AFG Authorization

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TITLE XXXVI-ASSISTANCE TO
FIREFIGHTERS

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Sec. 3601. Short title.
Sec. 3602. Amendments to Federal Fire Prevention and (jontrol Act of 1974.
SBc. 3603. Report on assistance to firefighters.

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SEC. 3601. SHORT TITLE.

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This title may be cited as the "Assistance to Fire-

5 fighters Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2004".
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SEC. 3602. AMENDMENTS TO FEDERAL FIRE PREVENTION

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AND CONTROL ACT OF 1974.

Section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Con-

9 trol Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229) is amended10

(1)in subsection (b)(1)(A)-

(A) by' inserting "throughout the Nation"
after "personnel"; and
(R) by striking "and" at the end;
(2) in subsection (b)(1)(R)(A) by inserting "and firefighter safety research and development" after "fire prevention"; and

(B) by striking the period and inserting ";
and";
(3) by adding at the end of subsection ( b ) ( l )
the following new subparagraph:

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"(C) provide assistance for nonaffiliated

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EMS organizations for the purpose of para-

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graph (3)(F).";

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(4) in subsection (b)(3)(F),by inserting "and

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nonaffiliated EMS organizations" after "fire depart-

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ments";

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(5) in subsection (b)(4)-

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(A) by inserting

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"AND FIREFIGHTER

TY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT"

VENTION"

SAFE-

after "PRE-

in the paragraph heading;

(B) in subparagraph (A)(ii)(i) by inserting "that are not fire departments and" after "community organizations";
(ii) by inserting "and firefighter research and development programs," after
"fire safety programs and activities,"; and
(iii) by inserting "and research to improve firefighter health and life safety"
after "fire prevention programs7';
(C) in subparagraph (B), by striking "to
children from fire" and inserting

'"0

high risk

groups from fire, as well as research programs
that demonstrate the potential to improve firefighter safety"; and

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(D) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
"

(C) GRANTLIMITATION.-A grant under

this paragraph shall not be greater than
$1,000,000 for a fiscal year.";
(6) in subsection (b)(5)(B)(A) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause
(v); and
(B) by inserting after clause (iii) the following new clause:
"(iv) OTHER

FEDERAL

SUPPORT.-A

list of other sources of Federal funding received 'by the applicant. The Director, in
coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall use such list to prevent
unnecessary duplication of g ~ a n funds.
t
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(7) in subsection (b)(6), by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following:

" (A) IN G E N E R A L . - - ~ Uto~ ~subpara~C~
graphs (B) and (C), the Director may provide
assistance under this subsection only if the applicant for such assistance agrees to match 20
percent of such assistance for any fiscal year
with an equal amoulit of non-Federal funds.

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"(B) REQUIREMENT
FOR

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NITY

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cant whose personnel-

SMALL

COMMU-

ORGANIZATIONS.-In the case of an appli-

"(i) serve jurisdictions of 50,000 or
fewer residents, the percent applied under
the matching requirement of subparagraph
(A) shall be 10 percent; and
"(ii) serve jurisdictions of 20,000 or
fewer residents, the percent applied under
the matching requirement of subparagraph
(A) shall be 5 percent.

" (C) FIREPREVENTION
SAFETY ~&~s.-There

AND FIREFIGHTER

shall be no matching

requirement for a grant described in paragraph
(4)(A)(ii).";

(8) in subsection (b)(10)(A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read
as follows:

"(A) RECIPIENT LIMITATIONS.-A grant
recipient under subsection (b)(1)(A)"(i) that serves a jurisdiction with
500,000 people or less m;97 not receive
grants in excess of $1,000,000 for any fiscal year;

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"(ii) that serves a jurisdiction with

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more than 500,000 but not more than

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1,000,000 people may not receive grants in

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excess of $1,750,000 for* any fiscal year;

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and

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"(iii) that serves a jurisdiction with

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more than 1,000,000 people may not re-

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ceive grants in excess of $2,750,000 for

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any fiscal year.

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The Director may award grants in excess of the

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limitations provided in clause (i) and (ii) if the

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Director determines that extraorclinary need for

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assistance by a jurisdiction warrants a waiver.";

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(B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as

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subparagraph (C);
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (A)
the following new subparagraph:
(

)

D1~~~1~~~10~.-Notwithstanding

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subparagraph (A), no single recipient may re-

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ceive more than the lesser of $2,750,000 or one

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half of one percent of the funds appropriated

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under this section for a single fiscal year."; and

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(D) by adding at the end the following new

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"(D) REQUIREMENTS
FOR

GRANTS FOR

S E R V I C E S . - S U ~ to
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EMERGENCY MEDICAL

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the restrictions in subparagraph (E), not less

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than 3.5 percent of the funds appropriated

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under this section for a fiscal year shall be

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awarded for purposes described in paragraph

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(3)(F).

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" (E) NONAFFILIATED
EMS

LIMITATION.-

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Not more than 2 percent of the funds appro-

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priated to provide grants under this section for

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a fiscal year shall be awarded to nonaffiliate,d

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EMS organizations.

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"(F)

~ P L I C A T I O N OF

SELECTION

CRINON-

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TERIA TO GRANT APPLICATIONS FROM

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AFFILIATED EMS

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ing applications submitted by nonaffiliated

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EMS organizations, the Director. shall consider

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the extent to which other sources of Federal

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funding are available t o provide assistance re-

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quested in such grant applications.";

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(9) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the

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ORGANIZATIONS.-Inreview-

following new paragraphs:

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"(13) ANNUALMEETING.-The Director shall

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convene an annual meeting of individuals who are

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members of national fire service organizations and

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are recbgnized for expertise in firefighting or emergency medical services provided by fire services, and
who are not employees of the Federal Government,
for the purpose of recommending criteria for awarding grants under this section for the next fiscal year
and recommending any necessary administrative
changes to the grant program.

" (14) GUIDELINES.-(A) Each year, prior to
making any grants under this section, the Director
shall publish in the Federal Register"(i) guidelines that describe the process for
applying for grants and the criteria for awarding grants; and
"(ii) an explanation of any differences between the guidelines and the recommendations
made pursuant to paragraph (13).

"(B) The criteria for awarding grants under
subsection (b)(1)(A) shall include the extent to
which the grant would enhance the daily operations
of the applicant and the impact of such a grant on
the protection of lives and property.

" (15) PEERREVIEU~.-T~~
Director shall, after
consultation with national fire service organizations,
appoint fire service personnel to condnct peer review
of applications received under paragraph (5). In

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making grants under this section, the Director shall

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consider the results of such peer review evaluations.

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"(16) APPLICABILITYO F FEDERAL ADVISORY

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COMMITTEE

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

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under paragraphs (13) and (15).

~cT.-The Federal Advisory Committee

" (17) ACCOUNTINGDETERMINATION.-Not-

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withstanding any other provision of law, rule, regu-

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lation, or guidance, for purposes of receiving assist-

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ance under this section, equipment costs shall in-

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elude, but not be limited to, all costs attributable t,o

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any design, purchase of components, assembly, manufacture, and transportation of equipment not otherwise commercially available.";

(10) by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
"(d) DEFINITIONS.--In this section-

"(I) the term 'Director' means the Director,
acting through the Administrator;

" (2) the term 'nonaffiliated EMS organization'
means a public or private nonprofit emergency medical services organization that is not affiliated with
a hospital and does not serve a geographic area in

which the Director finds that emergency medical

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services are adequately pro~cided by a fire depart-

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ment; and

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"(3) the term 'State' includes the District of

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Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.";

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and

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(11) in subsection ( e ) ( l ) , by stliking the first

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sentence and inserting "There are authorized to be
appropriated for the purposes of this section
$900,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, $950,000,000 for
fiscal year 2006, and $1,000,000,000 for each of the
fiscal years 2007 through 2009.".
SEC. 3603. REPORT ON ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS.

(a) STUDYAND'REPORT
ON ASSISTANCE
TO FIREFIGHTERS.-

(1) STuDy.-The

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Administrator of the United

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States Fire Administration, in conjunction with the

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National Fire Protection Association, shall conduct a

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study to-

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(A) define the current roles and activities

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associated with the fire services on a national,

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State, regional, and local level;

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(B) identify the equipment, staffing, and

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training required to fulfill the roles and activi-

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ties defined under subparagraph (A);

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(C) conduct an assessment to identify gaps

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between what fire departments currently pos-

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sess and what they require to meet the equip-

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ment, staffing, and training needs identified

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under subparagraph (B) on a national and

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State-by-State basis; and

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(D) measure the impact of the Assistance

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to Firefighters Grant program under section 33

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of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act

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of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229) in meeting the needs

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of the fire services identified in the report sub-

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mitted to Congress under section 1701(b) of

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the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Author-

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ization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 and filling the

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gaps identified under subparagraph (C).

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(2) REPORT.-Not later than 18 months after

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the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator

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shall submit to the Committee on Commerce,

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Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the

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Committee on Science of the House of Representa-

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tives a report on the findings of the study described

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in paragraph (1).

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(b) AUTHORIZATION
OF ~PPROPRIATIONS.-T~~~~

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1 Fire Administration $300,000 for fiscal year 2005 to

2 carry out the study required by subsection (a).
And the Senate agree to the same.

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