II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3237 

To assist volunteer fire companies in coping with the precipitous rise in 

fuel prices. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 10 (legislative day, JULY 9), 2008 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. SANDERS, and Ms. MIKULSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To assist volunteer fire companies in coping with the 

precipitous rise in fuel prices. 

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 ‘‘Supporting America’s 

5 Volunteer Emergency Services Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) According to the Federal Emergency Man9 agement Administration, in 2006 there were— 


erowe on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
2 

•S 3237 IS

1 (A) 807,150 volunteer firefighters, nearly 

2 73 percent of all active firefighters; and 

3 (B) 19,915 all-volunteer fire companies na4 tionwide, servicing 22.6 percent of the popu5 lation of the United States and 4,105 compa6 nies comprised of a majority of volunteers, serv7 icing 16.3 percent of the population of the 

8 United States. 

9 (2) These volunteer companies, especially those 

10 serving communities of fewer than 5,000 residents, 

11 rely heavily upon fund-raising efforts and other po12 tentially unreliable sources of funding for their basic 

13 operating expenses. 

14 (3) According to the Energy Information Ad15 ministration, between June 2003 and June 2008, 

16 the price of regular grade gasoline and diesel fuels 

17 rose 171 percent and 229 percent, respectively. 

18 (4) These rising costs represent an unavoidable 

19 burden, and have placed serious constraints on the 

20 ability of volunteer companies to respond to fire 

21 emergencies. 


erowe on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
3 

•S 3237 IS

1 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED VOLUNTEER FIRE DE2 PARTMENT. 

3 In this Act, the term ‘‘qualified volunteer fire depart4 ment’’ has the same meaning given that term in section 

5 150(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

6 SEC. 4. GASOLINE AND DIESEL FUEL SUBSIDY PROGRAM. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF BASELINE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing 

9 and Urban Development shall, for calendar year 

10 2007, determine for each of the 5 Petroleum Admin11 istration for Defense Districts the average annual 

12 price per gallon for— 

13 (A) gasoline; and 

14 (B) diesel fuel. 

15 (2) BASIS FOR PRICE PER GALLON.—The aver16 age annual price per gallon determined under para17 graph (1) shall be based solely on data reported by 

18 the Energy Information Administration. 

19 (3) BASELINE.—The price per gallon deter20 mined under paragraph (1) shall serve as the base21 line fuel cost for each Petroleum Administration for 

22 Defense District. 

23 (b) PAYMENTS.— 

24 (1) SUBMISSION OF RECEIPTS.—At the end of 

25 each calendar year, each qualified volunteer fire de26 partment seeking reimbursement under this section 


erowe on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
4 

•S 3237 IS

1 shall submit to the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

2 Development all of its receipts and bills of sales doc3 umenting the amounts of gasoline and diesel fuel 

4 purchased by such department during that calendar 

5 year. Each department shall also provide a sum total 

6 of the— 

7 (A) aggregate number of gallons of gaso8 line and diesel fuel purchased by the depart9 ment during that calendar year; and 

10 (B) costs of purchasing such gasoline and 

11 diesel fuel. 

12 (2) DETERMINATION OF SUBSIDY AMOUNTS.— 

13 The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 

14 shall reimburse a qualified volunteer fire department 

15 for 75 percent of the difference between— 

16 (A) the actual expenditures of the depart17 ment for gasoline and diesel fuel for a calendar 

18 year as determined under paragraph (1); and 

19 (B) the amount that such expenditures 

20 would have cost had the department determined 

21 such expenditures utilizing the baseline fuels 

22 costs determined under subsection (a). 

23 (3) SPECIAL RULE RELATING TO STATES SALES

24 TAX.—If the State in which a qualified volunteer fire 

25 department is located does not charge local or State 


erowe on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
5 

•S 3237 IS

1 fuel taxes on such departments when such depart2 ments purchase gasoline or diesel fuel, the amount 

3 of such omitted sales tax shall be added back in to 

4 any determination made under paragraph (2)(A). 

5 (c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 60 days after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing 

7 and Urban Development shall promulgate such regulations 

8 as may be necessary to implement and administer the 

9 grant and subsidy programs authorized by this section. 

10 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

12 as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


erowe on PROD1PC71 with BILLS