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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3237 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Supporting America's Volunteer 
Emergency Services Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the Federal Emergency Management 
        Administration, in 2006 there were--
                    (A) 807,150 volunteer firefighters, nearly 73 
                percent of all active firefighters; and
                    (B) 19,915 all-volunteer fire companies nationwide, 
                servicing 22.6 percent of the population of the United 
                States and 4,105 companies comprised of a majority of 
                volunteers, servicing 16.3 percent of the population of 
                the United States.
            (2) These volunteer companies, especially those serving 
        communities of fewer than 5,000 residents, rely heavily upon 
        fund-raising efforts and other potentially unreliable sources 
        of funding for their basic operating expenses.
            (3) According to the Energy Information Administration, 
        between June 2003 and June 2008, the price of regular grade 
        gasoline and diesel fuels rose 171 percent and 229 percent, 
        respectively.
            (4) These rising costs represent an unavoidable burden, and 
        have placed serious constraints on the ability of volunteer 
        companies to respond to fire emergencies.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT.

    In this Act, the term ``qualified volunteer fire department'' has 
the same meaning given that term in section 150(e) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986.

SEC. 4. GASOLINE AND DIESEL FUEL SUBSIDY PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment of Baseline.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban 
        Development shall, for calendar year 2007, determine for each 
        of the 5 Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts the 
        average annual price per gallon for--
                    (A) gasoline; and
                    (B) diesel fuel.
            (2) Basis for price per gallon.--The average annual price 
        per gallon determined under paragraph (1) shall be based solely 
        on data reported by the Energy Information Administration.
            (3) Baseline.--The price per gallon determined under 
        paragraph (1) shall serve as the baseline fuel cost for each 
        Petroleum Administration for Defense District.
    (b) Payments.--
            (1) Submission of receipts.--At the end of each calendar 
        year, each qualified volunteer fire department seeking 
        reimbursement under this section shall submit to the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development all of its receipts and bills 
        of sales documenting the amounts of gasoline and diesel fuel 
        purchased by such department during that calendar year. Each 
        department shall also provide a sum total of the--
                    (A) aggregate number of gallons of gasoline and 
                diesel fuel purchased by the department during that 
                calendar year; and
                    (B) costs of purchasing such gasoline and diesel 
                fuel.
            (2) Determination of subsidy amounts.--The Secretary of 
        Housing and Urban Development shall reimburse a qualified 
        volunteer fire department for 75 percent of the difference 
        between--
                    (A) the actual expenditures of the department for 
                gasoline and diesel fuel for a calendar year as 
                determined under paragraph (1); and
                    (B) the amount that such expenditures would have 
                cost had the department determined such expenditures 
                utilizing the baseline fuels costs determined under 
                subsection (a).
            (3) Special rule relating to states sales tax.--If the 
        State in which a qualified volunteer fire department is located 
        does not charge local or State fuel taxes on such departments 
        when such departments purchase gasoline or diesel fuel, the 
        amount of such omitted sales tax shall be added back in to any 
        determination made under paragraph (2)(A).
    (c) Regulations.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
shall promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to implement and 
administer the grant and subsidy programs authorized by this section.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
to carry out this Act.
                                 <all>
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