II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2389

To provide additional assistance for fire and emergency services, and for

other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 11, 2000

Mr. ROTH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to

the Committee on Environment and Public Works

A BILL

To provide additional assistance for fire and emergency

services, 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 ‘‘21st Century Fire and

5 Emergency Services Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 In this Act:

8 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Agency’’ means the

9 Federal Emergency Management Agency.
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1 (2) BURN PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘burn pro2 gram’’ means the Burn Services Grant Program es3 tablished by section 3(a).

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

5 the Director of the Agency.

6 (4) FIRE PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘fire program’’

7 means the ‘‘Fire Services Grant Program’’ estab8 lished under section 4(a).

9 SEC. 3. BURN SERVICES GRANT PROGRAM.

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within

11 the Agency a grant program to be known as the ‘‘Burn

12 Services Grant Program’’.

13 (b) COMPETITIVE GRANTS.—The Director may make

14 a grant under the burn program, on a competitive basis,

15 to—

16 (1) a safety organization that has experience in

17 conducting burn safety programs, for the purpose of

18 assisting the organization in conducting or aug19 menting a burn prevention program;

20 (2) a hospital that serves as a regional burn

21 center, for the purpose of conducting acute burn

22 care research; or

23 (3) a governmental or nongovernmental entity,

24 for the purpose of providing after-burn treatment

25 and counseling to individuals that are burn victims.
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1 (c) PROGRAM OFFICE.—The Director shall establish

2 within the Agency an office to—

3 (1) establish criteria for use by the Director in

4 awarding grants under the burn program; and

5 (2) administer grants awarded under the burn

6 program.

7 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

8 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

9 $10,000,000, to remain available until expended.

10 SEC. 4. FIRE SERVICES GRANT PROGRAM.

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall establish

12 within the Agency a grant program known as the ‘‘Fire

13 Services Grant Program’’ to award grants to volunteer,

14 paid, and combined volunteer-paid departments that pro15 vide fire and emergency medical services.

16 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—A grant awarded under the fire

17 program may be used to—

18 (1) acquire—

19 (A) personal protective equipment required

20 for firefighting personnel by the Occupational

21 Safety and Health Administration; and

22 (B) other personal protective equipment

23 for firefighting personnel;
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1 (2) acquire additional firefighting equipment,

2 including equipment for communication and moni3 toring;

4 (3) establish wellness and fitness programs for

5 firefighting personnel to reduce the number of inju6 ries and deaths related to health and conditioning

7 problems;

8 (4) promote professional development of fire

9 code enforcement personnel;

10 (5) integrate computer technology to improve

11 records management and training capabilities;

12 (6) train firefighting personnel in—

13 (A) firefighting;

14 (B) emergency response; and

15 (C) arson prevention and detection;

16 (7) enforce fire codes;

17 (8) fund fire prevention programs and public

18 education programs on—

19 (A) arson prevention and detection; and

20 (B) juvenile fire setter intervention; and

21 (9) modify fire stations, fire training facilities,

22 and other facilities to protect the health and safety

23 of firefighting personnel.
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1 (c) APPLICATIONS.—An applicant for a grant award2 ed under the fire program shall submit to the Director

3 an application that includes—

4 (1) a demonstration of the financial need of the

5 applicant;

6 (2) evidence of a commitment by the applicant

7 to provide matching funds from non-Federal sources

8 for the project that is the subject of the application

9 in an amount that is at least equal to the amount

10 of funds requested in the application;

11 (3) a cost-benefit analysis linking the funds re12 quested to improvements in public safety; and

13 (4) a commitment by the applicant to provide

14 information to the National Fire Incident Reporting

15 System for the period for which the grant is re16 ceived.

17 (d) AUDITS.—The Director shall conduct audits of

18 grant recipients to ensure that grant funds are used for

19 the purposes for which the grant is awarded.

20 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

21 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

22 $80,000,000, to remain available until expended.

23 SEC. 5. COOPERATIVE FORESTRY ASSISTANCE.

24 The Secretary of Agriculture shall use the funds, fa25 cilities, and authorities of the Commodity Credit Corpora-
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1 tion to carry out paragraphs (1) through (3) of section

2 10(b) of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978

3 (16 U.S.C. 2106(b)), not to exceed $10,000,000, to re4 main available until expended.

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