United States Fire Administration Reauthorization Act of 2003

(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on November 20, 2003. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Title I: United States Fire Administration Reauthorization - United States Fire Administration Reauthorization Act of 2003 - (Sec. 102) Re-establishes the position of Administrator of the United States Fire Administration.

(Sec. 103) Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to authorize FY 2004 through 2008 appropriations for the United States Fire Administration.

Title II: Firefighting Research and Coordination - Firefighting Research and Coordination Act - (Sec. 202) Amends the Act to allow the Administrator, at the request of other Federal agencies, to provide assistance in fire prevention and control technologies, including methods of containing insect-infested forest fires and measuring and tracking fine particle smoke resulting from fires of insect-infested fuel. Directs the Administrator to: (1) develop new, and utilize existing, measurement techniques and testing methodologies for evaluating firefighting technologies; (2) evaluate the compatibility of new and existing equipment and technology; and (3) support the development of new standards through national voluntary consensus standards organizations for new firefighting technologies.

Requires the Administrator, by regulation, to require that new equipment or systems purchased through the assistance program established by the Act meet or exceed established applicable voluntary consensus standards. Allows the Administrator, under specified conditions, to waive this requirement.

Requires a grant applicant, who proposes to purchase with assistance provided under the grant new equipment or systems that do not meet or exceed applicable voluntary consensus standards, to include in the application an explanation of why such equipment or systems will serve the needs of the applicant better than equipment or systems that do meet or exceed such standards. Allows a grant applicant to include a second grant request in the application to be considered by the Administrator in the event the primary grant request is not approved on the grounds of the equipment not meeting such standards.

(Sec. 203) Directs the Administrator to: (1) provide technical assistance and training to State and local fire service officials to establish nationwide and State mutual aid systems for dealing with national emergencies; and (2) develop and make model mutual aid plans for both intrastate and interstate assistance available to State and local fire service officials.

Requires the Administrator to report to specified congressional committees on the need for a strategy concerning deployment of volunteers and emergency response personnel, including a national credentialing system, in the event of a national emergency.

Requires the Department of Homeland Security to report to specified congressional committees on plans for revisions to the Federal Response Plan and its integration into the National Response Plan, including how the revised plan will address response to terrorist attacks, particularly in urban areas, including fire detection and suppression and related emergency services.

(Sec. 204) Authorizes the Superintendent of the National Academy for Fire Prevention and Control to train fire service personnel in: (1) strategies for building collapse rescue; (2) the use of technology in response to fires; (3) response, tactics, and strategies for dealing with terrorist-caused national catastrophes; (4) use of and familiarity with the Federal Response Plan; (5) leadership and strategic skills, including integrated management systems operations and integrated response; (6) strategies and tactics for fighting forest fires; (7) integration of terrorism response agencies into the national terrorism incident response system; and (8) response tactics and strategies for fighting fires at U.S. ports, including fires on the water and aboard vessels.

Requires the Superintendent to offer at the Academy and at other sites courses and training assistance as necessary to accommodate all geographic regions and needs of career and volunteer firefighters.

(Sec. 205) Repeals establishment of an office in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to administer the grant assistance provided under the Act for fire prevention programs. Requires the Director [sic] of the United States Fire Administration to establish specific criteria for the selection of assistance recipients and provide grant-writing assistance to applicants.

Allows such grants to be used for: (1) training of firefighting personnel in maritime firefighting; and (2) the acquisition of equipment for fighting fires with foam in remote areas without access to water. Makes specified funds available each year through FY 2008 for such equipment.

(Sec. 206) Revises the composition of the Board of Directors of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to increase its membership from 9 to 12, which shall include 9 (currently, 6) individuals who have a demonstrated interest in the fire service. Requires members' terms to be staggered so that the terms of 4 (currently, 3) expire every 2 years.

Allows the annual basic rate of pay of the officers and employees of the Foundation to be no more than 15 percent above the GS-15 level of the General Schedule.

Makes permanent the authority of the Administration to provide administrative services to the Foundation.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov