II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3592 

To provide additional funding for firefighter staffing and safety grants, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 3), 2022 

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

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To provide additional funding for firefighter staffing and 

safety grants, 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 ‘‘Firefighter Staffing 

5 and Support Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FIREFIGHTER SAFETY GRANTS. 

7 Section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Con8 trol Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (d), by striking paragraph (4); 

10 (2) in subsection (q)(1)— 


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1 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

2 (A), by inserting ‘‘, and there is appropriated,’’ 

3 after ‘‘appropriated’’; 

4 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

5 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

6 (C) in subparagraph (B)— 

7 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

8 by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2022’’; 

9 and 

10 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking the pe11 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

12 and 

13 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(C) $913,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(D) for each of fiscal years 2024 through 

17 2028, an amount equal to the amount author18 ized for the previous fiscal year increased by 

19 the percentage by which— 

20 ‘‘(i) the Consumer Price Index (all 

21 items, United States city average) for the 

22 previous fiscal year, exceeds 

23 ‘‘(ii) the Consumer Price Index for 

24 the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year de25 scribed in clause (i).’’; and 


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1 (3) by striking subsection (r). 

2 SEC. 3. SAFER GRANTS. 

3 Section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Con4 trol Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229a) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (j)(1)— 

6 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

7 (A), by inserting ‘‘, and there is appropriated,’’ 

8 after ‘‘appropriated’’; 

9 (B) in subparagraph (H), by striking 

10 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

11 (C) in subparagraph (I)— 

12 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

13 by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2022’’; 

14 and 

15 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking the pe16 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

17 and 

18 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(J) $913,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(K) for each of fiscal years 2024 through 

22 2028, an amount equal to the amount author23 ized for the previous fiscal year increased by 

24 the percentage by which— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Consumer Price Index (all 

2 items, United States city average) for the 

3 previous fiscal year, exceeds 

4 ‘‘(ii) the Consumer Price Index for 

5 the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year de6 scribed in clause (i).’’; and 

7 (2) by striking subsection (k). 

8 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

9 The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 

10 (15 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 38. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

13 ‘‘In addition to amounts made available under sec14 tions 33(q)(2) and 34(j)(2), there is authorized to be ap15 propriated, and there is appropriated, to provide technical 

16 assistance to qualified entities described in sections 

17 33(c)(1) and 34(a) to prepare and submit an application 

18 for a grant under section 33(e) or 34(b)— 

19 ‘‘(1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; and 

20 ‘‘(2) for each of fiscal years 2024 through 

21 2028, an amount equal to the amount authorized for 

22 the previous fiscal year increased by the percentage 

23 by which— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Consumer Price Index (all items, 

2 United States city average) for the previous fis3 cal year, exceeds 

4 ‘‘(B) the Consumer Price Index for the fis5 cal year preceding the fiscal year described in 

6 clause (i).’’. 

7 SEC. 5. REPORTS FROM FEMA AND UNITED STATES FIRE 

8 ADMINISTRATION. 

9 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

11 Management Agency and the Administrator of the United 

12 States Fire Administration shall submit to Congress and 

13 make publicly available— 

14 (1) a report on plans to improve the application 

15 process for grants under sections 33 and 34 of the 

16 Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 

17 (15 U.S.C. 2229, 2229a) to ease access to those 

18 grant funds; and 

19 (2) a report on the challenges specific to rural 

20 and volunteer fire departments, as defined in section 

21 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act 

22 of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229), which shall include an ac23 tion plan to address these challenges through the 

24 grants described in paragraph (1) and other admin25 istrative action. 


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1 SEC. 6. PROTECTIONS FOR VOLUNTEERS FROM EMPLOYER 

2 DISCRIMINATION. 

3 The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 

4 (15 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.), as amended by section 4 of this 

5 Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 39. VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER AND EMS PERSONNEL 

7 JOB PROTECTION. 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) EMERGENCY; MAJOR DISASTER.—The 

10 terms ‘emergency’ and ‘major disaster’ have the 

11 meanings given those terms in section 102 of the 

12 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

13 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122). 

14 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPART15 MENT.—The term ‘qualified volunteer fire depart16 ment’ has the meaning given such term in section 

17 150(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

18 ‘‘(3) VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERV19 ICES.—The term ‘volunteer emergency medical serv20 ices’ means emergency medical services performed 

21 on a voluntary basis for a fire department or other 

22 emergency organization. 

23 ‘‘(4) VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER.—The term 

24 ‘volunteer firefighter’ means an individual who is a 

25 member in good standing of a qualified volunteer 

26 fire department. 


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1 ‘‘(b) TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT OF VOLUN2 TEER FIREFIGHTERS AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL PER3 SONNEL PROHIBITED.— 

4 ‘‘(1) TERMINATION PROHIBITED.—No employee 

5 may be terminated, demoted, or in any other manner 

6 discriminated against in the terms and conditions of 

7 employment because such employee is absent from 

8 or late to the employee’s employment for the pur9 pose of serving as a volunteer firefighter or pro10 viding volunteer emergency medical services as part 

11 of a response to an emergency or major disaster. 

12 ‘‘(2) DEPLOYMENT.—The prohibition in para13 graph (1) shall apply to an employee serving as a 

14 volunteer firefighter or providing volunteer emer15 gency medical services if such employee— 

16 ‘‘(A) is specifically deployed to respond to 

17 the emergency or major disaster in accordance 

18 with a coordinated national deployment system 

19 such as the Emergency Management Assistance 

20 Compact or a pre-existing mutual aid agree21 ment; or 

22 ‘‘(B) is a volunteer firefighter who— 

23 ‘‘(i) is a member of a qualified volun24 teer fire department that is located in the 


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1 State in which the emergency or major dis2 aster occurred; 

3 ‘‘(ii) is a member of a qualified fire 

4 department that has a mutual aid agree5 ment with a community affected by such 

6 emergency or major disaster; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) has been deployed by the emer8 gency management agency of such State to 

9 respond to such emergency or major dis10 aster. 

11 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—The prohibition in para12 graph (1) shall not apply to an employee who— 

13 ‘‘(A) is absent from the employee’s employ14 ment for the purpose described in paragraph 

15 (1) for more than 14 days per calendar year; 

16 ‘‘(B) responds to the emergency or major 

17 disaster without being officially deployed as de18 scribed in paragraph (2); or 

19 ‘‘(C) fails to provide the written 

20 verification described in paragraph (5) within a 

21 reasonable period of time. 

22 ‘‘(4) WITHHOLDING OF PAY.—An employer 

23 may reduce an employee’s regular pay for any time 

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1 ployment for the purpose described in paragraph 

2 (1). 

3 ‘‘(5) VERIFICATION.—An employer may require 

4 an employee to provide a written verification from 

5 the official of the Federal Emergency Management 

6 Agency supervising the Federal response to the 

7 emergency or major disaster or a local or State offi8 cial managing the local or State response to the 

9 emergency or major disaster that states— 

10 ‘‘(A) the employee responded to the emer11 gency or major disaster in an official capacity; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) the schedule and dates of the employ14 ee’s participation in such response. 

15 ‘‘(6) REASONABLE NOTICE REQUIRED.—An em16 ployee who may be absent from or late to the em17 ployee’s employment for the purpose described in 

18 paragraph (1) shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) make a reasonable effort to notify the 

20 employee’s employer of such absence; and 

21 ‘‘(B) continue to provide reasonable notifi22 cations over the course of such absence. 

23 ‘‘(c) RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) RIGHT OF ACTION.—An individual who 

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1 ner discriminated against in the terms and condi2 tions of employment in violation of the prohibition 

3 described in subsection (b) may bring, in a district 

4 court of the United States of appropriate jurisdic5 tion, a civil action against the employer of the indi6 vidual seeking— 

7 ‘‘(A) reinstatement of the individual’s 

8 former employment; 

9 ‘‘(B) payment of back wages; 

10 ‘‘(C) reinstatement of fringe benefits; and 

11 ‘‘(D) if the employment granted seniority 

12 rights, reinstatement of seniority rights. 

13 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The individual shall com14 mence a civil action under this subsection not later 

15 than 1 year after the date of the violation of the 

16 prohibition described in subsection (b). 

17 ‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT.—The Administrator of FEMA, 

18 in coordination with the Secretary of Labor, shall have 

19 the authority to issue rules to enforce this section.’’. 

Æ 


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