I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1814 

To provide grants for fire station construction through the Administrator 

of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 27, 2023 

Mr. PASCRELL (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Mr. BOST) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, 

and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide grants for fire station construction through the 

Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency, 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 ‘‘Facilitating Invest5 ments Required for Emergency Services to All Towns in 

6 Our Nation Act’’ or the ‘‘FIRE STATION Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS FIRE STATION CON2 STRUCTION GRANTS. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis5 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

6 Emergency Management Agency. 

7 (2) CAREER FIRE DEPARTMENT.—The term 

8 ‘‘career fire department’’ means a fire department 

9 that has an all-paid force of firefighting personnel 

10 other than paid-on-call firefighters. 

11 (3) COMBINATION FIRE DEPARTMENT.—The 

12 term ‘‘combination fire department’’ means a fire 

13 department that has— 

14 (A) paid firefighting personnel; and 

15 (B) volunteer firefighting personnel. 

16 (4) EMS.—The term ‘‘EMS’’ means emergency 

17 medical services. 

18 (5) NONAFFILIATED EMS ORGANIZATION.—The 

19 term ‘‘nonaffiliated EMS organization’’ means a 

20 public or private nonprofit EMS organization that is 

21 not affiliated with a hospital and does not serve a 

22 geographic area in which the Administrator finds 

23 that EMS are adequately provided by a fire depart24 ment. 

25 (6) VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT.—The 

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1 partment that has an all-volunteer force of fire2 fighting personnel. 

3 (b) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Administrator shall es4 tablish a grant program to provide financial assistance to 

5 entities described in subsection (c) to modify, upgrade, 

6 and construct fire and EMS department facilities. 

7 (c) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—The Administrator may 

8 make a grant under this section to the following: 

9 (1) Career, volunteer, and combination fire de10 partments. 

11 (2) Fire training facilities. 

12 (3) Nonaffiliated EMS organizations, combina13 tion and volunteer emergency medical stations (ex14 cept that for-profit EMS organizations are not eligi15 ble for a grant under this section). 

16 (d) APPLICATIONS.—An entity described in sub17 section (c) seeking a grant under this section shall submit 

18 to the Administrator an application in such form, at such 

19 time, and containing such information as the Adminis20 trator determines appropriate. 

21 (e) MEETING FOR RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall con23 vene a meeting of qualified members of national fire 

24 service organizations and, at the discretion of the 

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1 tions to obtain recommendations regarding the cri2 teria for the awarding of grants under this section. 

3 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—For purposes of this 

4 subsection, a qualified member of an organization is 

5 a member who— 

6 (A) is recognized for firefighting or EMS 

7 expertise; 

8 (B) is not an employee of the Federal Gov9 ernment; and 

10 (C) in the case of a member of an EMS 

11 organization, is a member of an organization 

12 that represents— 

13 (i) EMS providers that are affiliated 

14 with fire departments; or 

15 (ii) nonaffiliated EMS providers. 

16 (f) PEER REVIEW OF GRANT APPLICATION.—The 

17 Administrator shall, in consultation with national fire 

18 service and EMS organizations, appoint fire service per19 sonnel to conduct peer reviews of applications received 

20 under subsection (d). 

21 (g) PRIORITY OF GRANTS.—In awarding grants 

22 under this section, the Administrator shall consider the 

23 findings and recommendations of the peer reviews carried 

24 out under subsection (f). 

25 (h) USES OF FUNDS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of a grant under 

2 this section may use funds received for the following: 

3 (A) Building, rebuilding, or renovating fire 

4 and EMS department facilities. 

5 (B) Upgrading existing facilities to install 

6 exhaust emission control systems, install backup 

7 power systems, upgrade or replace environ8 mental control systems (such as HVAC sys9 tems), remove or remediate mold, and construct 

10 or modify living quarters for use by male and 

11 female personnel. 

12 (C) Upgrading fire and EMS stations or 

13 building new stations. 

14 (2) CODE COMPLIANT.—In using funds under 

15 paragraph (1), a recipient of a grant under this sec16 tion shall meet 1 of the 2 most recently published 

17 editions of relevant codes and standards, especially 

18 codes and standards that— 

19 (A) require up-to-date hazard resistant and 

20 safety provisions; and 

21 (B) are relevant for protecting firefighter 

22 health and safety. 

23 (i) GRANT FUNDING.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall al25 locate grant funds under this section as follows: 


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1 (A) 25 percent for career fire and EMS 

2 departments. 

3 (B) 25 percent for combination fire and 

4 EMS departments. 

5 (C) 25 percent for volunteer fire and EMS 

6 departments. 

7 (D) 25 percent to remain available for 

8 competition between the various department 

9 types. 

10 (2) INSUFFICIENT APPLICATIONS.—If the Ad11 ministrator does not receive sufficient funding re12 quests from a particular department type described 

13 in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (1), 

14 the Administrator may make awards to other de15 partments described in such subparagraphs. 

16 (3) LIMITATION ON AWARDS AMOUNTS.—A re17 cipient of a grant under this section may not receive 

18 more than $7,500,000 under this section. 

19 (j) PREVAILING RATE OF WAGE AND PUBLIC CON20 TRACTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—All laborers and mechanics 

22 employed by contractors or subcontractors in the 

23 performance of construction work financed with the 

24 assistance of any contribution of Federal funds 

25 made by the Administrator under this section shall 


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1 be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing 

2 on similar construction in the locality as determined 

3 by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with sub4 chapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States 

5 Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Davis-Bacon Act’’). 

6 (2) OVERTIME.—Each employee described in 

7 paragraph (1) shall receive compensation at a rate 

not less than one and 1 8 ⁄2 times the basic rate of pay 

9 of the employee for all hours worked in any work10 week in excess of 8 hours in any workday or 40 

11 hours in the workweek, as the case may be. 

12 (3) ASSURANCES.—The Administrator shall 

13 make no contribution of Federal funds without first 

14 obtaining adequate assurance that the labor stand15 ards described in paragraphs (1) and (2) will be 

16 maintained upon the construction work. 

17 (4) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF LABOR.— 

18 The Secretary of Labor shall have, with respect to 

19 the labor standards described in paragraphs (1) and 

20 (2), the authority and functions set forth in Reorga21 nization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (5 U.S.C. App.) 

22 and section 3145 of title 40, United States Code. 

23 (5) PUBLIC CONTRACTS.—Contractors and sub24 contractors performing construction work pursuant 

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1 cles, materials, and supplies that have been manu2 factured in the United States substantially all from 

3 articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced, or 

4 manufactured in the United States in accordance 

5 with the requirements (and exceptions thereto) ap6 plicable to Federal agencies under chapter 83 of title 

7 41, United States Code. 

8 (k) APPLICABILITY.—Chapter 10 of title 5, United 

9 States Code, shall not apply to activities carried out pursu10 ant to this section. 

11 (l) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

12 (1) ANNUAL REPORT TO ADMINISTRATOR OF

13 FEMA.—Not later than 1 year after the date of en14 actment of this Act, and annually thereafter during 

15 the term of a grant awarded under this section, the 

16 recipient of the grant shall submit to the Adminis17 trator a report describing how the recipient used the 

18 amounts from the grant. 

19 (2) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

20 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

21 and annually thereafter until the date on which the 

22 rebuilding or renovation of fire facilities and stations 

23 are completed using grant funds under this section, 

24 the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on 

25 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 


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1 Senate and the Committees on Transportation and 

2 Infrastructure and Science, Space, and Technology 

3 of the House of Representatives a report that pro4 vides an evaluation of the effectiveness of the grants 

5 awarded under this section. 

6 (m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated $750,000,000 for fiscal year 

8 2024 to carry out this section. Funds appropriated under 

9 this Act shall remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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