 and (d)(1) that grants under those subsections be 

23 awarded on a competitive basis, none of the funds ap24 propriated pursuant to this subsection may be used 

25 for any congressionally directed spending item (as 


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1 such term is defined in paragraph 5(a) of rule XLIV 

2 of the Standing Rules of the Senate). 

3 ‘‘(q) SUNSET OF AUTHORITIES.—The authority to 

4 award assistance and grants under this section shall expire 

5 on October 1, 2016.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. STAFFING FOR ADEQUATE FIRE AND EMERGENCY 

7 RESPONSE. 

8 (a) IMPROVEMENTS TO HIRING GRANTS.— 

9 (1) TERM OF GRANTS.—Subsection (a)(1)(B) of 

10 section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control 

11 Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229a) is amended by striking 

12 ‘‘4 years’’ and inserting ‘‘3 years’’. 

13 (2) LIMITATION ON PORTION OF COSTS OF HIR14 ING FIREFIGHTERS.—Subsection (a)(1)(E) of such 

15 section 34 is amended by striking ‘‘not exceed—’’ and 

16 all that follows through the period and inserting ‘‘not 

17 exceed 75 percent in any fiscal year.’’. 

18 (b) CLARIFICATION REGARDING ELIGIBLE ENTITIES

19 FOR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION GRANTS.—The second 

20 sentence of subsection (a)(2) of such section 34 is amended 

21 by striking ‘‘organizations on a local or statewide basis’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘national, State, local, or tribal organiza23 tions’’. 


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1 (c) MAXIMUM AMOUNT FOR HIRING FIREFIGHTER.— 

2 Paragraph (4) of subsection (c) of such section 34 is amend3 ed to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(4) The amount of funding provided under this sec5 tion to a recipient fire department for hiring a firefighter 

6 in any fiscal year may not exceed 75 percent of the usual 

7 annual cost of a first-year firefighter in that department 

8 at the time the grant application was submitted.’’. 

9 (d) WAIVERS.—Such section 34 is further amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (i) 

11 as subsection (e) through (j), respectively; and 

12 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(d) WAIVERS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In a case of demonstrated 

16 economic hardship, the Administrator of FEMA 

17 may— 

18 ‘‘(A) waive the requirements of subsection 

19 (a)(1)(B)(ii) or subsection (c)(1); or 

20 ‘‘(B) waive or reduce the requirements in 

21 subsection (a)(1)(E) or subsection (c)(2). 

22 ‘‘(2) GUIDELINES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of 

24 FEMA shall establish and publish guidelines for 


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1 determining what constitutes economic hardship 

2 for purposes of paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing 

4 guidelines under subparagraph (A), the Admin5 istrator of FEMA shall consider, with respect to 

6 relevant communities, the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) Changes in rates of unemployment 

8 from previous years. 

9 ‘‘(ii) Whether the rates of unemploy10 ment of the relevant communities are cur11 rently and have consistently exceeded the 

12 annual national average rates of unemploy13 ment. 

14 ‘‘(iii) Changes in percentages of indi15 viduals eligible to receive food stamps from 

16 previous years. 

17 ‘‘(iv) Such other factors as the Admin18 istrator of FEMA considers appropriate.’’. 

19 (e) IMPROVEMENTS TO PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

20 REQUIREMENTS.—Subsection (e) of such section 34, as re21 designated by subsection (d)(1) of this section, is amended 

22 by inserting before the first sentence the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of FEMA 

24 shall establish a performance assessment system, in25 cluding quantifiable performance metrics, to evaluate 


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1 the extent to which grants awarded under this section 

2 are furthering the purposes of this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—’’. 

4 (f) REPORT.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (f) of such section 

6 34, as redesignated by subsection (d)(1) of this sec7 tion, is amended by striking ‘‘The authority’’ and all 

8 that follows through ‘‘Congress concerning’’ and in9 serting the following: ‘‘Not later than September 30, 

10 2015, the Administrator of FEMA shall submit to the 

11 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

12 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Science 

13 and Technology of the House of Representatives a re14 port on’’. 

15 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading for 

16 such subsection (f) is amended by striking ‘‘SUNSET

17 AND REPORTS’’ and inserting ‘‘REPORT’’. 

18 (g) ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (i) of such section 

20 34, as redesignated by subsection (d)(1) of this sec21 tion, is amended— 

22 (A) in the matter before paragraph (1), by 

23 striking ‘‘In this section, the term—’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘In this section:’’; 

25 (B) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (i) by inserting ‘‘The term’’ before 

2 ‘‘ ‘firefighter’ has’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting 

4 a period; 

5 (C) by striking paragraph (2); and 

6 (D) by inserting at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(2) The terms ‘career fire department’, ‘com8 bination fire department’, and ‘volunteer fire depart9 ment’ have the meaning given such terms in section 

10 33(a).’’. 

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection 

12 (a)(1)(A) of such section 34 is amended by striking 

13 ‘‘career, volunteer, and combination fire departments’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘career fire departments, combination 

15 fire departments, and volunteer fire departments’’. 

16 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (j) of such section 

18 34, as redesignated by subsection (d)(1) of this sec19 tion, is amended— 

20 (A) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

21 the end; 

22 (B) in paragraph (7), by striking the period 

23 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(8) $950,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 


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1 ‘‘(9) for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2016, 

2 an amount equal to the amount authorized for the 

3 previous fiscal year increased by the percentage by 

4 which— 

5 ‘‘(A) the Consumer Price Index (all items, 

6 United States city average) for the previous fis7 cal year, exceeds 

8 ‘‘(B) the Consumer Price Index for the fiscal 

9 year preceding the fiscal year described in sub10 paragraph (A).’’. 

11 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Such sub12 section (j) is further amended— 

13 (A) in paragraph (9), as added by para14 graph (1) of this subsection, by redesignating 

15 subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and 

16 (ii), respectively, and moving the left margin of 

17 such clauses, as so redesignated, 2 ems to the 

18 right; 

19 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

20 through (9) as subparagraphs (A) through (I), 

21 respectively, and moving the left margin of such 

22 subparagraphs, as so redesignated, 2 ems to the 

23 right; 

24 (C) by striking ‘‘There are’’ and inserting 

25 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are’’; and 

2 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

4 amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) for 

5 a fiscal year, the Administrator of FEMA may use 

6 not more than 5 percent of such amounts to cover sal7 aries and expenses and other administrative costs in8 curred by the Administrator of FEMA to make grants 

9 and provide assistance under this section.’’. 

10 (3) CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING.— 

11 Such subsection (j) is further amended by adding at 

12 the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(3) CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING.— 

14 Consistent with the requirement in subsection (a) that 

15 grants under this section be awarded on a competitive 

16 basis, none of the funds appropriated pursuant to this 

17 subsection may be used for any congressionally direct 

18 spending item (as defined in paragraph 5(a) of Rule 

19 XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate).’’. 

20 (i) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Such section 34 is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (a), in paragraphs (1)(A) and 

23 (2), by striking ‘‘Administrator shall’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘Administrator of FEMA shall, in consultation with 

25 the Administrator,’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘Administrator’’ each place it 

2 appears, other than in subsection (a)(1)(A) and 

3 (a)(2), and inserting ‘‘Administrator of FEMA’’. 

4 (j) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 34 of such Act 

5 (15 U.S.C. 2229a) is amended by striking ‘‘EXPANSION

6 OF PRE-SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, FIRE GRANT PRO7 GRAM’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘STAFFING FOR

8 ADEQUATE FIRE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE’’. 

9 (k) SUNSET OF AUTHORITY TO AWARD HIRING

10 GRANTS.—Section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and 

11 Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229a) is further amended 

12 by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(k) SUNSET OF AUTHORITIES.—The authority to 

14 award grants and provide technical assistance under this 

15 section shall expire on October 1, 2016.’’. 

16 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

17 Not later than September 30, 2015, the Comptroller 

18 General of the United States shall submit to the Committee 

19 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

20 Senate and the Committee on Science and Technology of 

21 the House of Representatives a report on the effect of the 

22 amendments made by this Act. Such report shall include 

23 the following: 

24 (1) An assessment of the effect of the amendments 

25 made by sections 3 and 4 on the effectiveness, relative 


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1 allocation, accountability, and administration of the 

2 grants awarded under sections 33 and 34 of the Fed3 eral Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 

4 U.S.C. 2229 and 2229a) after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act. 

6 (2) An evaluation of the extent to which the 

7 amendments made by sections 3 and 4 have enabled 

8 recipients of grants awarded under such sections 33 

9 and 34 after the date of the enactment of this Act to 

10 mitigate fire and fire-related and other hazards more 

11 effectively. 

12 SEC. 6. REPORT ON DUPLICATION OF GRANT PROGRAMS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of 

15 the Department of Homeland Security shall submit to Con16 gress a report on the grant programs administered by the 

17 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

18 Agency. 

19 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection (a) 

20 shall include the following: 

21 (1) Whether and to what degree the grant pro22 grams described in subsection (a) provide duplicative 

23 or overlapping assistance. 

24 (2) The cost of each grant program described in 

25 subsection (a). 


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1 (3) The recommendations of the Inspector Gen2 eral for consolidation and elimination of grant pro3 grams described in subsection (a) to reduce duplica4 tion of assistance. 


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Calendar No. 89 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 550 

[Report No. 112–28] 

A BILL 

To improve the provision of assistance to fire 

departments, and for other purposes. 

JUNE 29, 2011 

Reported with an amendment 


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