H. Res. 655
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
October 26, 2000.
Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution, the
House shall be considered to have taken from the Speaker’s
table the bill H.R. 1550 together with the Senate amendment
thereto, and to have concurred in the Senate amendment with
amendments as follows:
In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the Sen-
ate amendment, insert the following:
TITLE I—UNITED STATES FIRE
ADMINISTRATION
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Fire Administration
Authorization Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 17(g)(1) of the Federal Fire Prevention and
Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2216(g)(1)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (G);
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(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (H) and inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(I) $44,753,000 for fiscal year 2001, of which
$3,000,000 is for research activities, and $250,000
may be used for contracts or grants to non-Federal
entities for data analysis, including general fire pro-
files and special fire analyses and report projects,
and of which $6,000,000 is for anti-terrorism train-
ing, including associated curriculum development,
for fire and emergency services personnel;
‘‘(J) $47,800,000 for fiscal year 2002, of which
$3,250,000 is for research activities, and $250,000
may be used for contracts or grants to non-Federal
entities for data analysis, including general fire pro-
files and special fire analyses and report projects,
and of which $7,000,000 is for anti-terrorism train-
ing, including associated curriculum development,
for fire and emergency services personnel; and
‘‘(K) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, of which
$3,500,000 is for research activities, and $250,000
may be used for contracts or grants to non-Federal
entities for data analysis, including general fire pro-
files and special fire analyses and report projects,
and of which $8,000,000 is for anti-terrorism train-
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ing, including associated curriculum development,
for fire and emergency services personnel.’’.
None of the funds authorized for the United States Fire
Administration for fiscal year 2002 may be obligated un-
less the Administrator has verified to the Committee on
Science of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate that the obligation of funds is consistent with the
strategic plan transmitted under section 103 of this Act.
SEC. 103. STRATEGIC PLAN.
(a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than April 30, 2001,
the Administrator of the United States Fire Administra-
tion shall prepare and transmit to the Committee on
Science of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate a 5-year strategic plan of program activities for
the United States Fire Administration.
(b) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The plan required by sub-
section (a) shall include—
(1) a comprehensive mission statement covering
the major functions and operations of the United
States Fire Administration in the areas of training;
research, development, test and evaluation; new
technology and non-developmental item implementa-
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tion; safety; counterterrorism; data collection and
analysis; and public education;
(2) general goals and objectives, including those
related to outcomes, for the major functions and op-
erations of the United States Fire Administration;
(3) a description of how the goals and objec-
tives identified under paragraph (2) are to be
achieved, including operational processes, skills and
technology, and the human, capital, information, and
other resources required to meet those goals and ob-
jectives;
(4) an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses
of, opportunities for, and threats to the United
States Fire Administration;
(5) an identification of the fire-related activities
of the National Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology, the Department of Defense, and other Fed-
eral agencies, and a discussion of how those activi-
ties can be coordinated with and contribute to the
achievement of the goals and objectives identified
under paragraph (2);
(6) a description of objective, quantifiable per-
formance goals needed to define the level of perform-
ance achieved by program activities in training, re-
search, data collection and analysis, and public edu-
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cation, and how these performance goals relate to
the general goals and objectives in the strategic
plan;
(7) an identification of key factors external to
the United States Fire Administration and beyond
its control that could affect significantly the achieve-
ment of the general goals and objectives;
(8) a description of program evaluations used in
establishing or revising general goals and objectives,
with a schedule for future program evaluations;
(9) a plan for the timely distribution of infor-
mation and educational materials to State and local
firefighting services, including volunteer, career, and
combination services throughout the United States;
(10) a description of how the strategic plan pre-
pared under this section will be incorporated into the
strategic plan and the performance plans and re-
ports of the Federal Emergency Management Agen-
cy;
(11)(A) a description of the current and
planned use of the Internet for the delivery of train-
ing courses by the National Fire Academy, including
a listing of the types of courses and a description of
each course’s provisions for real time interaction be-
tween instructor and students, the number of stu-
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dents enrolled, and the geographic distribution of
students, for the most recent fiscal year;
(B) an assessment of the availability and actual
use by the National Fire Academy of Federal facili-
ties suitable for distance education applications, in-
cluding facilities with teleconferencing capabilities;
and
(C) an assessment of the benefits and problems
associated with delivery of instructional courses
using the Internet, including limitations due to net-
work bandwidth at training sites, the availability of
suitable course materials, and the effectiveness of
such courses in terms of student performance;
(12) timeline for implementing the plan; and
(13) the expected costs for implementing the
plan.
SEC. 104. RESEARCH AGENDA.
(a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 120 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator
of the United States Fire Administration, in consultation
with the Director of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, the Director of the National Institute of Stand-
ards and Technology, representatives of trade, profes-
sional, and non-profit associations, State and local fire-
fighting services, and other appropriate entities, shall pre-
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pare and transmit to the Committee on Science of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report
describing the United States Fire Administration’s re-
search agenda and including a plan for implementing that
agenda.
(b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report required by
subsection (a) shall—
(1) identify research priorities;
(2) describe how the proposed research agenda
will be coordinated and integrated with the programs
and capabilities of the National Institute of Stand-
ards and Technology, the Department of Defense,
and other Federal agencies;
(3) identify potential roles of academic, trade,
professional, and non-profit associations, and other
research institutions in achieving the research agen-
da;
(4) provide cost estimates, anticipated per-
sonnel needs, and a schedule for completing the var-
ious elements of the research agenda;
(5) describe ways to leverage resources through
partnerships, cooperative agreements, and other
means; and
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(6) discuss how the proposed research agenda
will enhance training, improve State and local fire-
fighting services, impact standards and codes, in-
crease firefighter and public safety, and advance
firefighting techniques.
(c) USE IN PREPARING STRATEGIC PLAN.—The re-
search agenda prepared under this section shall be used
in the preparation of the strategic plan required by section
103.
SEC. 105. SURPLUS AND EXCESS FEDERAL EQUIPMENT.
The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974
is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 33. SURPLUS AND EXCESS FEDERAL EQUIPMENT.
‘‘The Administrator shall make publicly available, in-
cluding through the Internet, information on procedures
for acquiring surplus and excess equipment or property
that may be useful to State and local fire, emergency, and
hazardous material handling service providers.’’.
SEC. 106. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS WITH FEDERAL FA-
CILITIES.
The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of
1974, as amended by section 105, is amended by adding
at the end the following new section:
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‘‘SEC. 34. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS WITH FEDERAL FA-
CILITIES.
‘‘The Administrator shall make publicly available, in-
cluding through the Internet, information on procedures
for establishing cooperative agreements between State and
local fire and emergency services and Federal facilities in
their region relating to the provision of fire and emergency
services.’’.
SEC. 
107. 
NEED 
FOR 
ADDITIONAL 
TRAINING 
IN
COUNTERTERRORISM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the United
States Fire Administration shall conduct an assessment
of the need for additional capabilities for Federal
counterterrorism training of emergency response per-
sonnel.
(b) CONTENTS OF ASSESSMENT.—The assessment
conducted under this section shall include—
(1) a review of the counterterrorism training
programs offered by the United States Fire Admin-
istration and other Federal agencies;
(2) an estimate of the number and types of
emergency response personnel that have, during the
period between January 1, 1994, and October 1,
1999, sought training described in paragraph (1),
but have been unable to receive that training as a
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result of the oversubscription of the training capa-
bilities; and
(3) a recommendation on the need to provide
additional Federal counterterrorism training centers,
including—
(A) an analysis of existing Federal facili-
ties that could be used as counterterrorism
training facilities; and
(B) a cost-benefit analysis of the establish-
ment of such counterterrorism training facili-
ties.
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall pre-
pare and submit to the Congress a report on the results
of the assessment conducted under this section.
SEC. 108. WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE FIRE
SAFETY RESEARCH PROGRAM.
From the funds authorized to be appropriated by the
amendments made by section 102, $1,000,000 may be ex-
pended for the Worcester Polytechnic Institute fire safety
research program.
SEC. 109. INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.
Upon the conclusion of the research under a research
grant or award of $50,000 made with funds authorized
by this title (or any amendments made by this title), the
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Administrator of the United States Fire Administration
shall make available through the Internet home page of
the Administration a brief summary of the results and im-
portance of such research grant or award. Nothing in this
section shall be construed to require or permit the release
of any information prohibited by law or regulation from
being released to the public.
SEC. 110. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS AND REPEALS.
(a) 1974 ACT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Fire Prevention
and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.)
is amended—
(A) by striking subsection (b) of section 10
(15 U.S.C. 2209) and redesignating subsection
(c) of that section as subsection (b);
(B) by striking sections 26 and 27 (15
U.S.C. 2222; 2223);
(C) by striking ‘‘(a) The’’ in section 24 (15
U.S.C. 2220) and inserting ‘‘The’’; and
(D) by striking subsection (b) of section
24.
(2) REFERENCES TO SECRETARY.—The Federal
Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C.
2201 et seq.) is amended—
(A) in section 4 (15 U.S.C. 2203)—
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(i) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semi-
colon in paragraph (7);
(ii) by striking paragraph (8); and
(iii) by redesignating paragraph (9) as
paragraph (8);
(B) by striking ‘‘Secretary’’ and inserting
‘‘Director’’—
(i) 
in 
section 
5(b) 
(15 
U.S.C.
2204(b));
(ii) each place it appears in section 7
(15 U.S.C. 2206);
(iii) the first place it appears in sec-
tion 11(c) (15 U.S.C. 2210(c));
(iv) in section 15(b)(2), (c), and (f)
(15 U.S.C. 2214(b)(2), (c), and (f));
(v) the second place it appears in sec-
tion 
15(e)(1)(A) 
(15 
U.S.C.
2214(e)(1)(A));
(vi) in section 16 (15 U.S.C. 2215);
(vii) the second place it appears in
section 19(a) (42 U.S.C. 290a(a));
(viii) both places it appears in section
20 (15 U.S.C. 2217); and
(ix) in section 21(c) (15 U.S.C.
2218(c)); and
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(C) in section 15, by striking ‘‘Secretary’s’’
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Direc-
tor’s’’.
(b) DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.—Section 12 of the
Act of February 14, 1903 (15 U.S.C. 1511) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘Census;’’ in para-
graph (5);
(2) by striking paragraph (6); and
(3) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para-
graph (6).
SEC. 111. NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY CURRICULUM REVIEW.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the United
States Fire Administration, in consultation with the
Board of Visitors and representatives of trade and profes-
sional associations, State and local firefighting services,
and other appropriate entities, shall conduct a review of
the courses of instruction available at the National Fire
Academy to ensure that they are up-to-date and com-
plement, not duplicate, courses of instruction offered else-
where. Not later than 180 days after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Administrator shall prepare and sub-
mit a report to the Committee on Science of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
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(b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report required by
subsection (a) shall—
(1) examine and assess the courses of instruc-
tion offered by the National Fire Academy;
(2) identify redundant and out-of-date courses
of instruction;
(3) examine the current and future impact of
information technology on National Fire Academy
curricula, methods of instruction, and delivery of
services; and
(4) make recommendations for updating the
curriculum, methods of instruction, and delivery of
services by the National Fire Academy considering
current and future needs, State-based curricula, ad-
vances in information technologies, and other rel-
evant factors.
SEC. 112. REPEAL OF EXCEPTION TO FIRE SAFETY RE-
QUIREMENT.
(a) REPEAL.—Section 4 of Public Law 103–195 (107
Stat. 2298) is hereby repealed.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall take ef-
fect 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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SEC. 113. NATIONAL FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS FOUNDATION
TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.
(a) PURPOSES.—Section 151302 of title 36, United
States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(1) primarily—
‘‘(A) to encourage, accept, and administer
private gifts of property for the benefit of the
National Fallen Firefighters’ Memorial and the
annual memorial service associated with the
memorial; and
‘‘(B) to, in coordination with the Federal
Government and fire services (as that term is
defined in section 4 of the Federal Fire Preven-
tion and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C.
2203)), plan, direct, and manage the memorial
service referred to in subparagraph (A);’’;
(2) by inserting ‘‘and Federal’’ in paragraph
(2) after ‘‘non-Federal’’;
(3) in paragraph (3)—
(A) by striking ‘‘State and local’’ and in-
serting ‘‘Federal, State, and local’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon;
(4) by striking ‘‘firefighters.’’ in paragraph (4)
and inserting ‘‘firefighters;’’; and
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(5) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(5) to provide for a national program to assist
families of fallen firefighters and fire departments in
dealing with line-of-duty deaths of those firefighters;
and
‘‘(6) to promote national, State, and local ini-
tiatives to increase public awareness of fire and life
safety.’’.
(b) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—Section 151303 of title
36, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking subsections (f) and (g) and in-
serting the following:
‘‘(f) STATUS AND COMPENSATION.—
‘‘(1) Appointment to the board shall not con-
stitute employment by or the holding of an office of
the United States.
‘‘(2) Members of the board shall serve without
compensation.’’; and
(2) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub-
section (g).
(c) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.—Section 151304 of
title 36, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘not more than 2’’ in subsection
(a); and
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(2) by striking ‘‘are not’’ in subsection (b)(1)
and inserting ‘‘shall not be considered’’.
(d) SUPPORT
BY
THE ADMINISTRATOR.—Section
151307(a)(1) of title 36, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘The Administrator’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘During the 10-year period beginning on the
date of enactment of the Fire Administration Au-
thorization Act of 2000, the Administrator’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘shall’’ in subparagraph (B) and
inserting ‘‘may’’.
TITLE II—EARTHQUAKE
HAZARDS REDUCTION
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Earthquake Hazards
Reduction Authorization Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 202. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGEN-
CY.—Section 12(a)(7) of the Earthquake Hazards Reduc-
tion Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7706(a)(7)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘1998,’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘1999.’’ and inserting ‘‘1999;
$19,861,000 for the fiscal year ending September
30, 2001, of which $450,000 is for National Earth-
quake Hazard Reduction Program-eligible efforts of
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an established multi-state consortium to reduce the
unacceptable threat of earthquake damages in the
New Madrid seismic region through efforts to en-
hance preparedness, response, recovery, and mitiga-
tion; $20,705,000 for the fiscal year ending Sep-
tember 30, 2002; and $21,585,000 for the fiscal
year ending September 30, 2003.’’.
(b) UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.—Section
12(b) of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977
(42 U.S.C. 7706(b)) is amended—
(1) by inserting after ‘‘operated by the Agen-
cy.’’ the following: ‘‘There are authorized to be ap-
propriated to the Secretary of the Interior for pur-
poses of carrying out, through the Director of the
United States Geological Survey, the responsibilities
that may be assigned to the Director under this Act
$48,360,000 for fiscal year 2001, of which
$3,500,000 is for the Global Seismic Network and
$100,000 is for the Scientific Earthquake Studies
Advisory Committee established under section 210 of
the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Authorization
Act of 2000; $50,415,000 for fiscal year 2002, of
which $3,600,000 is for the Global Seismic Network
and $100,000 is for the Scientific Earthquake Stud-
ies Advisory Committee; and $52,558,000 for fiscal
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year 2003, of which $3,700,000 is for the Global
Seismic Network and $100,000 is for the Scientific
Earthquake Studies Advisory Committee.’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(1);
(3) by striking ‘‘1999,’’ at the end of paragraph
(2) and inserting ‘‘1999;’’; and
(4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(3) $9,000,000 of the amount authorized to be
appropriated for fiscal year 2001;
‘‘(4) $9,250,000 of the amount authorized to be
appropriated for fiscal year 2002; and
‘‘(5) $9,500,000 of the amount authorized to be
appropriated for fiscal year 2003,’’.
(c) REAL-TIME SEISMIC HAZARD WARNING SYS-
TEM.—Section 2(a)(7) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act To au-
thorize appropriations for carrying out the Earthquake
Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 for fiscal years 1998 and
1999, and for other purposes’’ (111 Stat. 1159; 42 U.S.C.
7704 nt) is amended by striking ‘‘1999.’’ and inserting
‘‘1999; $2,600,000 for fiscal year 2001; $2,710,000 for
fiscal year 2002; and $2,825,000 for fiscal year 2003.’’.