I 
★
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3791 
To amend sections 33 and 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control 
Act of 1974, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 13, 2009 
Mr. MITCHELL (for himself, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. HOYER, Mr. GORDON of 
Tennessee, Mr. WU, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. GRAYSON, Mr. TONKO, Mr. 
ROTHMAN of New Jersey, Mr. WILSON of Ohio, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. 
CARNAHAN, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. PETERS, Mr. HOLDEN, Ms. SHEA-POR-
TER, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. HIGGINS, Mrs. 
HALVORSON, Mr. ROSS, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. MCINTYRE, 
Mr. DELAHUNT, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. KAGEN, Mr. THOMPSON of Mis-
sissippi, Ms. RICHARDSON, Ms. SUTTON, Mr. CUELLAR, Mrs. KIRK-
PATRICK of Arizona, Ms. CLARKE, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, 
Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. 
JACKSON-LEE of Texas, and Mr. DOYLE) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Science and Technology 
A BILL 
To amend sections 33 and 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention 
and Control Act of 1974, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fire Grants Reauthor-
ization Act of 2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF FEDERAL FIRE PREVENTION AND 
CONTROL ACT OF 1974. 
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 
this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 
of an amendment to, or a repeal of, a section or other 
provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to 
a section or other provision of the Federal Fire Prevention 
and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.). 
SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT PROGRAM 
AMENDMENTS. 
(a) GRANT RECIPIENTS.—Section 33(b)(1) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘State, in 
consultation’’ and inserting ‘‘State or State fire 
training academies, in consultation’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘non-
affiliated EMS’’ and inserting ‘‘volunteer, non-fire 
service EMS and rescue’’. 
(b) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Section 33(b)(3) is 
amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘in fire-
fighting,’’ and by inserting ‘‘in firefighting, emer-
gency medical services and other’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘inspec-
tors’’ and inserting ‘‘and building inspectors em-
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ployed by a fire department or serving as a volunteer 
building inspector with a fire department’’; 
(3) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘non-
affiliated EMS’’ and inserting ‘‘volunteer, non-fire 
service EMS and rescue’’; 
(4) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘for fight-
ing fires with foam in remote areas without access 
to water, and equipment’’; and 
(5) in subparagraph (K), by striking ‘‘codes’’ 
and inserting ‘‘codes and standards’’. 
(c) FIRE PREVENTION AND FIREFIGHTER SAFETY 
PROGRAMS.—Section 33(b)(4) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘5 per-
cent’’ and inserting ‘‘10 percent’’; and 
(2) 
in 
subparagraph 
(C), 
by 
striking 
‘‘$1,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,500,000’’. 
(d) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—Section 33(b)(6) is 
amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘20 per-
cent’’ and inserting ‘‘10 percent’’; 
(2) by amending subparagraph B to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT FOR SMALL COMMU-
NITY ORGANIZATIONS.—In the case of an appli-
cant whose personnel serve jurisdictions of 
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20,000 or fewer residents, the percent applied 
under the matching requirement of subpara-
graph (A) shall be 5 percent.’’; and 
(3) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘(A)(ii)’’. 
(e) MAINTENANCE
OF
EXPENDITURES.—Section 
33(b)(7) is amended by striking ‘‘above the’’ and inserting 
‘‘above 80 percent of the’’. 
(f) VARIETY OF FIRE DEPARTMENT GRANT RECIPI-
ENTS.—Section 33(b)(9) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(9) VARIETY
OF
FIRE
DEPARTMENT
GRANT 
RECIPIENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made 
available under subsection (e), the Director 
shall ensure that grants under paragraph 
(1)(A) for a fiscal year are allocated, to the ex-
tent that there are eligible applicants to carry 
out the activities under paragraph (3), as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(i) 25 percent shall be made avail-
able to career fire departments; 
‘‘(ii) 25 percent shall be made avail-
able to volunteer fire departments; and 
‘‘(iii) 25 percent shall be made avail-
able to combination fire departments. 
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‘‘(B) PRIORITY
FOR
HIGH
POPULATION 
AND INCIDENT RESPONSE.—In awarding grants 
under paragraph (1)(A), the Director shall give 
priority within each category of applicants 
under subparagraph (A) to an applicant that is 
serving an area with high population and with 
a high number of incidents requiring a re-
sponse. 
‘‘(C) REMAINDER.—Of the amounts made 
available under subsection (e) that are not allo-
cated for use and awarded under subparagraph 
(A) or designated for use under any other pro-
vision of this section, the Director shall provide 
for an open competition for grants among ca-
reer fire departments, volunteer fire depart-
ments, and combination fire departments to 
carry out the activities under paragraph (3).’’. 
(g) RECIPIENT LIMITATIONS.—Section 33(b)(10) is 
amended— 
(1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(A) RECIPIENT
LIMITATIONS.—A grant 
recipient under paragraph (1)(A)— 
‘‘(i) that serves a jurisdiction with 
100,000 people or less may not receive 
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grants in excess of $1,000,000 for any fis-
cal year; 
‘‘(ii) that serves a jurisdiction with 
more than 100,000 people but less than 
500,000 people may not receive grants in 
excess of $2,000,000 for any fiscal year; 
‘‘(iii) that serves a jurisdiction with 
500,000 people or more but less than 
1,000,000 people may not receive grants in 
excess of $3,000,000 for any fiscal year; 
‘‘(iv) that serves a jurisdiction with 
1,000,000 people or more but less than 
2,500,000 people may not receive grants in 
excess of $6,000,000 for any fiscal year; 
and 
‘‘(v) that serves a jurisdiction with 
2,500,000 people or more may not receive 
grants in excess of $9,000,000 for any fis-
cal year. 
The Director may award grants in excess of the 
limitations provided in clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and 
(iv) if the Director determines that extraor-
dinary need for assistance by a jurisdiction war-
rants a waiver.’’; 
(2) by striking subparagraph (B); 
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(3) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub-
paragraph (B); 
(4) by inserting after subparagraph (B), as re-
designated by paragraph (3) of this Act, the fol-
lowing new subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) STATE FIRE TRAINING ACADEMIES.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that 
there are eligible applicants and in accord-
ance with clause (ii), the Director shall 
award not more than 3 percent of the 
amounts made available under subsection 
(e) for grants under this subsection for 
State fire training academies. 
‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—The Director shall 
not make a grant to a State fire training 
academy in excess of $1,000,000 and shall 
ensure that any grant awarded to a State 
fire training academy shall be used for the 
purposes described in paragraphs 3(G), 
3(H), and 3(I).’’; 
(5) in subparagraph (E)— 
(A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘NON-
AFFILIATED EMS’’ and inserting ‘‘VOLUNTEER, 
NON-FIRE SERVICE EMS AND RESCUE ORGANI-
ZATIONS’’; and 
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(B) in the text, by striking ‘‘nonaffiliated 
EMS’’ and inserting ‘‘volunteer, non-fire service 
EMS and rescue’’; 
(6) in subparagraph (F)— 
(A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘NON-
AFFILIATED EMS’’ and inserting ‘‘VOLUNTEER, 
NON-FIRE SERVICE EMS AND RESCUE’’; and 
(B) in the text, by striking ‘‘nonaffiliated 
EMS’’ and inserting ‘‘volunteer, non-fire service 
EMS and rescue’’; and 
(7) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(G) CONSENSUS STANDARDS.—Any grant 
amounts used to obtain training under this sec-
tion shall be limited to training that complies 
with applicable national voluntary consensus 
standards (if applicable national voluntary con-
sensus standards have been established).’’. 
(h) 
ECONOMIC
HARDSHIP
WAIVER.—Section 
33(b)(11) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(11) ECONOMIC HARDSHIP WAIVER.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—In exceptional cir-
cumstances, the Director may waive or reduce 
the matching requirement under paragraph (6) 
and the maintenance of expenditures require-
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ment under paragraph (7) for applicants facing 
demonstrated economic hardship. 
‘‘(B) CRITERIA DEVELOPMENT.—The cri-
teria under which the Director may waive or re-
duce such requirements shall be developed in 
consultation with individuals who are— 
‘‘(i) recognized for expertise in fire-
fighting, emergency medical services pro-
vided by fire services, or the economic af-
fairs of State and local governments; and 
‘‘(ii) members of national fire service 
organizations or national organizations 
representing the interests of State and 
local governments. 
‘‘(C) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Criteria de-
veloped under subparagraph (B) shall be made 
publicly available.’’. 
(i) GUIDELINES.—Section 33(b)(14)(A) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 
semicolon; 
(2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the 
end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(iii) the criteria developed under 
paragraph (11) which the Director will use 
to evaluate applicants for waivers from 
program requirements.’’. 
(j) DEFINITIONS.—Section 33(d) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 
the semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting a semicolon; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) the term ‘career fire department’ means a 
firefighting department that has an all professional 
force of firefighting personnel; 
‘‘(5) the term ‘combination fire department’ 
means a firefighting department that has a com-
bined force of professional and volunteer firefighting 
personnel; and 
‘‘(6) the term ‘volunteer fire department’ means 
a firefighting department that has an all volunteer 
force of firefighting personnel.’’. 
(k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 
33(e) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated for the purposes of this section 
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