15 U.S.C. 2229a

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TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE

Subsec. (b)(12). Pub. L. 108–7 added par. (12).
Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 108–169, § 205(c)(2), inserted at
end ‘‘Of the amounts authorized in this paragraph,
$3,000,000 shall be made available each year through fiscal year 2008 for foam firefighting equipment.’’
Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 108–169, § 205(a)(2), struck out
‘‘operate the office established under subsection (b)(2)
of this section and’’ before ‘‘make grants and provide
assistance under this section.’’
2001—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 107–107, § 1061(b), (c), substituted ‘‘the grant funds for one or more of the following purposes:’’ for ‘‘the grant funds—’’ in introductory
provisions, capitalized the initial letter of the first
word of each of subpars. (A) to (N), substituted a period
for the semicolon at end of each of subpars. (A) to (L)
and a period for ‘‘; or’’ at end of subpar. (M), inserted
‘‘(including response to a terrorism incident or use of a
weapon of mass destruction)’’ after ‘‘emergency response’’ in subpar. (B), substituted ‘‘, monitoring, and
response to a terrorism incident or use of a weapon of
mass destruction’’ for ‘‘and monitoring’’ in subpar. (H),
and inserted ‘‘, including protective equipment to respond to a terrorism incident or the use of a weapon of
mass destruction’’ after ‘‘equipment for firefighting
personnel’’ in subpar. (I).
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 107–107, § 1061(a), reenacted heading without change and amended text generally. Prior
to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of this section
amounts as follows:
‘‘(1) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.
‘‘(2) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.’’
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS
For transfer of all functions, personnel, assets, components, authorities, grant programs, and liabilities of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including
the functions of the Under Secretary for Federal Emergency Management relating thereto, to the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, see section 315(a)(1)
of Title 6, Domestic Security.
For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including the functions of the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency relating thereto,
to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see former section 313(1) and
sections 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set
out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.

§ 2229a. Staffing for adequate fire and emergency
response
(a) Expanded authority to make grants
(1) Hiring grants
(A) The Administrator of FEMA shall make
grants directly to career fire departments,
combination fire departments, and volunteer
fire departments, in consultation with the
chief executive of the State in which the applicant is located, for the purpose of increasing
the number of firefighters to help communities meet industry minimum standards and
attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate
protection from fire and fire-related hazards,
and to fulfill traditional missions of fire departments that antedate the creation of the
Department of Homeland Security.
(B) Grants made under this paragraph shall
be for 3 years and be used for programs to hire
new, additional firefighters.
(C) In awarding grants under this subsection,
the Administrator of FEMA may give preferential consideration to applications that in-

§ 2229a

volve a non-Federal contribution exceeding
the minimums under subparagraph (E).
(D) The Administrator of FEMA may provide technical assistance to States, units of
local government, Indian tribal governments,
and to other public entities, in furtherance of
the purposes of this section.
(E) The portion of the costs of hiring firefighters provided by a grant under this paragraph may not exceed—
(i) 75 percent in the first year of the grant;
(ii) 75 percent in the second year of the
grant; and
(iii) 35 percent in the third year of the
grant.
(F) Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, any firefighter hired with funds provided
under this subsection shall not be discriminated against for, or be prohibited from, engaging in volunteer activities in another jurisdiction during off-duty hours.
(G) All grants made pursuant to this subsection shall be awarded on a competitive
basis through a neutral peer review process.
(H) At the beginning of the fiscal year, the
Administrator of FEMA shall set aside 10 percent of the funds appropriated for carrying out
this paragraph for departments with majority
volunteer or all volunteer personnel. After
awards have been made, if less than 10 percent
of the funds appropriated for carrying out this
paragraph are not awarded to departments
with majority volunteer or all volunteer personnel, the Administrator of FEMA shall
transfer from funds appropriated for carrying
out this paragraph to funds available for carrying out paragraph (2) an amount equal to
the difference between the amount that is provided to such fire departments and 10 percent.
(2) Recruitment and retention grants
In addition to any amounts transferred
under paragraph (1)(H), the Administrator of
FEMA shall direct at least 10 percent of the
total amount of funds appropriated pursuant
to this section annually to a competitive
grant program for the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters who are involved
with or trained in the operations of firefighting and emergency response. Eligible entities
shall include volunteer or combination fire departments, and national, State, local, or tribal
organizations that represent the interests of
volunteer firefighters.
(b) Applications
(1) No grant may be made under this section
unless an application has been submitted to, and
approved by, the Administrator of FEMA.
(2) An application for a grant under this section shall be submitted in such form, and contain such information, as the Administrator of
FEMA may prescribe.
(3) At a minimum, each application for a grant
under this section shall—
(A) explain the applicant’s inability to address the need without Federal assistance;
(B) in the case of a grant under subsection
(a)(1) of this section, explain how the applicant plans to meet the requirements of subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii) and (F) of this section;

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TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE

(C) specify long-term plans for retaining
firefighters following the conclusion of Federal support provided under this section; and
(D) provide assurances that the applicant
will, to the extent practicable, seek, recruit,
and hire members of racial and ethnic minority groups and women in order to increase
their ranks within firefighting.
(c) Limitation on use of funds
(1) Funds made available under this section to
fire departments for salaries and benefits to hire
new, additional firefighters shall not be used to
supplant State or local funds, or, in the case of
Indian tribal governments, funds supplied by the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, but shall be used to increase the amount of funds that would, in the
absence of Federal funds received under this section, be made available from State or local
sources, or in the case of Indian tribal governments, from funds supplied by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
(2) No grant shall be awarded pursuant to this
section to a municipality or other recipient
whose annual budget at the time of the application for fire-related programs and emergency response has been reduced below 80 percent of the
average funding level in the 3 years prior to November 24, 2003.
(3) Funds appropriated by the Congress for the
activities of any agency of an Indian tribal government or the Bureau of Indian Affairs performing firefighting functions on any Indian
lands may be used to provide the non-Federal
share of the cost of programs or projects funded
under this section.
(4) The amount of funding provided under this
section to a recipient fire department for hiring
a firefighter in any fiscal year may not exceed—
(A) in the first year of the grant, 75 percent
of the usual annual cost of a first-year firefighter in that department at the time the
grant application was submitted;
(B) in the second year of the grant, 75 percent of the usual annual cost of a first-year
firefighter in that department at the time the
grant application was submitted; and
(C) in the third year of the grant, 35 percent
of the usual annual cost of a first-year firefighter in that department at the time the
grant application was submitted.
(d) Waivers
(1) In general
In a case of demonstrated economic hardship, the Administrator of FEMA may—
(A) waive the requirements of subsection
(c)(1); or
(B) waive or reduce the requirements in
subsection (a)(1)(E) or subsection (c)(2).
(2) Guidelines
(A) In general
The Administrator of FEMA shall establish and publish guidelines for determining
what constitutes economic hardship for purposes of paragraph (1).
(B) Consultation
In developing guidelines under subparagraph (A), the Administrator of FEMA shall
consult with individuals who are—

Page 1614

(i) recognized for expertise in firefighting, emergency medical services provided
by fire services, or the economic affairs 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) Considerations
In developing guidelines under subparagraph (A), the Administrator of FEMA shall
consider, with respect to relevant communities, the following:
(i) Changes in rates of unemployment
from previous years.
(ii) Whether the rates of unemployment
of the relevant communities are currently
and have consistently exceeded the annual
national average rates of unemployment.
(iii) Changes in percentages of individuals eligible to receive food stamps from
previous years.
(iv) Such other factors as the Administrator of FEMA considers appropriate.
(e) Performance evaluation
(1) In general
The Administrator of FEMA shall establish
a performance assessment system, including
quantifiable performance metrics, to evaluate
the extent to which grants awarded under this
section are furthering the purposes of this section.
(2) Submittal of information
The Administrator of FEMA may require a
grant recipient to submit any information the
Administrator of FEMA considers reasonably
necessary to evaluate the program.
(f) Report
Not later than September 30, 2014, the Administrator of FEMA shall submit to the Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Science and Technology and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House
of Representatives a report on the experience
with, and effectiveness of, such grants in meeting the objectives of this section. The report
may include any recommendations the Administrator of FEMA may have for amendments to
this section and related provisions of law.
(g) Revocation or suspension of funding
If the Administrator of FEMA determines that
a grant recipient under this section is not in
substantial compliance with the terms and requirements of an approved grant application
submitted under this section, the Administrator
of FEMA may revoke or suspend funding of that
grant, in whole or in part.
(h) Access to documents
(1) The Administrator of FEMA shall have access for the purpose of audit and examination to
any pertinent books, documents, papers, or
records of a grant recipient under this section
and to the pertinent books, documents, papers,
or records of State and local governments, persons, businesses, and other entities that are involved in programs, projects, or activities for
which assistance is provided under this section.

Page 1615

(2) Paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to
audits and examinations conducted by the
Comptroller General of the United States or by
an authorized representative of the Comptroller
General.
(i) Definitions
In this section:
(1) The term ‘‘firefighter’’ has the meaning
given the term ‘‘employee in fire protection
activities’’ under section 203(y) of title 29.1
(2) The terms ‘‘Administrator of FEMA’’,
‘‘career fire department’’, ‘‘combination fire
department’’, and ‘‘volunteer fire department’’
have the meanings given such terms in section
2229(a) of this title.
(j) Authorization of appropriations
(1) In general
There are authorized to be appropriated for
the purposes of carrying out this section—
(A) $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;
(B) $1,030,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;
(C) $1,061,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;
(D) $1,093,000,000 for fiscal year 2007;
(E) $1,126,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
(F) $1,159,000,000 for fiscal year 2009;
(G) $1,194,000,000 for fiscal year 2010;
(H) $750,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; and
(I) for each of fiscal years 2014 through
2017, 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 subparagraph (A).
(2) Administrative expenses
Of the amounts appropriated pursuant to
paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the Administrator of FEMA may use not more than 5 percent of such amounts to cover salaries and expenses and other administrative costs incurred
by the Administrator of FEMA to make grants
and provide assistance under this section.
(3) Congressionally directed spending
Consistent with the requirement in subsection (a) that grants under this section be
awarded on a competitive basis, none of the
funds appropriated pursuant to this subsection
may be used for any congressionally direct
spending item (as defined under the rules of
the Senate and the House of Representatives).
(k) Sunset of authorities
The authority to award assistance and grants
under this section shall expire on the date that
is 5 years after January 2, 2013.
(Pub. L. 93–498, § 34, as added Pub. L. 108–136, div.
A, title X, § 1057, Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1616;
amended Pub. L. 112–239, div. A, title XVIII,
§ 1804, Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 2111; Pub. L. 113–66,
div. A, title X, § 1091(b)(9), Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat.
876.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
Section 203(y) of title 29, referred to in subsec. (i)(1),
was in the original ‘‘section 3(y) of the Fair Labor
1 See

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References in Text note below.

Standards Act’’ and has been translated as reading
‘‘section 3(y) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938’’
to reflect the probable intent of Congress.
PRIOR PROVISIONS
A prior section 34 of Pub. L. 93–498 was renumbered
section 36 and is classified to section 2231 of this title.
AMENDMENTS
2013—Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(j), substituted ‘‘Staffing
for adequate fire and emergency response’’ for ‘‘Expansion of pre-September 11, 2001, fire grant program’’ in
section catchline.
Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(i), as amended by Pub. L. 113–66,
§ 1091(b)(9)(B), substituted ‘‘Administrator of FEMA’’
for ‘‘Administrator’’ wherever appearing, except in
those places in which ‘‘Administrator of FEMA’’ already appeared.
Subsec. (a)(1)(A). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(g)(2), substituted ‘‘career fire departments, combination fire departments, and volunteer fire departments’’ for ‘‘career, volunteer, and combination fire departments’’.
Subsec. (a)(1)(B). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(a)(1), amended
subpar. (B) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (B)
read as follows:
‘‘(B)(i) Grants made under this paragraph shall be for
4 years and be used for programs to hire new, additional firefighters.
‘‘(ii) Grantees are required to commit to retaining for
at least 1 year beyond the termination of their grants
those firefighters hired under this paragraph.’’
Subsec. (a)(1)(E). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(a)(2), amended
subpar. (E) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (E)
read as follows: ‘‘The portion of the costs of hiring firefighters provided by a grant under this paragraph may
not exceed—
‘‘(i) 90 percent in the first year of the grant;
‘‘(ii) 80 percent in the second year of the grant;
‘‘(iii) 50 percent in the third year of the grant; and
‘‘(iv) 30 percent in the fourth year of the grant.’’
Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(b), substituted
‘‘national, State, local, or tribal organizations’’ for
‘‘organizations on a local or statewide basis’’.
Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(c), amended par.
(4) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (4) read as follows:
‘‘(4)(A) Total funding provided under this section over
4 years for hiring a firefighter may not exceed $100,000.
‘‘(B) The $100,000 cap shall be adjusted annually for
inflation beginning in fiscal year 2005.’’
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(d)(2), added subsec.
(d). Former subsec. (d) redesignated (e).
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(e), added par. (1) and
designated existing provisions as par. (2) and inserted
heading.
Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(d)(1), redesignated subsec. (d) as
(e). Former subsec. (e) redesignated (f).
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(f), substituted ‘‘Report’’ for ‘‘Sunset and reports’’ in heading and ‘‘Not
later than September 30, 2014, the Administrator of
FEMA shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the
Committee on Science and Technology and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the
House of Representatives a report on’’ for ‘‘The authority under this section to make grants shall lapse at the
conclusion of 10 years from November 24, 2003. Not later
than 6 years after November 24, 2003, the Administrator
shall submit a report to Congress concerning’’ in text.
Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(d)(1), redesignated subsec. (e) as
(f). Former subsec. (f) redesignated (g).
Subsecs. (g), (h). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(d)(1), redesignated subsecs. (f) and (g) as (g) and (h), respectively.
Former subsec. (h) redesignated (i).
Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(g)(1)(A), substituted
‘‘In this section:’’ for ‘‘In this section, the term—’’ in
introductory provisions.
Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(d)(1), redesignated subsec. (h) as
(i). Former subsec. (i) redesignated (j).

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Subsec. (i)(1). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(g)(1)(B), inserted
‘‘The term’’ before ‘‘ ‘firefighter’ has’’ and substituted
period for ‘‘; and’’.
Subsec. (i)(2). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(g)(1)(C), (D), added
par. (2) and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: ‘‘ ‘Indian tribe’ means a tribe, band, pueblo, nation, or other organized group or community of Indians, including an Alaska Native village (as defined in
or established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)), that is recognized as
eligible for the special programs and services provided
by the United States to Indians because of their status
as Indians.’’
Subsec. (j). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(h)(2), (3), designated
existing provisions as par. (1), inserted heading, redesignated former pars. (1) to (9) as subpars. (A) to (I), respectively, of par. (1), redesignated subpars. (A) and (B)
of former par. (9) as cls. (i) and (ii) of subpar. (I), and
added pars. (2) and (3).
Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(d)(1), redesignated subsec. (i) as
(j).
Subsec. (j)(8), (9). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(h)(1), as
amended by Pub. L. 113–66, § 1091(b)(9)(A), added pars. (8)
and (9).
Subsec. (k). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1804(k), added subsec.
(k).
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2013 AMENDMENT
Pub. L. 113–66, div. A, title X, § 1091(b), Dec. 26, 2013,
127 Stat. 876, provided in part that the amendment
made by section 1091(b)(9) is effective as of Jan. 2, 2013,
and as if included in Pub. L. 112–239 as enacted.

§ 2230. Surplus and excess Federal equipment
The Administrator shall make publicly available, including 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.
(Pub. L. 93–498, § 35, formerly § 33, as added Pub.
L. 106–503, title I, § 105, Nov. 13, 2000, 114 Stat.
2301; renumbered § 35, Pub. L. 108–136, div. A,
title X, § 1057, Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1616.)
§ 2231. Cooperative agreements with Federal facilities
The Administrator shall make publicly available, including 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.
(Pub. L. 93–498, § 36, formerly § 34, as added Pub.
L. 106–503, title I, § 106, Nov. 13, 2000, 114 Stat.
2301; renumbered § 36, Pub. L. 108–136, div. A,
title X, § 1057, Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1616.)
§ 2232. Burn research
(a) Office
The Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency shall establish an office in
the Agency to establish specific criteria of grant
recipients and to administer grants under this
section.
(b) Safety organization grants
The Administrator may make grants, on a
competitive basis, to safety organizations that
have experience in conducting burn safety programs for the purpose of assisting those organi-

Page 1616

zations in conducting burn prevention programs
or augmenting existing burn prevention programs.
(c) Hospital grants
The Administrator may make grants, on a
competitive basis, to hospitals that serve as regional burn centers to conduct acute burn care
research.
(d) Other grants
The Administrator may make grants, on a
competitive basis, to governmental and nongovernmental entities to provide after-burn
treatment and counseling to individuals that
are burn victims.
(e) Report
(1) In general
The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall submit a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation of the Senate and the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives on the results of the grants provided under this section.
(2) Content
The report shall contain the following:
(A) A list of the organizations, hospitals,
or other entities to which the grants were
provided and the purpose for which those entities were provided grants.
(B) Efforts taken to ensure that potential
grant applicants are provided with information necessary to develop an effective application.
(C) The Administrator’s assessment regarding the appropriate level of funding that
should be provided annually through the
grant program.
(D) The Administrator’s assessment regarding the appropriate purposes for such
grants.
(E) Any other information the Administrator determines necessary.
(3) Submission date
The report shall be submitted not later than
February 1, 2002.
(f) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated for
the purposes of this section amounts as follows:
(1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.
(2) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.
(Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title XVII, § 1703],
Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–364; Pub. L.
109–295, title VI, § 612(c), Oct. 4, 2006, 120 Stat.
1410.)
CODIFICATION
Section was enacted as part of the Floyd D. Spence
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2001, and not as part of the Federal Fire Prevention and
Control Act of 1974 which comprises this chapter.
CHANGE OF NAME
‘‘Administrator’’ substituted for ‘‘Director’’ and ‘‘Administrator’s’’ substituted for ‘‘Director’s’’ on authority of section 612(c) of Pub. L. 109–295, set out as a note
under section 313 of Title 6, Domestic Security. Any
reference to the Administrator of the Federal Emer-