Firefighter Staffing and Support Act
Bill: S.3592 | Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard (I-VT)
Policy area: Emergency Management

Summary:
Firefighter Staffing and Support Act
This bill provides additional funding for firefighter staffing and safety grants.
Specifically, the bill increases funding levels for FY2023 and sets a formula for funding for FY2024-FY2028 under the Assistance to Firefighters Grants and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grants programs, including for technical assistance.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Fire Administration must submit to Congress and make publicly available reports on (1) plans to improve the grant application process to ease access to such grant funds; and (2) the challenges specific to rural and volunteer fire departments, including an action plan to address such challenges.
The bill also provides protections for volunteer firefighters. An employer may not terminate, demote, or discriminate against a volunteer firefighter for providing emergency services as part of a response to an emergency or major disaster.

To provide additional funding for firefighter staffing and safety 
                    grants, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Firefighter Staffing and Support 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FIREFIGHTER SAFETY GRANTS.

    Section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 
(15 U.S.C. 2229) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d), by striking paragraph (4);
            (2) in subsection (q)(1)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 
                inserting ``, and there is appropriated,'' after 
                ``appropriated'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (C) in subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 
                        striking ``2023'' and inserting ``2022''; and
                            (ii) in clause (ii), by striking the period 
                        at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) $913,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; and
                    ``(D) for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028, 
                an amount equal to the amount authorized for the 
                previous fiscal year increased by the percentage by 
                which--
                            ``(i) the Consumer Price Index (all items, 
                        United States city average) for the previous 
                        fiscal year, exceeds
                            ``(ii) the Consumer Price Index for the 
                        fiscal year preceding the fiscal year described 
                        in clause (i).''; and
            (3) by striking subsection (r).

SEC. 3. SAFER GRANTS.

    Section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 
(15 U.S.C. 2229a) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (j)(1)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 
                inserting ``, and there is appropriated,'' after 
                ``appropriated'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (H), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (C) in subparagraph (I)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 
                        striking ``2023'' and inserting ``2022''; and
                            (ii) in clause (ii), by striking the period 
                        at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(J) $913,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; and
                    ``(K) for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028, 
                an amount equal to the amount authorized for the 
                previous fiscal year increased by the percentage by 
                which--
                            ``(i) the Consumer Price Index (all items, 
                        United States city average) for the previous 
                        fiscal year, exceeds
                            ``(ii) the Consumer Price Index for the 
                        fiscal year preceding the fiscal year described 
                        in clause (i).''; and
            (2) by striking subsection (k).

SEC. 4. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

    The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2201 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 38. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

    ``In addition to amounts made available under sections 33(q)(2) and 
34(j)(2), there is authorized to be appropriated, and there is 
appropriated, to provide technical assistance to qualified entities 
described in sections 33(c)(1) and 34(a) to prepare and submit an 
application for a grant under section 33(e) or 34(b)--
            ``(1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; and
            ``(2) for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028, an amount 
        equal to the amount authorized for the previous fiscal year 
        increased by the percentage by which--
                    ``(A) the Consumer Price Index (all items, United 
                States city average) for the previous fiscal year, 
                exceeds
                    ``(B) the Consumer Price Index for the fiscal year 
                preceding the fiscal year described in clause (i).''.

SEC. 5. REPORTS FROM FEMA AND UNITED STATES FIRE ADMINISTRATION.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the 
Administrator of the United States Fire Administration shall submit to 
Congress and make publicly available--
            (1) a report on plans to improve the application process 
        for grants under sections 33 and 34 of the Federal Fire 
        Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229, 2229a) to 
        ease access to those grant funds; and
            (2) a report on the challenges specific to rural and 
        volunteer fire departments, as defined in section 33 of the 
        Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 
        2229), which shall include an action plan to address these 
        challenges through the grants described in paragraph (1) and 
        other administrative action.

SEC. 6. PROTECTIONS FOR VOLUNTEERS FROM EMPLOYER DISCRIMINATION.

    The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2201 
et seq.), as amended by section 4 of this Act, is amended by adding at 
the end the following:

``SEC. 39. VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER AND EMS PERSONNEL JOB PROTECTION.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Emergency; major disaster.--The terms `emergency' and 
        `major disaster' have the meanings given those terms in section 
        102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
        Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).
            ``(2) Qualified volunteer fire department.--The term 
        `qualified volunteer fire department' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 150(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986.
            ``(3) Volunteer emergency medical services.--The term 
        `volunteer emergency medical services' means emergency medical 
        services performed on a voluntary basis for a fire department 
        or other emergency organization.
            ``(4) Volunteer firefighter.--The term `volunteer 
        firefighter' means an individual who is a member in good 
        standing of a qualified volunteer fire department.
    ``(b) Termination of Employment of Volunteer Firefighters and 
Emergency Medical Personnel Prohibited.--
            ``(1) Termination prohibited.--No employee may be 
        terminated, demoted, or in any other manner discriminated 
        against in the terms and conditions of employment because such 
        employee is absent from or late to the employee's employment 
        for the purpose of serving as a volunteer firefighter or 
        providing volunteer emergency medical services as part of a 
        response to an emergency or major disaster.
            ``(2) Deployment.--The prohibition in paragraph (1) shall 
        apply to an employee serving as a volunteer firefighter or 
        providing volunteer emergency medical services if such 
        employee--
                    ``(A) is specifically deployed to respond to the 
                emergency or major disaster in accordance with a 
                coordinated national deployment system such as the 
                Emergency Management Assistance Compact or a pre-
                existing mutual aid agreement; or
                    ``(B) is a volunteer firefighter who--
                            ``(i) is a member of a qualified volunteer 
                        fire department that is located in the State in 
                        which the emergency or major disaster occurred;
                            ``(ii) is a member of a qualified fire 
                        department that has a mutual aid agreement with 
                        a community affected by such emergency or major 
                        disaster; and
                            ``(iii) has been deployed by the emergency 
                        management agency of such State to respond to 
                        such emergency or major disaster.
            ``(3) Limitations.--The prohibition in paragraph (1) shall 
        not apply to an employee who--
                    ``(A) is absent from the employee's employment for 
                the purpose described in paragraph (1) for more than 14 
                days per calendar year;
                    ``(B) responds to the emergency or major disaster 
                without being officially deployed as described in 
                paragraph (2); or
                    ``(C) fails to provide the written verification 
                described in paragraph (5) within a reasonable period 
                of time.
            ``(4) Withholding of pay.--An employer may reduce an 
        employee's regular pay for any time that the employee is absent 
        from the employee's employment for the purpose described in 
        paragraph (1).
            ``(5) Verification.--An employer may require an employee to 
        provide a written verification from the official of the Federal 
        Emergency Management Agency supervising the Federal response to 
        the emergency or major disaster or a local or State official 
        managing the local or State response to the emergency or major 
        disaster that states--
                    ``(A) the employee responded to the emergency or 
                major disaster in an official capacity; and
                    ``(B) the schedule and dates of the employee's 
                participation in such response.
            ``(6) Reasonable notice required.--An employee who may be 
        absent from or late to the employee's employment for the 
        purpose described in paragraph (1) shall--
                    ``(A) make a reasonable effort to notify the 
                employee's employer of such absence; and
                    ``(B) continue to provide reasonable notifications 
                over the course of such absence.
    ``(c) Right of Action.--
            ``(1) Right of action.--An individual who has been 
        terminated, demoted, or in any other manner discriminated 
        against in the terms and conditions of employment in violation 
        of the prohibition described in subsection (b) may bring, in a 
        district court of the United States of appropriate 
        jurisdiction, a civil action against the employer of the 
        individual seeking--
                    ``(A) reinstatement of the individual's former 
                employment;
                    ``(B) payment of back wages;
                    ``(C) reinstatement of fringe benefits; and
                    ``(D) if the employment granted seniority rights, 
                reinstatement of seniority rights.
            ``(2) Limitation.--The individual shall commence a civil 
        action under this subsection not later than 1 year after the 
        date of the violation of the prohibition described in 
        subsection (b).
    ``(d) Enforcement.--The Administrator of FEMA, in coordination with 
the Secretary of Labor, shall have the authority to issue rules to 
enforce this section.''.
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