15 U.S.C. § 2229a : US Code - Section 2229A: Expansion of pre-September 11, 2001, fire grant program

Search 15 U.S.C. § 2229a : US Code - Section 2229A: Expansion of pre-September 11, 2001, fire grant program

(a) Expanded authority to make grants
(1) Hiring grants
(A) The Administrator shall make grants directly to career,
volunteer, and combination 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)(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.
(C) In awarding grants under this subsection, the Administrator
may give preferential consideration to applications that involve
a non-Federal contribution exceeding the minimums under
subparagraph (E).
(D) The Administrator 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) 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.
(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
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 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 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 organizations on a local or statewide basis 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.
(2) An application for a grant under this section shall be
submitted in such form, and contain such information, as the
Administrator 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;
(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)(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.
(d) Performance evaluation
The Administrator may require a grant recipient to submit any
information the Administrator considers reasonably necessary to
evaluate the program.
(e) Sunset and reports
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 the experience with, and
effectiveness of, such grants in meeting the objectives of this
section. The report may include any recommendations the
Administrator may have for amendments to this section and related
provisions of law.
(f) Revocation or suspension of funding
If the Administrator 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 may revoke or suspend funding of that
grant, in whole or in part.
(g) Access to documents
(1) The Administrator 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.
(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.
(h) Definitions
In this section, the term -
(1) "firefighter" has the meaning given the term "employee in
fire protection activities" under section 203(y) of title 29;
(!1) and
(2) "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.
(i) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of
carrying out this section -
(1) $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;
(2) $1,030,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;
(3) $1,061,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;
(4) $1,093,000,000 for fiscal year 2007;
(5) $1,126,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
(6) $1,159,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and
(7) $1,194,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.