[Senate Report 115-128]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 168
115th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-128
______________________________________________________________________
AFG AND SAFER PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2017
__________
R E P O R T
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
TO ACCOMPANY
S. 829
TO REAUTHORIZE THE ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS
PROGRAM, THE FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS
PROGRAM, AND THE STAFFING FOR ADEQUATE FIRE AND
EMERGENCY RESPONSE GRANT PROGRAM, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
July 11, 2017.--Ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2017
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
RAND PAUL, Kentucky JON TESTER, Montana
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
STEVE DAINES, Montana KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
Christopher R. Hixon, Staff Director
Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Chief Counsel
Natalie F. Enclade, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Office of the Inspector General Detailee
Margaret E. Daum, Minority Staff Director
Stacia M. Cardille, Minority Chief Counsel
Charles A. Moskowitz, Minority Senior Legislative Counsel
Sue Ramanathan, Minority Counsel
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 168
115th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-128
______________________________________________________________________
AFG AND SAFER PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2017
_______
July 11, 2017.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 829]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 829) to reauthorize
the Assistance to Firefighters Grants program, the Fire
Prevention and Safety Grants program, and the Staffing for
Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant program, and for
other purposes, reports favorably thereon with an amendment in
the nature of a substitute and recommends that the bill, as
amended, do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................4
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................4
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................5
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................6
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............7
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 829, the AFG and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of
2017, reauthorizes the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG)
program and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency
Response (SAFER) grant program through fiscal year (FY) 2023.
Additionally, the legislation incorporates important tools to
improve the grant programs' accountability to Congress and the
American taxpayers.
II. Background and the Need for Legislation
Reauthorization
Congress created the AFG and SAFER grant programs to help
address the significant staffing, equipment, training, and
health and safety needs of fire departments. SAFER provides
funding to help pay the costs associated with hiring personnel
to maintain safe staffing levels, while AFG grants fund
equipment, training and other fire department needs. Together,
these programs help ensure that our nation's 30,000 fire
departments have the necessary training, equipment, and
staffing to respond to over 30 million emergency calls annually
and to continue to reduce community risk.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\See National Fire Protection Association, Fire department calls,
available at http://www.nfpa.org/news-and-research/fire-statistics-and-
reports/fire-statistics/the-fire-service/fire-department-calls/fire-
department-calls (last visited July 6, 2017).
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Congress created the AFG program in 2000\2\ reauthorized it
in 2004\3\ and again in the FY2013 National Defense
Authorization Act.\4\ The primary goal of the AFG grant program
is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of
fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical service
organizations by providing funds for the purchase of
firefighting equipment, vehicles, training, or wellness and
fitness programs.\5\ Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) grants
are part of the AFG. The primary goal of these grants is to
reduce injury and prevent death among high-risk populations.
Congress reauthorized funding for FP&S in 2005 and expanded the
eligible uses of funds to include Firefighter Safety Research
and Development.\6\
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\2\FY2001 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 106-398),
section 1701.
\3\Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for FY2005,
P.L. 108-375, section 3602.
\4\National Defense Authorization Act for FT2013, P.L. 112-239,
Section 1803.
\5\The provisions governing the program are codified in section 33
of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (FFPCA), 15
U.S.C. 2229; see also Federal Emergency Management Agency, Assistance
to Firefighters Grant Program (2017), available at https://
www.fema.gov/welcome-assistance-firefighters-grant-program.
\6\P.L. 108-375, section 3602 (2005).
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In 2002, the U.S. Fire Administration conducted a Needs
Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service and found that many
departments nationwide were lacking the minimum number of
firefighters to safely fight building, vehicle, and other
structure fires.\7\ To help alleviate these identified
challenges, Congress created the SAFER program in 2003 to
provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer
firefighter organizations to help them increase or maintain the
number of trained, ``front line'' firefighters available in
their communities.\8\
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\7\U.S. Fire Admin., A Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service,
FA-240, Nov. 2016, p. iv, available at http://www.nfpa.org/news-and-
research/fire-statistics-and-reports/fire-statistics/the-fire-service/
administration/needs-assessment.
\8\FY2004 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 108-136). It is
codified as section 34 of the FFPCA, 15 U.S.C 2229a.
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The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) minimum
standards call for four on-duty firefighters on a fire engine
or pumper.\9\ Many jurisdictions still cannot meet that
standard. For example, 51 percent of fire departments
protecting populations of 250,000 to 499,999 assign less than
four firefighters to an apparatus, as do 80 percent of fire
departments protecting populations of 50,000 to 99,000.\10\
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\9\Nat'l. Fire Protection Assoc., Standard for the Organization and
Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical
Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire
Departments (NFPA 1710). Available at http://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-
standards/all-codes-and-standards/list-of-codes-and-standards/
detail?code=1710.
\10\Letter from International Association of Fire Chiefs to Sen.
Gary Peters (May 9, 2017).
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The current authorization for the AFG and SAFER grant
programs contains a sunset provision that would permanently
eliminate both programs on January 2, 2018.\11\ Given the
importance of these grant programs to emergency response, S.
829 eliminates the sunset provision, and authorizes the
programs through FY 2023. In place of the sunset, oversight
mechanisms have been added to require the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) to better manage and monitor these
grants, as discussed below.
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\11\15 U.S.C. 2229.
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Accountability
Although the AFG and SAFER programs are important and
necessary for enhancing the ability for fire departments to
protect the public from fires and other hazards, the Department
of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) has
alerted Congress to problems with FEMA's oversight and
monitoring of these grants programs.\12\ According to the DHS
OIG, 64 percent (243 of 379) of AFG grant recipients reviewed
did not comply with grant guidance and requirements to prevent
waste, fraud, and abuse of grant funds.\13\ Out of the $50
million in grant funds reviewed by the OIG, investigators
questioned whether $7.1 million complied with the grant
requirements and Federal law.\14\
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\12\1Dep't of Homeland Sec. Office of Inspector General, OIG-16-
100, FEMA's Grant Programs Directorate Did Not Effectively Manage
Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program--AFG Grants (2016)
[hereinafter OIG Report AFG], available at https://www.oig.dhs.gov/
assets/Mgmt/2016/OI-16-100-Jun16.pdf.; see also Dep't of Homeland Sec.
Office of Inspector General, OIG-16-98, FEMA's Grant Programs
Directorate Did Not Effectively Manage Assistance to Firefighters Grant
Program SAFER Grants (2016) [hereinafter OIG Report SAFER], available
at https://www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/2016/OIG-16-98-Jun16.pdf.
\13\OIG Report AFG, supra note 12.
\14\Id.
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According to the same report, 63 percent (88 of 139) of
SAFER grant recipients reviewed did not comply with grant
guidance and requirements to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of
grant funds.\15\ Out of the $72 million in grant funds examined
by the OIG, investigators questioned whether $18.4 million of
those funds complied with the grant requirements and Federal
law.\16\
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\15\OIG Report SAFER, supra note 12.
\16\Id.
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The OIG concluded that FEMA cannot assure AFG funds were
used to help local fire departments and other first responder
organizations obtain equipment, protective gear, emergency
vehicles, training, and other resources; nor could FEMA assure
that SAFER grant funds were used to help local fire departments
and other first responder organizations hire and retain
firefighters, obtain equipment, and provide training.\17\ The
OIG recommended FEMA develop and implement an organizational
framework to manage the risk of fraud, waste, abuse, and
mismanagement.\18\
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\17\17 OIG Report AFG and OIG Report SAFER, supra note 12.
\18\Id.
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For this reason, S. 829 includes strong oversight
provisions to make FEMA and the grant recipients under these
grant programs more accountable to the American taxpayer.
First, it authorizes the Administrator of FEMA, acting through
the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration, to
develop and make widely available online grants administration
training for members of the fire and emergency response
community that will allow them to better access and manage
grants. Second, S. 829 requires FEMA to develop and implement
an oversight framework that will mitigate and minimize these
grant programs' susceptibility to waste, fraud, abuse, and
mismanagement, as required by the OIG. With these additional
oversight requirements, these grants will become more
accountable to the American taxpayers.
III. Legislative History
On April 5, 2017, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) introduced S.
829, the AFG and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017,
with Senators Jon Tester (D-MT), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Tom
Carper (D-DE). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Senators Richard
Blumenthal (D-CT), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Kirsten Gillibrand
(D-NY), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Gary C. Peters (D-MI), Robert
Menendez (D-NJ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Patrick Leahy (D-
VT) later joined as cosponsors.
The Committee considered S. 829 at a business meeting on
May 17, 2017. Senators McCain and Tester offered a manager's
amendment incorporating oversight language to require the FEMA
Administrator and Assistant Administrator for the Grant Program
Directorate to develop and implement a grant monitoring and
oversight framework, as well as authorizing the development of
electronic, online training for members of the fire and
emergency response community on matters relating to the
administration of these grants.
Senators Peters and Heitkamp offered an additional
amendment to allow SAFER funds to convert part-time
firefighters to full-time firefighters.
The Committee favorably reported the bill, as amended by
both amendments, by voice vote en bloc. Senators present for
the vote on the amendments and final passage were Johnson,
McCain, Portman, Paul, Lankford, Enzi, Hoeven, Daines,
McCaskill, Tester, Heitkamp, Peters, Hassan, and Harris.
IV. Section-By-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported
Section 1. Short title
This section specifies that the bill may be cited as the
``AFG and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017.''
Sec. 2. Reauthorization of Assistance to Firefighters Grants program
and the Fire Prevention and Safety Grants program
Subsection (a) repeals the AFG grant program sunset.
Subsection (b) authorizes appropriations through FY 2023.
Subsection (c) makes a technical correction in The 21st
Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255), which amended the SAFER grant
program, to detail the allowable uses for grant funds,
including eligible training activities.
Sec. 3. Reauthorization of Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency
Response grant program
Subsection (a) repeals the SAFER grant program sunset.
Subsection (b) authorizes appropriations through FY 2023.
Subsection (c) is a technical correction to 15 U.S.C.
2229a(b), which details specific requirements that applicants
for a SAFER grant must meet. The technical correction corrects
the subsection referred to in (b)(3)(B).
Subsection (d) removes an anachronism date of November 24,
2004, and replaces it with the grant application date.
Subsection (e) is a technical correction that ensures the
statute properly permits a waiver for jurisdictions with
demonstrated local hardship to use SAFER funds to supplant
state and local funds, the local match, and the requirement
that applicants have sustained their fire-related programs and
emergency response budgets by at least 80 percent in the three
preceding years.
Subsection (f) is a technical correction outlining the use
of grant funds. The SAFER program provides grants specifically
for staffing, not training. This section moves this provision
under 15 U.S.C. 2229(c)(3), the section outlining the ``Use of
Grant Funds'' under the Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) grant
program.
Subsection (g) expands the use for SAFER grants so that
fire departments may change part-time or paid-on-call
firefighters to full-time firefighters.
Sec. 4. Training on Administration of Fire Grant programs
Subsection (a) authorizes the Administrator of FEMA, acting
through the Administrator of the United States Fire
Administration, to develop and make widely available an online
grants management training course for members of the fire and
emergency response community.
Subsection (b) outlines the training requirements for the
course, including that it must be tailored to the financial and
time constraints of all individuals in the career field.
Sec. 5. Framework for oversight and monitoring of the Assistance to
Firefighters grants program, the Fire Prevention and Safety
Grants program, and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and
Emergency Response grant program
Subsection (a) requires the FEMA Administrator, through the
Administrator of the United States Fire Administration, to
develop and implement an oversight framework that will mitigate
and minimize these grant programs' susceptibility to waste,
fraud, abuse, and mismanagement.
Section (b) outlines the requirements of the framework,
including ensuring standardized guidance and training for grant
recipients, conducting regular risk assessments, conducting
desk reviews and site visits, enforcing mechanisms to recoup
questioned costs, and ensuring any other oversight and
monitoring tools deemed necessary to reduce the risks of waste,
fraud, and abuse.
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
June 15, 2017.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 829, the AFG and
SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Robert Reese.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall.
Enclosure.
S. 829--AFG and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017
Summary: S. 829 would extend through 2023 the authorization
of appropriations for two programs--Staffing for Adequate Fire
and Emergency Response (SAFER) and Assistance to Firefighter
Grants (AFG). The authorization for those programs expires at
the end of fiscal year 2017. Assuming appropriation of the full
amounts, CBO estimates that implementing S. 829 would cost
about $4.8 billion over the 2018-2022 period, and $5.2 billion
in years after 2022.
Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO
estimates that enacting S. 829 would not increase net direct
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 829 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
Estimated Cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary effect of S. 829 is shown in the following table. The
costs of this legislation fall within budget function 450
(community and regional development).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2017-2022
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Estimated Authorization Level...... 0 1,611 1,649 1,688 1,728 1,770 8,446
Estimated Outlays.................. 0 32 436 1,171 1,521 1,653 4,813
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that S.
829 will be enacted near the end of 2017 and that the estimated
amounts will be appropriated each fiscal year.
Under current law, $750 million was authorized in 2013 for
the SAFER program, which provides grants to fire departments to
facilitate retention and hiring of personnel, and another $750
million for the AFG program, which provides grants to fire
departments, state fire-training academies, and other
organizations. The law provides that those specified amounts be
adjusted each year for the change in the Consumer Price Index
through 2017. Under S. 829, that authorization of
appropriations would be extended through 2023.
Including the adjustments for anticipated inflation, CBO
estimates that S. 829 would authorize the appropriation of
about $8.4 billion, in total, over the next five years for the
two programs. Based on historical spending patterns, CBO
estimates that implementing S. 829 would cost about $4.8
billion over the 2018-2022 period and another $5.2 billion in
years after 2022. In 2017, a total of $690 million was
appropriated for those grant programs.
Pay-As-You-Go considerations: None.
Increase in long-term direct spending and deficits: CBO
estimates that enacting S. 829 would not increase net direct
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 829
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA. State, local, and tribal governments would
benefit from grants reauthorized in the bill to fund
specialized training for first responders. Any costs to state,
local, or tribal governments would result from complying with
conditions of assistance.
Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Robert Reese; Impact
on state, local, and tribal governments: Rachel Austin; Impact
on the private sector: Logan Smith.
Estimate approved by: H. Samuel Papenfuss Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by The Bill, As Reported
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows: (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
UNITED STATES CODE
* * * * * * *
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 49--FIRE PREVENTION AND CONTROL
* * * * * * *
SEC. 2229. FIREFIGHTER ASSISTANCE
(a) * * *
(b) * * *
(c) Assistance to Firefighters Grants.--
(1) * * *
(2) * * *
(3) Use of grant funds.--
(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
(N) To provide specialized training to
firefighters, paramedics, emergency medical
service workers, and other first responders to
recognize individuals who have mental illness
and how to properly intervene with individual
with mental illness, including strategies for
verbal de-escalation of crisis.
* * * * * * *
(q) * * *
(1) * * *
(A) * * *
(B) for each of the fiscal years 2014 through
[2017] 2023, an amount equal to the amount
authorized for the previous fiscal year
increased by the percentage by which--
* * * * * * *
[(r) 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.]
* * * * * * *
SEC. 2229A. STAFFING FOR ADEQUATE FIRE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE
(a) Expanded Authority To Make Grants.--
Hiring Grants.--
(A) * * *
(B) Grants made under this paragraph shall be
for 3 years and be used for programs to hire
new, additional firefighters [and to provide
specialized training to paramedics, emergency
medical service workers, and other first
responders to recognize individuals who have
mental illness and how to properly intervene
with individuals with mental illness, including
strategies for verbal de-escalation of crises]
or to change the status of part-time or paid-
on-call (as defined in section 33(a))
firefighters to full-time firefighters.
(b) Applications.--
(1) * * *
(2) * * *
(3) At a minimum, each application for a grant under
this section shall--
(A) * * *
(B) in the case of a grant under subsection
(a)(1), explain how the applicant plans to meet
the requirements [of subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii)
and (F)] of subsection (a)(1)(F);
(C) * * *
(D) * * *
(c) Limitation on Use of Funds.--
(1) * * *
(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] prior to
the date of the application for the grant.
(3) * * *
(4) * * *
(d) Waivers.--
(1) In general.--In a case of demonstrated economic
hardship, the Administrator of FEMA may--
(A) * * *
(B) waive or reduce the requirements in
[subsection (a)(1)(E) or subsection (c)(2)]
(a)(1)(E), (c)(2), or (c)(4).
* * * * * * *
(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--There are authorized to be
appropriated for the purposes of carrying out this
section--
(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
(I) for each of fiscal years 2014 through
[2017] 2023, an amount equal to the amount
authorized for the previous fiscal year
increased by which--
* * * * * * *
[(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.]
* * * * * * *
[all]