I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6461 
To assist volunteer fire companies in coping with the precipitous rise in 
fuel prices. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 10, 2008 
Mr. ALTMIRE (for himself, Mr. PLATTS, and Mr. RYAN of Ohio) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To assist volunteer fire companies in coping with the 
precipitous rise in fuel prices. 
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 ‘‘Supporting America’s 
Volunteer Emergency Services Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) According to the Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency, in 2006 there were— 
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(A) 807,150 volunteer firefighters, nearly 
73 percent of all active firefighters; and 
(B) 19,915 all-volunteer fire companies na-
tionwide, servicing 22.6 percent of the popu-
lation of the United States and 4,105 compa-
nies comprised of a majority of volunteers, serv-
icing 16.3 percent of the population of the 
United States. 
(2) These volunteer companies, especially those 
serving communities of fewer than 5,000 residents, 
rely heavily upon fund-raising efforts and other po-
tentially unreliable sources of funding for their basic 
operating expenses. 
(3) According to the Energy Information Ad-
ministration, between June 2003 and June 2008, 
the price of regular grade gasoline and diesel fuels 
rose 171 percent and 229 percent, respectively. 
(4) These rising costs represent an unavoidable 
burden, and have placed serious constraints on the 
ability of volunteer companies to respond to fire 
emergencies. 
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SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED VOLUNTEER FIRE DE-
PARTMENT. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘qualified volunteer fire depart-
ment’’ has the same meaning given that term in section 
150(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
SEC. 4. GASOLINE AND DIESEL FUEL SUBSIDY PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF BASELINE.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Federal Emergency 
Management Agency shall, for calendar year 2007, 
determine for each of the 5 Petroleum Administra-
tion for Defense Districts the average annual price 
per gallon for— 
(A) gasoline; and 
(B) diesel fuel. 
(2) BASIS FOR PRICE PER GALLON.—The aver-
age annual price per gallon determined under para-
graph (1) shall be based solely on data reported by 
the Energy Information Administration. 
(3) BASELINE.—The price per gallon deter-
mined under paragraph (1) shall serve as the base-
line fuel cost for each Petroleum Administration for 
Defense District. 
(b) PAYMENTS.— 
(1) SUBMISSION OF RECEIPTS.—At the end of 
each calendar year, each qualified volunteer fire de-
partment seeking reimbursement under this section 
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shall submit to the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency all of its receipts and bills of sales docu-
menting the amounts of gasoline and diesel fuel pur-
chased by such department during that calendar 
year. Each department shall also provide a sum total 
of the— 
(A) aggregate number of gallons of gaso-
line and diesel fuel purchased by the depart-
ment during that calendar year; and 
(B) costs of purchasing such gasoline and 
diesel fuel. 
(2) DETERMINATION OF SUBSIDY AMOUNTS.— 
The Federal Emergency Management Agency shall 
reimburse a qualified volunteer fire department for 
75 percent of the difference between— 
(A) the actual expenditures of the depart-
ment for gasoline and diesel fuel for a calendar 
year as determined under paragraph (1); and 
(B) the amount that such expenditures 
would have cost had the department determined 
such expenditures utilizing the baseline fuels 
costs determined under subsection (a). 
(3) SPECIAL RULE RELATING TO STATES SALES 
TAX.—If the State in which a qualified volunteer fire 
department is located does not charge local or State 
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