II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2502

To establish in the Office of the Architect of the Capitol the position of

Director of Fire Safety and Protection to assume responsibility for fire

safety and protection activities of the Architect of the Capitol, and

for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 3, 2000

Mr. SARBANES (for himself and Ms. MIKULSKI) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

A BILL

To establish in the Office of the Architect of the Capitol

the position of Director of Fire Safety and Protection

to assume responsibility for fire safety and protection

activities of the Architect of the Capitol, 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 ‘‘United States Capitol

5 Fire Protection Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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1 (1) although progress has been made in recent

2 years, the Capitol, House and Senate Office Build3 ings, and Library of Congress still do not provide

4 staff and visitors with the fire safety and protection

5 they deserve;

6 (2) the Architect of the Capitol must place

7 great emphasis on the need to ensure that these and

8 other properties administered by the Architect, and

9 individuals who visit or work in these properties,

10 enjoy the maximum protection that modern tech11 nology and human diligence can provide against fire

12 and related threats to life and property; and

13 (3)(A) properties and structures of the United

14 States Capitol Complex are of historical and archi15 tectural significance and are an essential public and

16 national resource; and

17 (B) it is necessary and essential that such prop18 erties and structures be preserved and rehabilitated

19 in such a manner as to retain their historical and

20 architectural significance.

21 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to estab22 lish the position of the Director of Fire Safety and Protec23 tion to assist the Architect of the Capitol in meeting the

24 Architect’s responsibilities for fire safety and protection

25 so that the properties of the United States Capitol Com-
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1 plex will be protected from fire and serve as a safe environ2 ment for those who work or visit there.

3 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITION OF DIRECTOR OF

4 FIRE SAFETY AND PROTECTION.

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the

6 Office of the Architect of the Capitol the position of Direc7 tor of Fire Safety and Protection.

8 (b) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.—

9 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Director of Fire Safe10 ty and Protection shall be appointed by the Archi11 tect of the Capitol from among individuals with the

12 knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to carry out

13 the duties described in this Act.

14 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Architect of the

15 Capitol shall fix the rate of basic pay and benefits

16 for the Director of Fire Safety and Protection as the

17 Architect considers appropriate, except that such

18 rate and benefits may not be less than the rate of

19 pay and benefits for the Director of Engineering

20 under the Architect of the Capitol.

21 (c) DUTIES.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Working under the direction

23 and control of the Architect of the Capitol and re24 porting directly to the Architect, the Director of Fire

25 Safety and Protection shall—
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1 (A) be responsible for all fire safety and

2 protection activities of the Architect of the Cap3 itol;

4 (B) ensure that Architect properties meet

5 the applicable codes and standards established

6 by the National Fire Protection Association, ex7 cept that the Architect may modify the applica8 tion of such codes to the properties to take into

9 account the historic and architecturally signifi10 cant features of such properties so long as a

11 reasonable degree of safety and protection is

12 maintained; and

13 (C) carry out the duties specified in para14 graph (2).

15 (2) DUTIES SPECIFIED.—The duties specified

16 in this paragraph are as follows:

17 (A) The routine periodic testing and main18 tenance of all fire alarm, fire suppression, and

19 fire protection systems in all Architect prop20 erties.

21 (B) The conduct of comprehensive inspec22 tions and risk assessments on a regular basis

23 (but not less frequently than once each year) of

24 all Architect properties to identify conditions

25 which constitute fire hazards and develop plans
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1 for the prompt abatement of such conditions, in

2 accordance with the requirements specified

3 under paragraph (1)(B).

4 (C) The development and implementation

5 of programs to train employees of the Architect

6 of the Capitol and others in—

7 (i) the proper use and maintenance of

8 fire alarm, fire suppression, and fire pro9 tection systems; and

10 (ii) the proper use and storage of haz11 ardous chemicals and materials.

12 (D) The identification of structural

13 changes and repairs which may be necessary to

14 assure maximum fire protection and safety in

15 Architect properties, and the development of

16 comprehensive plans to carry out such changes.

17 (E) The preparation of semiannual reports

18 on the efforts made by the Director to carry out

19 the duties required under this subsection.

20 (F) Consultation with experts in fire safety

21 and protection regarding the modification of

22 codes and standards carried out under para23 graph (1)(B) and such other matters relating to

24 the Director’s duties as the Director considers

25 appropriate.
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1 (G) Any other steps as may be reasonably

2 necessary to protect Architect properties from

3 fire and provide a safe environment for employ4 ees and visitors.

5 SEC. 4. RESPONSIBILITIES OF ARCHITECT.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Architect of the Capitol shall

7 provide the Director of Fire Safety and Protection with

8 such staff and other resources as the Director may reason9 ably require to carry out duties under this Act, except that

10 the Architect of the Capitol shall assign not fewer than

11 12 full-time equivalent employees to the Director for car12 rying out such duties.

13 (b) BUDGET REQUEST.—Beginning with fiscal year

14 2002, the Architect of the Capitol shall include in the

15 budget request for the Architect for each fiscal year a sep16 arate statement of the total amount to be used to carry

17 out the duties of the Director of Fire Safety and Protec18 tion in that fiscal year.

19 (c) SUBMISSION OF REPORTS.—The Architect shall

20 submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the House

21 of Representatives and Senate, the Committee on House

22 Administration of the House of Representatives, the Com23 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House

24 of Representatives, and the Committee on Rules and Ad25 ministration of the Senate the semiannual reports pre-
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1 pared by the Director of Fire Safety and Protection under

2 section 3(c)(2)(E).

3 SEC. 5. ARCHITECT PROPERTIES DEFINED.

4 In this Act, the term ‘‘Architect properties’’ means

5 any properties under the jurisdiction of the Architect of

6 the Capitol, including the Capitol, House and Senate Of7 fice Buildings, the Library of Congress, the United States

8 Botanic Garden, and the Capitol Power Plant.

Æ