I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5429 

To reauthorize the rural emergency medical services training and equipment 

assistance program under section 330J of the Public Health Service Act. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 5, 2018 

Mr. GIANFORTE (for himself, Mr. LOEBSACK, and Mr. DUFFY) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the rural emergency medical services training 

and equipment assistance program under section 330J 

of the Public Health Service Act. 

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 and Im5 proving Rural EMS Needs Act of 2018’’ or the ‘‘SIREN 

6 Act of 2018’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF RURAL EMERGENCY MED2 ICAL SERVICES TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT 

3 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

4 Section 330J of the Public Health Service Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 254c–15) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘in rural 

7 areas’’ and inserting ‘‘in rural areas or to residents 

8 of rural areas’’; and 

9 (2) by striking subsections (b) through (g) and 

10 inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive grant 

12 under this section, an entity shall be— 

13 ‘‘(1) an emergency medical services agency op14 erated by a local or tribal government (including 

15 fire-based and non-fire based); or 

16 ‘‘(2) an emergency medical services agency that 

17 is described in section 501(c) of the Internal Rev18 enue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under sec19 tion 501(a) of such Code. 

20 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity shall use amounts 

21 received through a grant under subsection (a) to— 

22 ‘‘(1) recruit emergency medical services per23 sonnel; 

24 ‘‘(2) train emergency medical services personnel 

25 as appropriate to maintain licenses and certifications 


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1 relevant to service in an emergency medical services 

2 agency described in subsection (b); 

3 ‘‘(3) conduct courses that qualify graduates to 

4 serve in an emergency medical services agency de5 scribed in subsection (b) in accordance with State 

6 and local requirements; 

7 ‘‘(4) fund specific training to meet Federal or 

8 State licensing or certification requirements; 

9 ‘‘(5) develop new ways to educate emergency 

10 health care providers through the use of technology11 enhanced educational methods; 

12 ‘‘(6) acquire emergency medical services equip13 ment; and 

14 ‘‘(7) acquire personal protective equipment for 

15 emergency medical services personnel as required by 

16 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 

17 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) The term ‘emergency medical services’— 

19 ‘‘(A) means resources used by a public or 

20 private nonprofit licensed entity to deliver med21 ical care outside of a medical facility under 

22 emergency conditions that occur as a result of 

23 the condition of the patient; and 

24 ‘‘(B) includes services delivered (either on 

25 a compensated or volunteer basis) by an emerVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:51 Apr 05, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5429.IH H5429

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1 gency medical services provider or other pro2 vider that is licensed or certified by the State 

3 involved as an emergency medical technician, a 

4 paramedic, or an equivalent professional (as de5 termined by the State). 

6 ‘‘(2) The term ‘rural area’ means— 

7 ‘‘(A) a nonmetropolitan statistical area; 

8 ‘‘(B) an area designated as a rural area by 

9 any law or regulation of a State; or 

10 ‘‘(C) a rural census tract of a metropolitan 

11 statistical area (as determined under the most 

12 recent Goldsmith Modification, originally pub13 lished in a notice of availability of funds in the 

14 Federal Register on February 27, 1992, 57 

15 Fed. Reg. 6725). 

16 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

18 appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 

19 for each fiscal years 2018 through 2022. 

20 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Secretary 

21 may use not more than 10 percent of the amount 

22 appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) for a fiscal 

23 year for the administrative expenses of carrying out 

24 this section.’’. 

Æ 


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