United States Fire Administration Reauthorization Act of 2003
Public Law 108-169 · S. 1152 · 108th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by George W. Bush (R) on Dec 6, 2003 · Emergency Management
Sponsor: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
Cosponsors (2): Sen. Fritz Hollings, Sen. John Breaux
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
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.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
1 bill the Library of Congress relates to this one.
H.R. 2692Related billText similarities
United States Fire Administration Authorization Act of 2003
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 19 actions.
- Dec 6, 2003Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 108-169.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Nov 25, 2003FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Nov 21, 2003FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 1152.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Boehlert moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- FloorFloor · Received in the House.
- FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Nov 20, 2003FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- FloorFloor · The committee substitute as amended agreed to by Unanimous Consent.
- FloorFloor · Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
- Aug 26, 2003CalendarCalendar · Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 250.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator McCain under authority of the order of the Senate of 07/29/03 legislative day 07/21/03 with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 108-126.
- Jun 19, 2003CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- May 23, 2003CommitteeCommittee · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- CommitteeCommittee · Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S7146-7147)
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in Senate
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
1 amendment offered to the bill, with the last recorded step of each.
- Agreed to
S.Amdt. 2207SenateSen. John McCainR-AZ· offered Nov 20, 2003Agreed to
in the nature of a substitute.
Nov 20, 2003: Amendment SA 2207 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.