II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3267 

To improve the provision of assistance to fire departments, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2010 

Mr. DODD (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. MCCAIN, and Mr. 

CARPER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To improve the provision of assistance to fire departments, 

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 ‘‘Fire Grants Reauthor5 ization Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO DEFINITIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the Federal Fire Pre8 vention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2203) is 

9 amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, except as 

2 otherwise provided,’’ after ‘‘means’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘ ‘Director’ 

4 means’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Agency;’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘ ‘Administrator of FEMA’ means the Ad6 ministrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

7 Agency;’’; 

8 (3) in paragraph (5)— 

9 (A) by inserting ‘‘Indian tribe,’’ after 

10 ‘‘county,’’; and 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘and ‘firecontrol’ ’’ and in12 serting ‘‘and ‘fire control’ ’’; 

13 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through 

14 (9) as paragraphs (7) through (10), respectively; 

15 (5) by inserting after paragraph (5), the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(6) ‘Indian tribe’ has the meaning given that 

18 term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

19 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b) and 

20 ‘tribal’ means of or pertaining to an Indian tribe;’’; 

21 (6) by redesignating paragraphs (9) and (10), 

22 as redesignated by paragraph (4), as paragraphs 

23 (10) and (11); 

24 (7) by inserting after paragraph (8), as redesig25 nated by paragraph (4), the following: 


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1 ‘‘(9) ‘Secretary’ means, except as otherwise pro2 vided, the Secretary of Homeland Security;’’; and 

3 (8) by amending paragraph (10), as redesig4 nated by paragraph (6), to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(10) ‘State’ has the meaning given the term in 

6 section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

7 U.S.C. 101).’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

9 (1) The Federal Fire Prevention and Control 

10 Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) is amended by 

11 striking ‘‘Director’’ each place it appears and insert12 ing ‘‘Administrator of FEMA’’. 

13 (2) Section 15(a) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 

14 2213(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘Director’s Award’’ 

15 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Administrator 

16 of FEMA’s Award’’. 

17 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTER GRANTS. 

18 Section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Con19 trol Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229) is amended to read 

20 as follows: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 33. FIREFIGHTER ASSISTANCE. 

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

23 ‘‘(1) AVAILABLE GRANT FUNDS.—The term 

24 ‘available grant funds’, with respect to a fiscal year, 

25 means those funds appropriated pursuant to the auVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:05 Apr 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3267.IS S3267

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1 thorization of appropriations in subsection (p)(1) for 

2 such fiscal year less any funds used for administra3 tive costs pursuant to subsection (p)(2) in such fis4 cal year. 

5 ‘‘(2) CAREER FIRE DEPARTMENT.—The term 

6 ‘career fire department’ means a fire department 

7 that has an all-paid force of firefighting personnel 

8 other than paid-on-call firefighters. 

9 ‘‘(3) COMBINATION FIRE DEPARTMENT.—The 

10 term ‘combination fire department’ means a fire de11 partment that has— 

12 ‘‘(A) paid firefighting personnel; and 

13 ‘‘(B) volunteer firefighting personnel. 

14 ‘‘(4) FIREFIGHTING PERSONNEL.—The term 

15 ‘firefighting personnel’ means individuals, including 

16 volunteers, who are firefighters, officers of fire de17 partments, or emergency medical service personnel 

18 of fire departments. 

19 ‘‘(5) NONAFFILIATED EMS ORGANIZATION.— 

20 The term ‘nonaffiliated EMS organization’ means a 

21 public or private nonprofit emergency medical serv22 ices organization that is not affiliated with a hospital 

23 and does not serve a geographic area in which the 

24 Administrator of FEMA finds that emergency medVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:09 Apr 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3267.IS S3267

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1 ical services are adequately provided by a fire de2 partment. 

3 ‘‘(6) PAID-ON-CALL.—The term ‘paid-on-call’ 

4 means firefighting personnel who are paid a stipend 

5 for each event to which they respond. 

6 ‘‘(7) VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT.—The 

7 term ‘volunteer fire department’ means a fire de8 partment that has an all-volunteer force of fire9 fighting personnel. 

10 ‘‘(b) ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 

11 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—In accordance with this sec12 tion, the Administrator of FEMA may, in consulta13 tion with the Administrator of the United States 

14 Fire Administration, award— 

15 ‘‘(A) assistance to firefighters grants under 

16 subsection (c); and 

17 ‘‘(B) fire prevention and safety grants and 

18 other assistance under subsection (d). 

19 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE.—The Ad20 ministrator of FEMA shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) establish specific criteria for the se22 lection of grant recipients under this section; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(B) provide assistance with application 

25 preparation to applicants for such grants. 


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1 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of 

3 FEMA may, in consultation with the chief executives 

4 of the States in which the recipients are located, 

5 award grants on a competitive basis directly to— 

6 ‘‘(A) fire departments, for the purpose of 

7 protecting the health and safety of the public 

8 and firefighting personnel throughout the 

9 United States against fire, fire-related, and 

10 other hazards; 

11 ‘‘(B) nonaffiliated EMS organizations to 

12 support the provision of emergency medical 

13 services; and 

14 ‘‘(C) State fire training academies for the 

15 purposes described in subparagraphs (G), (H), 

16 and (I) of paragraph (3). 

17 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNTS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) POPULATION.—The Administrator of 

19 FEMA may not award a grant under this sub20 section in excess of amounts as follows: 

21 ‘‘(i) In the case of a recipient that 

22 serves a jurisdiction with 100,000 people 

23 or fewer, the amount of the grant awarded 

24 to such recipient shall not exceed 

25 $1,000,000 in any fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a recipient that 

2 serves a jurisdiction with more than 

3 100,000 people but not more than 500,000 

4 people, the amount of the grant awarded 

5 to such recipient shall not exceed 

6 $2,000,000 in any fiscal year. 

7 ‘‘(iii) In the case of a recipient that 

8 serves a jurisdiction with more than 

9 500,000 but not more than 1,000,000 peo10 ple, the amount of the grant awarded to 

11 such recipient shall not exceed $3,000,000 

12 in any fiscal year. 

13 ‘‘(iv) In the case of a recipient that 

14 serves a jurisdiction with more than 

15 1,000,000 people but not more than 

16 2,500,000 people, the amount of the grant 

17 awarded to such recipient shall not exceed 

18 $6,000,000 for any fiscal year. 

19 ‘‘(v) In the case of a recipient that 

20 serves a jurisdiction with more than 

21 2,500,000 people, the amount of the grant 

22 awarded to such recipient shall not exceed 

23 $9,000,000 in any fiscal year. 

24 ‘‘(B) STATE FIRE TRAINING ACADEMIES.— 

25 The Administrator of FEMA may not award a 


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1 grant under this subsection to a State fire 

2 training academy in an amount that exceeds 

3 $1,000,000 in any fiscal year. 

4 ‘‘(C) AGGREGATE.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

6 subparagraphs (A) and (B) and except as 

7 provided under clause (ii), the Adminis8 trator of FEMA may not award a grant 

9 under this subsection in a fiscal year in an 

10 amount that exceeds the amount that is 

11 one percent of the available grant funds in 

12 such fiscal year. 

13 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The Administrator 

14 of FEMA may waive the limitation in 

15 clause (i) with respect to a grant recipient 

16 if the Administrator of FEMA determines 

17 that such recipient has an extraordinary 

18 need for a grant in an amount that exceeds 

19 the limit under clause (i). 

20 ‘‘(3) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Each entity re21 ceiving a grant under this subsection shall use the 

22 grant for one or more of the following purposes: 

23 ‘‘(A) To train firefighting personnel in— 

24 ‘‘(i) firefighting; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) emergency medical services and 

2 other emergency response (including re3 sponse to natural disasters, acts of ter4 rorism, and other man-made disasters); 

5 ‘‘(iii) arson prevention and detection; 

6 ‘‘(iv) maritime firefighting; or 

7 ‘‘(v) the handling of hazardous mate8 rials. 

9 ‘‘(B) To train firefighting personnel to 

10 provide any of the training described in sub11 paragraph (A). 

12 ‘‘(C) To fund the creation of rapid inter13 vention teams to protect firefighting personnel 

14 at the scenes of fires and other emergencies. 

15 ‘‘(D) To certify— 

16 ‘‘(i) fire inspectors; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) building inspectors— 

18 ‘‘(I) whose responsibilities include 

19 fire safety inspections; and 

20 ‘‘(II) who are employed by or 

21 serving as volunteers with a fire de22 partment. 

23 ‘‘(E) To establish wellness and fitness pro24 grams for firefighting personnel to ensure that 


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1 the firefighting personnel are able to carry out 

2 their duties as firefighters. 

3 ‘‘(F) To fund emergency medical services 

4 provided by fire departments and nonaffiliated 

5 EMS organizations. 

6 ‘‘(G) To acquire additional firefighting ve7 hicles, including fire trucks and other appa8 ratus. 

9 ‘‘(H) To acquire additional firefighting 

10 equipment, including equipment for— 

11 ‘‘(i) fighting fires with foam in remote 

12 areas without access to water; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) communications, monitoring, and 

14 response to a natural disaster, act of ter15 rorism, or other man-made disaster, in16 cluding the use of a weapon of mass de17 struction. 

18 ‘‘(I) To acquire personal protective equip19 ment, including personal protective equip20 ment— 

21 ‘‘(i) prescribed for firefighting per22 sonnel by the Occupational Safety and 

23 Health Administration of the Department 

24 of Labor; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) for responding to a natural dis2 aster or act of terrorism or other man3 made disaster, including the use of a weap4 on of mass destruction. 

5 ‘‘(J) To modify fire stations, fire training 

6 facilities, and other facilities to protect the 

7 health and safety of firefighting personnel. 

8 ‘‘(K) To educate the public about arson 

9 prevention and detection. 

10 ‘‘(L) To provide incentives for the recruit11 ment and retention of volunteer firefighting 

12 personnel for volunteer firefighting departments 

13 and other firefighting departments that utilize 

14 volunteers. 

15 ‘‘(M) To support such other activities, con16 sistent with the purposes of this subsection, as 

17 the Administrator of FEMA determines appro18 priate. 

19 ‘‘(d) FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of assist21 ing fire prevention programs and supporting fire22 fighter health and safety research and development, 

23 the Administrator of FEMA may, on a competitive 

24 basis— 

25 ‘‘(A) award grants to fire departments; 


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1 ‘‘(B) award grants to, or enter into con2 tracts or cooperative agreements with, national, 

3 State, local, tribal, or nonprofit organizations 

4 that are not fire departments and that are rec5 ognized for their experience and expertise with 

6 respect to fire prevention or fire safety pro7 grams and activities and firefighter research 

8 and development programs, for the purpose of 

9 carrying out— 

10 ‘‘(i) fire prevention programs; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) research to improve firefighter 

12 health and life safety; and 

13 ‘‘(C) award grants to, or enter into con14 tracts with, regionally accredited institutions of 

15 higher education and national fire service orga16 nizations or national fire safety organizations to 

17 support joint programs focused on reducing 

18 firefighter fatalities and non-fatal injuries, in19 cluding programs for establishing fire safety re20 search centers as the Administrator of FEMA 

21 determines appropriate. 

22 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant 

23 awarded under this subsection may not be for an 

24 amount greater than $1,500,000 for a fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(3) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Each entity re2 ceiving a grant under this subsection shall use the 

3 grant for one or more of the following purposes: 

4 ‘‘(A) To enforce fire codes and promote 

5 compliance with fire safety standards. 

6 ‘‘(B) To fund fire prevention programs. 

7 ‘‘(C) To fund wildland fire prevention pro8 grams, including education, awareness, and 

9 mitigation programs that protect lives, prop10 erty, and natural resources from fire in the 

11 wildland-urban interface. 

12 ‘‘(D) In the case of a grant awarded under 

13 paragraph (1)(C), to fund the establishment or 

14 operation of— 

15 ‘‘(i) a fire safety research center; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) a program at such a center. 

17 ‘‘(E) To support such other activities, con18 sistent with the purposes of this subsection, as 

19 the Administrator of FEMA determines appro20 priate. 

21 ‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS FOR GRANTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An entity seeking a grant 

23 under this section shall submit to the Administrator 

24 of FEMA an application therefor in such form and 


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1 in such manner as the Administrator of FEMA de2 termines appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Each application submitted 

4 under paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) A description of the financial need of 

6 the applicant for the grant. 

7 ‘‘(B) An analysis of the costs and benefits, 

8 with respect to public safety, of the use for 

9 which a grant is requested. 

10 ‘‘(C) An agreement to provide information 

11 to the national fire incident reporting system 

12 for the period covered by the grant. 

13 ‘‘(D) A list of other sources of funding re14 ceived by the applicant— 

15 ‘‘(i) for the same purpose for which 

16 the applicant for a grant under this section 

17 was submitted; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) from the Federal Government for 

19 other fire-related purposes. 

20 ‘‘(E) Such other information as the Ad21 ministrator of FEMA determines appropriate. 

22 ‘‘(3) JOINT OR REGIONAL APPLICATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Two or more entities 

24 may submit an application under paragraph (1) 

25 for a grant under this section to fund a joint 


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1 program or initiative, including acquisition of 

2 shared equipment or vehicles. 

3 ‘‘(B) NONEXCLUSIVITY.—Applications 

4 under this paragraph may be submitted instead 

5 of or in addition to any other application sub6 mitted under paragraph (1). 

7 ‘‘(C) GUIDANCE.—The Administrator of 

8 FEMA shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) publish guidance on applying for 

10 and administering grants awarded for joint 

11 programs and initiatives described in sub12 paragraph (A); and 

13 ‘‘(ii) encourage applicants to apply for 

14 grants for joint programs and initiatives 

15 described in subparagraph (A) as the Ad16 ministrator of FEMA determines appro17 priate to achieve greater cost effectiveness 

18 and regional efficiency. 

19 ‘‘(f) PEER REVIEW OF GRANT APPLICATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of 

21 FEMA shall, after consultation with national fire 

22 service and emergency management organizations, 

23 appoint fire service personnel and personnel from 

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1 views of applications received under subsection 

2 (e)(1). 

3 ‘‘(2) ASSIGNMENT OF REVIEWS.—In admin4 istering the peer review process under paragraph 

5 (1), the Administrator of FEMA shall ensure that— 

6 ‘‘(A) applications submitted by career fire 

7 departments are reviewed primarily by per8 sonnel from career fire departments; 

9 ‘‘(B) applications submitted by volunteer 

10 fire departments are reviewed primarily by per11 sonnel from volunteer fire departments; 

12 ‘‘(C) applications submitted by combina13 tion fire departments and fire departments 

14 using paid-on-call firefighting personnel are re15 viewed primarily by personnel from such fire 

16 departments; and 

17 ‘‘(D) applications for grants to fund emer18 gency medical services pursuant to subsection 

19 (c)(3)(F) are reviewed primarily by emergency 

20 medical service personnel, including— 

21 ‘‘(i) emergency medical service per22 sonnel affiliated with fire departments; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) personnel from nonaffiliated 

24 EMS organizations. 


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1 ‘‘(3) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS FOR FIRE PRE2 VENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS SUBMITTED BY NON3 PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE NOT FIRE DE4 PARTMENTS.—In conducting a review of an applica5 tion submitted under subsection (e)(1) by a non6 profit organization described in subsection (d)(1)(B), 

7 a peer reviewer may not recommend the applicant 

8 for a grant under subsection (d) unless such appli9 cant is recognized for its experience and expertise 

10 with respect to— 

11 ‘‘(A) fire prevention or safety programs 

12 and activities; or 

13 ‘‘(B) firefighter research and development 

14 programs. 

15 ‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY

16 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

17 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to activities car18 ried out pursuant to this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(g) PRIORITIZATION AND ALLOCATION OF GRANT

20 AWARDS.—In awarding grants under this section, the Ad21 ministrator of FEMA shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) consider the findings and recommendations 

23 of the peer reviews carried out under subsection (f); 

24 ‘‘(2) consider the degree to which an award will 

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1 ducing the risks associated with fire-related and 

2 other hazards; 

3 ‘‘(3) consider the extent of the need of an appli4 cant for a grant under this section and the need to 

5 protect the United States as a whole; 

6 ‘‘(4) consider the number of calls requesting or 

7 requiring a fire fighting or emergency medical re8 sponse received by an applicant; and 

9 ‘‘(5) ensure that of the available grant funds— 

10 ‘‘(A) not less than 25 percent are awarded 

11 to career fire departments; 

12 ‘‘(B) not less than 25 percent are awarded 

13 to volunteer fire departments; and 

14 ‘‘(C) not less than 25 percent are awarded 

15 to combination fire departments and fire de16 partments using paid-on-call firefighting per17 sonnel. 

18 ‘‘(h) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITA19 TIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) FUNDING FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL

21 SERVICES.—Not less than 3.5 percent of the avail22 able grant funds for a fiscal year shall be awarded 

23 under this section for purposes described in sub24 section (c)(3)(F). 


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1 ‘‘(2) GRANT AWARDS TO NONAFFILIATED EMS

2 ORGANIZATIONS.—Not more than 2 percent of the 

3 available grant funds for a fiscal year shall be 

4 awarded under this section to nonaffiliated EMS or5 ganizations. 

6 ‘‘(3) FUNDING FOR FIRE PREVENTION AND

7 SAFETY GRANTS.—For each fiscal year, not less 

8 than 10 percent of the aggregate of grant amounts 

9 under this section in that fiscal year shall be award10 ed under subsection (d). 

11 ‘‘(4) STATE FIRE TRAINING ACADEMIES.—Not 

12 more than 3 percent of the available grant funds for 

13 a fiscal year shall be awarded under subsection 

14 (c)(1)(C). 

15 ‘‘(5) AMOUNTS FOR PURCHASING FIRE16 FIGHTING VEHICLES.—Not more than 25 percent of 

17 the available grant funds for a fiscal year may be 

18 used to assist grant recipients to purchase vehicles 

19 pursuant to subsection (c)(3)(G). 

20 ‘‘(i) FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS TO

22 FIRE DEPARTMENTS.—In considering applications 

23 for grants under subsection (c)(1)(A), the Adminis24 trator of FEMA shall consider the extent to which 

25 the grant would enhance the daily operations of the 


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1 applicant and the impact of such a grant on the pro2 tection of lives and property. 

3 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS FROM NONAFFILIATED EMS

4 ORGANIZATIONS.—In the case of an application sub5 mitted under subsection (e)(1) by a nonaffiliated 

6 EMS organization, the Administrator of FEMA 

7 shall consider the extent to which other sources of 

8 Federal funding are available to the applicant to 

9 provide the assistance requested in such application. 

10 ‘‘(3) AWARDING FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFE11 TY GRANTS TO CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE

12 NOT FIRE DEPARTMENTS.—In the case of applicants 

13 for grants under this section who are described in 

14 subsection (d)(1)(B), the Administrator of FEMA 

15 shall give priority to applicants who focus on— 

16 ‘‘(A) prevention of injuries to high risk 

17 groups from fire; and 

18 ‘‘(B) research programs that demonstrate 

19 a potential to improve firefighter safety. 

20 ‘‘(4) AVOIDING DUPLICATION.—The Adminis21 trator of FEMA shall review lists submitted by ap22 plicants pursuant to subsection (e)(2)(D) and take 

23 such actions as the Administrator of FEMA con24 siders necessary to prevent unnecessary duplication 

25 of grant awards. 


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1 ‘‘(j) MATCHING AND MAINTENANCE OF EXPENDI2 TURE REQUIREMENTS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) MATCHING REQUIREMENT FOR ASSIST4 ANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

6 subparagraph (B), an applicant seeking a grant 

7 to carry out an activity under subsection (c) 

8 shall agree to make available non-Federal funds 

9 to carry out such activity in an amount equal 

10 to not less than 15 percent of the grant award11 ed to such applicant under such subsection. 

12 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR ENTITIES SERVING

13 SMALL COMMUNITIES.—In the case that an ap14 plicant seeking a grant to carry out an activity 

15 under subsection (c) serves a jurisdiction of— 

16 ‘‘(i) more than 20,000 residents but 

17 not more than 50,000 residents, the appli18 cant shall agree to make available non19 Federal funds in an amount equal to not 

20 less than 10 percent of the grant award to 

21 such applicant under such subsection; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) 20,000 residents or fewer, the 

23 applicant shall agree to make available 

24 non-Federal funds in an amount equal to 

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1 ed to such applicant under such sub2 section. 

3 ‘‘(2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT FOR FIRE PRE4 VENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An applicant seeking 

6 a grant to carry out an activity under sub7 section (d) shall agree to make available non8 Federal funds to carry out such activity in an 

9 amount equal to not less than 5 percent of the 

10 grant awarded to such applicant under such 

11 subsection. 

12 ‘‘(B) MEANS OF MATCHING.—An applicant 

13 for a grant under subsection (d) may meet the 

14 matching requirement under subparagraph (A) 

15 through direct funding, funding of complemen16 tary activities, or the provision of staff, facili17 ties, services, material, or equipment. 

18 ‘‘(3) MAINTENANCE OF EXPENDITURES.—An 

19 applicant seeking a grant under subsection (c) or (d) 

20 shall agree to maintain during the term of the grant 

21 the applicant’s aggregate expenditures relating to 

22 the uses described in subsections (c)(3) and (d)(3) 

23 at not less than 80 percent of the average amount 

24 of such expenditures in the 2 fiscal years preceding 


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1 the fiscal year in which the grant amounts are re2 ceived. 

3 ‘‘(4) WAIVER.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

5 subparagraph (C)(ii), the Administrator of 

6 FEMA may waive or reduce the requirements 

7 of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) in cases of dem8 onstrated economic hardship. 

9 ‘‘(B) GUIDELINES.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

11 of FEMA shall establish and publish 

12 guidelines for determining what constitutes 

13 economic hardship for purposes of this 

14 paragraph. 

15 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATIONS.—In devel16 oping guidelines under clause (i), the Ad17 ministrator of FEMA shall consider, with 

18 respect to relevant communities, the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(I) Changes in unemployment 

21 rates from previous years. 

22 ‘‘(II) Changes in percentages of 

23 individuals eligible to receive food 

24 stamps from previous years. 


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1 ‘‘(III) Such other factors as the 

2 Administrator considers appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(C) CERTAIN APPLICANTS FOR FIRE PRE4 VENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS.—The authority 

5 under subparagraph (A) shall not apply with 

6 respect to a nonprofit organization that— 

7 ‘‘(i) is described in subsection 

8 (d)(1)(B); and 

9 ‘‘(ii) is not a fire department or emer10 gency medical services organization. 

11 ‘‘(k) GRANT GUIDELINES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) GUIDELINES.—For each fiscal year, before 

13 awarding any grants under this section, the Admin14 istrator of FEMA shall publish in the Federal Reg15 ister— 

16 ‘‘(A) guidelines that describe— 

17 ‘‘(i) the process for applying for 

18 grants under this section; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) the criteria that will be used for 

20 selecting grant recipients; and 

21 ‘‘(B) an explanation of any differences be22 tween such guidelines and the recommendations 

23 obtained under paragraph (2). 

24 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL MEETING TO OBTAIN REC25 OMMENDATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, 

2 the Administrator of FEMA shall convene a 

3 meeting of qualified members of national fire 

4 service organizations and qualified members of 

5 emergency medical service organizations to ob6 tain recommendations regarding the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) Criteria for the awarding of 

8 grants under this section. 

9 ‘‘(ii) Administrative changes to the as10 sistance program established under sub11 section (b). 

12 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED MEMBERS.—For purposes 

13 of this paragraph, a qualified member of an or14 ganization is a member who— 

15 ‘‘(i) is recognized for expertise in fire16 fighting or emergency medical services; 

17 ‘‘(ii) is not an employee of the Federal 

18 Government; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a member of an 

20 emergency medical service organization, is 

21 a member of an organization that rep22 resents— 

23 ‘‘(I) providers of emergency med24 ical services that are affiliated with 

25 fire departments; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) nonaffiliated EMS pro2 viders. 

3 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY

4 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

5 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to activities 

6 under this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(l) ACCOUNTING DETERMINATION.—Notwith8 standing any other provision of law, for purposes of this 

9 section, equipment costs shall include all costs attributable 

10 to any design, purchase of components, assembly, manu11 facture, and transportation of equipment not otherwise 

12 commercially available. 

13 ‘‘(m) ELIGIBLE GRANTEE ON BEHALF OF ALASKA

14 NATIVE VILLAGES.—The Alaska Village Initiatives, a 

15 non-profit organization incorporated in the State of Alas16 ka, shall be eligible to apply for and receive a grant or 

17 other assistance under this section on behalf of Alaska Na18 tive villages. 

19 ‘‘(n) TRAINING STANDARDS.—If an applicant for a 

20 grant under this section is applying for such grant to pur21 chase training that does not meet or exceed any applicable 

22 national voluntary consensus standards developed under 

23 section 647 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management 

24 Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 747), the applicant shall 

25 submit to the Administrator of FEMA an explanation of 


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1 the reasons that the training proposed to be purchased 

2 will serve the needs of the applicant better than training 

3 that meets or exceeds such standards. 

4 ‘‘(o) ENSURING EFFECTIVE USE OF GRANTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) AUDITS.—The Administrator of FEMA 

6 may audit a recipient of a grant awarded under this 

7 section to ensure that— 

8 ‘‘(A) the grant amounts are expended for 

9 the intended purposes; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the grant recipient complies with the 

11 requirements of subsection (j). 

12 ‘‘(2) PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of 

14 FEMA shall develop and implement a perform15 ance assessment system, including quantifiable 

16 performance metrics, to evaluate the extent to 

17 which grants awarded under this section are 

18 furthering the purposes of this section, includ19 ing protecting the health and safety of the pub20 lic and firefighting personnel against fire and 

21 fire-related hazards. 

22 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator 

23 of FEMA shall consult with fire service rep24 resentatives and with the Comptroller General 


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1 of the United States in developing the assess2 ment system required by subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORTS TO ADMINISTRATOR OF

4 FEMA.—The recipient of a grant awarded under this 

5 section shall submit to the Administrator of FEMA 

6 an annual report describing how the recipient used 

7 the grant amounts. 

8 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Sep10 tember 30, 2011, and each year thereafter 

11 through 2015, the Administrator of FEMA 

12 shall submit to the Committee on Homeland 

13 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen14 ate and the Committee on Science and Tech15 nology of the House of Representatives a report 

16 that provides— 

17 ‘‘(i) information on the performance 

18 assessment system developed under para19 graph (2); and 

20 ‘‘(ii) using the performance metrics 

21 developed under such paragraph, an eval22 uation of the effectiveness of the grants 

23 awarded under this section. 

24 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—The re25 port due under subparagraph (A) on September 


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1 30, 2014, shall also include recommendations 

2 for legislative changes to improve grants under 

3 this section, including recommendations as to 

4 whether the provisions set forth in subsection 

5 (q) should be extended for fiscal years after 

6 2015. 

7 ‘‘(p) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

9 appropriated to carry out this section— 

10 ‘‘(A) $950,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(B) for each of fiscal years 2012 through 

13 2015, an amount equal to the amount author14 ized for the previous fiscal year increased by 

15 the percentage by which— 

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

17 items, United States city average) for the 

18 previous fiscal year, exceeds 

19 ‘‘(ii) the Consumer Price Index for 

20 the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year de21 scribed in clause (i). 

22 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

23 amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) for 

24 a fiscal year, the Administrator of FEMA may use 

25 not more than 5 percent of such amounts for salaVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:09 Apr 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3267.IS S3267

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1 ries and expenses and other administrative costs in2 curred by the Administrator of FEMA in the course 

3 of awarding grants and providing assistance under 

4 this section. 

5 ‘‘(3) CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPEND6 ING.—Consistent with the requirements in sub7 sections (c)(1) and (d)(1) that grants under those 

8 subsections be awarded on a competitive basis, none 

9 of the funds appropriated pursuant to this sub10 section may be used for any congressionally directed 

11 spending item (as such term is defined in paragraph 

12 5(a) of rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Sen13 ate).’’. 

14 SEC. 4. STAFFING FOR ADEQUATE FIRE AND EMERGENCY 

15 RESPONSE. 

16 (a) IMPROVEMENTS TO HIRING GRANTS.— 

17 (1) TERM OF GRANTS.—Subsection (a)(1)(B) of 

18 section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Con19 trol Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229a) is amended by 

20 striking ‘‘4 years’’ and inserting ‘‘3 years’’. 

21 (2) LIMITATION ON PORTION OF COSTS OF HIR22 ING FIREFIGHTERS.—Subsection (a)(1)(E) of such 

23 section 34 is amended by striking ‘‘not exceed—’’ 

24 and all that follows through the period and inserting 

25 ‘‘not exceed 75 percent in any fiscal year.’’. 


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1 (b) CLARIFICATION REGARDING ELIGIBLE ENTITIES

2 FOR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION GRANTS.—The sec3 ond sentence of subsection (a)(2) of such section 34 is 

4 amended by striking ‘‘organizations on a local or statewide 

5 basis’’ and inserting ‘‘National, State, local, or tribal orga6 nizations’’. 

7 (c) MAXIMUM AMOUNT FOR HIRING FIRE8 FIGHTER.—Paragraph (4) of subsection (c) of such sec9 tion 34 is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(4) The amount of funding provided under this sec11 tion to a recipient fire department for hiring a firefighter 

12 in any fiscal year may not exceed 75 percent of the usual 

13 annual cost of a first-year firefighter in that department 

14 at the time the grant application was submitted.’’. 

15 (d) WAIVERS.—Such section 34 is further amend16 ed— 

17 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (i) 

18 as subsection (e) through (j), respectively; and 

19 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(d) WAIVERS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In a case of demonstrated 

23 economic hardship, the Administrator of FEMA 

24 may— 


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1 ‘‘(A) waive the requirements of subsection 

2 (a)(1)(B)(ii) or subsection (c)(1); or 

3 ‘‘(B) waive or reduce the requirements in 

4 subsection (a)(1)(E) or subsection (c)(2). 

5 ‘‘(2) GUIDELINES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of 

7 FEMA shall establish and publish guidelines for 

8 determining what constitutes economic hardship 

9 for purposes of paragraph (1). 

10 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing 

11 guidelines under subparagraph (A), the Admin12 istration shall consider, with respect to relevant 

13 communities, the following: 

14 ‘‘(i) Changes in unemployment rates 

15 from previous years. 

16 ‘‘(ii) Changes in the percentages of in17 dividuals eligible to receive food stamps 

18 from previous years. 

19 ‘‘(iii) Such other considerations as the 

20 Administrator of FEMA considers appro21 priate.’’. 

22 (e) IMPROVEMENTS TO PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

23 REQUIREMENTS.—Subsection (e) of such section 34, as 

24 redesignated by subsection (d)(1) of this section, is 


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1 amended by inserting before the first sentence the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of 

4 FEMA shall establish a performance assessment sys5 tem, including quantifiable performance metrics, to 

6 evaluate the extent to which grants awarded under 

7 this section are furthering the purposes of this sec8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—’’. 

10 (f) REPORT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (f) of such sec12 tion 34, as redesignated by subsection (d)(1) of this 

13 section, is amended by striking ‘‘The authority’’ and 

14 all that follows through ‘‘Congress concerning’’ and 

15 inserting the following: ‘‘Not later than September 

16 30, 2014, the Administrator of FEMA shall submit 

17 to the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov18 ernmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 

19 on Science and Technology of the House of Rep20 resentatives a report on’’. 

21 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading 

22 for such subsection is amended by striking ‘‘SUNSET

23 AND REPORTS’’ and inserting ‘‘REPORT’’. 

24 (g) ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (i) of such sec2 tion 34, as redesignated by subsection (d)(1) of this 

3 section, is amended— 

4 (A) in the matter before paragraph (1), by 

5 striking ‘‘In this section, the term—’’ and in6 serting ‘‘In this section:’’; 

7 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

8 (i) by inserting ‘‘The term’’ before 

9 ‘‘ ‘firefighter’ has’’; and 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting 

11 a period; 

12 (C) by striking paragraph (2); and 

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

14 ‘‘(2) The terms ‘career fire department’, ‘com15 bination fire department’, and ‘volunteer fire depart16 ment’ have the meaning given such terms in section 

17 33(a).’’. 

18 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection 

19 (a)(1)(A) of such section 34 is amended by striking 

20 ‘‘career, volunteer, and combination fire depart21 ments’’ and inserting ‘‘career fire departments, com22 bination fire departments, and volunteer fire depart23 ments’’. 

24 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (j) of such sec2 tion 34, as redesignated by subsection (d)(1) of this 

3 section, is amended— 

4 (A) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

5 the end; 

6 (B) in paragraph (7), by striking the pe7 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

8 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

9 paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(8) $950,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and 

11 ‘‘(9) for each of fiscal years 2012 through 

12 2015, an amount equal to the amount authorized for 

13 the previous fiscal year increased by the percentage 

14 by which— 

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

16 United States city average) for the previous fis17 cal year, exceeds 

18 ‘‘(B) the Consumer Price Index for the fis19 cal year preceding the fiscal year described in 

20 subparagraph (A).’’. 

21 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Such sub22 section (j) is further amended— 

23 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

24 through (8) as subparagraphs (A) through (H); 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘There are’’ and inserting 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are’’; and 

4 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

6 amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) for 

7 a fiscal year, the Administrator of FEMA may use 

8 not more than 5 percent of such amounts to cover 

9 salaries and expenses and other administrative costs 

10 incurred by the Administrator of FEMA to make 

11 grants and provide assistance under this section.’’. 

12 (3) CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING.— 

13 Such subsection (j) is further amended by adding at 

14 the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(3) CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPEND16 ING.—Consistent with the requirement in subsection 

17 (a) that grants under this section be awarded on a 

18 competitive basis, none of the funds appropriated 

19 pursuant to this subsection may be used for any 

20 congressionally direct spending item (as defined in 

21 paragraph 5(a) of Rule XLIV of the Standing Rules 

22 of the Senate).’’. 

23 (i) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Such section 34 is 

24 amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), in paragraphs (1)(A) and 

2 (2), by striking ‘‘Administrator shall’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘Administrator of FEMA shall, in consultation with 

4 the Administrator,’’; and 

5 (2) by striking ‘‘Administrator’’ each place it 

6 appears, other than in subsection (a)(1)(A) and 

7 (a)(2), and inserting ‘‘Administrator of FEMA’’. 

8 (j) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 34 of such Act 

9 (15 U.S.C. 2229a) is amend by striking the section head10 ing and inserting the following: ‘‘STAFFING FOR ADE11 QUATE FIRE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE’’. 

12 SEC. 5. SUNSET AND REVIVAL. 

13 (a) SUNSET.—Section 3 and subsections (a), (c), (d), 

14 (e), (f), (g), and (h) of section 4 are repealed. 

15 (b) REVIVAL.—Section 33 and 34 of the Federal Fire 

16 Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229 and 

17 2229a), amended by sections 3 and 4 of this Act, as such 

18 provisions were in effect on the day before the date of the 

19 enactment of this Act, except as amended by subsections 

20 (b), (i), and (j) of section 4, are hereby revived. 

21 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsections (a) and (b) shall 

22 take effect on October 1, 2015. 

23 SEC. 6. REPORT. 

24 Not later than September 30, 2014, the Comptroller 

25 General of the United States shall submit to the ComVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:09 Apr 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3267.IS S3267

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1 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

2 of the Senate and the Committee on Science and Tech3 nology of the House of Representatives a report on the 

4 effect of the amendments made by this Act. Such report 

5 shall include the following: 

6 (1) An assessment of the effect of the amend7 ments made by sections 3 and 4 on the effectiveness, 

8 relative allocation, accountability, and administration 

9 of the grants awarded under sections 33 and 34 of 

10 the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 

11 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229 and 2229a) after the date of 

12 the enactment of this Act. 

13 (2) An evaluation of the extent to which the 

14 amendments made by sections 3 and 4 have enabled 

15 recipients of grants awarded under such sections 33 

16 and 34 after the date of the enactment of this Act 

17 to mitigate fire and fire-related and other hazards 

18 more effectively. 

Æ 


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