To enhance the ability of first responders to respond to incidents of terrorism and for certain other purposes.

March 20, 2003

Mr. CROWLEY (for himself, Mr. FOSSELLA, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. KING of New York, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. WEINER, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. OWENS, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. EMANUEL, Ms. WATERS, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. NADLER, Mr. BELL, and Mrs. LOWEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Science, the Judiciary, and Select Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

To enhance the ability of first responders to respond to incidents of terrorism and for certain other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Homeland Emergency Response Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

(1) First responders, which include local law enforcement departments, fire departments, offices coordinating emergency management, local health departments and local public hospitals, are crucial elements of anti-terror preparation and response.

(2) Local efforts include increased counter-terrorism, intelligence, increased security at events and venues of national and international significance. These efforts supplement and enhance Federal efforts.

(3) Local needs include training, personnel, equipment, communication, security upgrades to facilities, and Federal assistance with personnel as well as capital costs and expenses.

(4) The fiscal crisis at the local level is unprecedented since WWII and threatens to undermine the ability of local governments to conduct their efforts in the War against Terrorism.

(5) The Federal Government has a responsibility to provide for the common defense and therefore to assist local governments in their counter-terrorism efforts.

(6) Terrorists, according to the Al Queda manual and by their actions, have shown they seek to inflict maximum casualties, to disrupt the national economy, to disrupt the governmental leadership, and that they will return to those targets where earlier attacks have failed.

(7) When the criteria that the terrorists use is applied, it is clear that the localities targeted on September 11, 2001 as well as several other large metropolitan areas continue to be at the greatest risk of terrorist attack.

(8) While every community must have a well prepared first responder and public health infrastructure in place to cope with terrorist attacks, the Nation's defensive efforts should also be focused on where the greatest threats are.

(9) As the Nation builds up its defenses, the Nation must also adequately defend the homeland through the support of first responders.

(10) A new, long-term grant program by the Federal Government needs to be established to enhance the ability of first responders to respond to incidents of terrorism, including weapons of mass destruction, such as biological, chemical and nuclear attacks to ensure the safety of all Americans.

SEC. 3. FIRST RESPONDERS.

Section 430(d) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended--

(1) in paragraph (7) by striking `and' at the end;

(2) in paragraph (8) by striking the period and inserting `; and'; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

`(9) establish clear guidelines for Federal, State, tribal, and local government terrorism preparedness and response;

`(10) establish and coordinate an integrated capability for Federal, State, and local governments and emergency responders to plan for and address potential consequences of terrorism;

`(11) establish standards for a national, interoperable emergency communications and warning system which allows for communications capability between local and other first responders on all levels of government;

`(12) evaluate equipment to be used by first responders, to respond to incidents of terrorism, including incidents involving weapons of mass destruction; and

`(13) carry out such other related activities as are approved by the Secretary.'.

SEC. 4. PREPAREDNESS ASSISTANCE FOR FIRST RESPONDERS.

(a) IN GENERAL- Section 430 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(e) PROGRAM TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE-

`(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall establish a program to provide assistance to States and certain local governments to enhance the ability of State and local first responders to respond to incidents of terrorism, including incidents involving weapons of mass destruction.

`(2) FEDERAL SHARE- The Federal share of the cost of assistance under this subsection is as follows:

`(A) 1st year- shall not exceed 100 percent;

`(B) 2d year- shall not exceed 95 percent;

`(C) 3d year- shall not exceed 90 percent; and

`(D) 4th year- shall not exceed 80 percent.

`(3) FORMS OF ASSISTANCE-

`(A) IN GENERAL- Assistance provided under paragraph (1) may consist of--

`(i) grants; and

`(ii) such other forms of assistance as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

`(B) USES OF ASSISTANCE- Assistance provided under this subsection shall be used--

`(i) to purchase, to the maximum extent practicable, interoperable equipment that is necessary to respond to incidents of terrorism, including incidents involving weapons of mass destruction;

`(ii) to train first responders, consistent with guidelines and standards developed by the Secretary;

`(iii) in consultation with the Secretary, to develop, construct, or upgrade terrorism preparedness training facilities and other facilities dealing with emergency preparedness;

`(iv) to develop, construct, or upgrade emergency operating centers;

`(v) to develop preparedness and response plans consistent with Federal, State, and local strategies as determined by the Secretary;

`(vi) to provide systems and equipment to meet communication needs, such as emergency notification systems, interoperable equipment, and secure communication equipment;

`(vii) to conduct exercises;

`(viii) to provide for the necessary equipment needed by local first responders to prepare for and prevent possible terrorist attacks;

`(ix) to provide for personnel training costs; and

`(x) to provide for personnel costs of counterterrorism security and intelligence activities;

`(xi) to enhance security at facilities; and

`(xii) to carry out such other related activities as are approved by the Secretary.

`(4) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS-

`(A) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall make available for each fiscal year--

`(i) 1/3 of the total amount appropriated for this subsection to the 5 local governments that the Secretary determines (in consultation with the Director of the Central Intelligence Committee, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services) are at the greatest risk and vulnerability of a terrorist attack.

`(ii) the remaining 2/3 of the total amount appropriated for this subsection to the 50 States as the Secretary determines (in consultation with the Director of the Central Intelligence Committee, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services) are at the greatest risk and vulnerability of a terrorist attack.

`(B) DISTRUBTION OF FUNDS FOR 5 LOCAL GOVERNMENTS- Of the amount made available for the 5 local governments under subparagraph (A)(i), the Secretary shall distribute--

`(i) 1/2 in the ratio that the level of risk of terrorist attack of each local government bears to the level of risk of terrorist attack of all 5 such municipalities.

`(ii) 1/4 in the ratio that the total population of each local government bears to

the total population of all 5 such municipalities.

`(iii) 1/4 in the ratio that the number of marquee landmarks in the jurisdiction of each local government bears to the number of marquee landmarks in the jurisdiction of all 5 such local governments.

`(C) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS TO STATES- Of the amount made available under subparagraph (A)(ii), the Secretary shall distribute to States--

`(i) 1/3 in the ratio that the level of risk of terrorist attack of each State bears to the level of risk of terrorist attack of all States.

`(ii) 1/3 in the ratio that the total population of each State bears to the total population of all States.

`(iii) 1/3 in the ratio that the number of marquee landmarks in each State bears to the number of marquee landmarks in all States.

`(D) CONSTRUCTION- Nothing in this paragraph shall preclude a State from distributing funds to a local government that receives funds under subparagraph (A)(i).

`(5) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES-

`(A) EXPENSES OF SECRETARY- From amounts made available under this subsection, the Secretary may use to pay salaries and other administrative expenses incurred in administering the program not more than the lesser of--

`(i) 5 percent of the funds made available to carry out this subsection for the fiscal year; or

`(ii) for fiscal year 2004, $75,000,000; and

`(iii) for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2007, $50,000,000.

`(B) STATE EXPENSES- For each fiscal year, not more than 10 percent of the funds retained by a State after application of subsection (e) may be used to pay salaries and other administrative expenses incurred in administering the program.

`(6) COORDINATION-

`(A) STATE COORDINATION- Each State shall coordinate with local governments concerning the use of assistance provided to local governments under paragraph (5).

`(B) FEDERAL AGENCY COORDINATION- The Secretary shall, as necessary, coordinate the provision of assistance under this section with activities carried out by--

`(i) the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration in connection with the implementation by the Administrator of the assistance to firefighters grant program established under section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229) (as added by section 1701(a) of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (114 Stat. 1654, 1654A-360));

`(ii) the Attorney General, in connection with the implementation of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program established under section 1701(a) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd(a)).

`(7) REPORTS-

`(A) ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SECRETARY- Each of the 5 local governments selected under paragraph (4)(A)(i) and each State that receives assistance under this subsection, shall submit to the Secretary, not later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal year, a report regarding the use of the assistance in the fiscal year.

`(B) EXERCISE AND REPORT TO CONGRESS- Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this subsection, a State shall--

`(i) conduct an exercise, or participate in a regional exercise, approved by the Secretary, to measure the progress of the State in enhancing the ability of State and local first responders to respond to incidents of terrorism, including incidents involving weapons of mass destruction; and

`(ii) submit a report on the results of the exercise to--

`(I) the Committees on the Judiciary and the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate; and

`(II) the Select Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives.

`(8) DEFINITIONS- In this subsection the following definitions apply:

`(A) WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION- The term `weapon of mass destruction' has the meaning given the term in section 2302 of title 50, United States Code.'.

`(B) FIRST RESPONDERS- The term `first responder' means--

`(i) fire, emergency medical service, health service, law enforcement personnel, and urban search and rescue forces; and

`(ii) such other personnel as are identified by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

`(C) MARQUEE LANDMARKS- The term `marquee landmarks' means recognizable landmarks or structures such as skyscrapers, bridges, tunnels, historic landmarks, locations of international noteworthiness or other notable landmarks that are associated with a given community on a national scale. Additionally, these also include major seaports and airports,

power plants, military installations, major transportation lines such as subways, dams and other structures associated with America

`(D) STATE- The term `State' means any State of the United States or any instrumentality thereof approved by the Governor; the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

`(E) TERRORISM- The term `terrorism' includes attacks with biological, chemical, or nuclear weaponry.

`(9) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS-

`(A) IN GENERAL- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection--

`(i) $3,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;

`(ii) $3,750,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2007; and

`(B) FUND TO SUPPLEMENT- The funds authorized under subparagraph (A) are to supplement, not supplant, other Federal funding programs for America's first responders or HEROs including the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant, State Criminal Alien Assistance program, the Edward Byrne grant program, and the Community Orientated Policing Program (COPS).'.

SEC. 5. FIREFIGHTER COUNTERTERRORISM PROGRAM.

The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

`SEC. 35. FIREFIGHTER COUNTERTERRORISM PROGRAM.

`(a) GRANTS- The Director shall provide grants for counterterrorism activities of the fire departments in the five localities of greatest vulnerability, as determined under section 430(e)(4)(A)(i) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

`(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated to the Director for carrying out this section such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2007.'.

SEC. 6. USA PATRIOT ACT.

(a) GRANTS- Section 1014(c) of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA Patriot Act) (42 U.S.C. 3711) is amended by adding the following:

`(4) Any amount above the minimum described in paragraph (3) shall be allocated among the States as follows--

`(A) 1/2 in the ratio that the level of risk of terrorist attack of each State bears to the level of risk of terrorist attack of all States based on an assessment by the Secretary of Homeland Security (in consultation with the Directors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency);

`(B) 1/4 in the ratio that the total population of each State, bears to the total population of all States; and

`(C) 1/4 in the ratio that the number of marquee landmarks in each State, bears to the number of marquee landmarks in all States.

(b) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS- Section 1014(b) is amended to read as follows:

`(b) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS- Grants under this section may be used to purchase necessary equipment, to enhance security at facilities, to provide training (including the personnel costs of the trainees), to support counter-terrorism, intelligence, and security activities (including personnel costs) and to provide technical assistance to State and local first responders.'.

(c) Section 1014 of Public Law 107-56 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:

`(d) GRANT DISTRIBUTION- Each State receiving a grant under this section shall distribute not less than 75 percent of such grant amount (before reduction for any administrative costs of the State) to local jurisdictions within the State.

`(e) EXCEPTION- Grants under this section shall not be subject to a maintenance of effort or matching requirement.'.

SEC. 7. PROTECTION OF HEALTH AND SAFETY OF FIRST RESPONDERS.

Subtitle B of title VI of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5197 et seq.) (as amended by section 5(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`SEC. 631. PROTECTION OF HEALTH AND SAFETY OF FIRST RESPONDERS.

`(a) DEFINITIONS- In this section:

`(1) FIRST RESPONDER- The term `first responder' means--

`(i) fire, emergency medical service, health service, law enforcement personnel, and urban search and rescue forces; and

`(ii) such other personnel as are identified by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

`(2) HARMFUL SUBSTANCE- The term `harmful substance' means a substance that the President determines may be harmful to human health.

`(3) PROGRAM- The term `program' means a program described in subsection (b)(1).

`(b) PROGRAM-

`(1) IN GENERAL- If the President determines that 1 or more harmful substances are being, or have been, released in an area that the President has declared to be a major disaster area under this Act, the President shall carry out a program with respect to the area for the protection, assessment, monitoring, and study of the health and safety of first responders.

`(2) ACTIVITIES- A program shall include--

`(A) collection and analysis of environmental and exposure data;

`(B) development and dissemination of educational materials;

`(C) provision of information on releases of a harmful substance;

`(D) identification of, performance of baseline health assessments on, taking biological samples from, and establishment of an exposure registry of first responders exposed to a harmful substance;

`(E) study of the long-term health impacts of any exposures of first responders to a harmful substance through epidemiological studies; and

`(F) provision of assistance to participants in registries and studies under subparagraphs (D) and (E) in determining eligibility for health coverage and identifying appropriate health services.

`(3) PARTICIPATION IN REGISTRIES AND STUDIES-

`(A) IN GENERAL- Participation in any registry or study under subparagraph (D) or (E) of paragraph (2) shall be voluntary.

`(B) PROTECTION OF PRIVACY- The President shall take appropriate measures to protect the privacy of any participant in a registry or study described in subparagraph (A).

`(4) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS- The President may carry out a program through a cooperative agreement with a medical or academic institution, or a consortium of such institutions, that is--

`(A) located in close proximity to the major disaster area with respect to which the program is carried out; and

`(B) experienced in the area of environmental or occupational health and safety, including experience in--

`(i) conducting long-term epidemiological studies;

`(ii) conducting long-term mental health studies; and

`(iii) establishing and maintaining environmental exposure or disease registries.

`(c) this will authorize and fund the necessary medical monitoring and treatment of the first responders at Ground Zero from the attacks on New York City of September 11, 2001.

`(d) REPORTS AND RESPONSES TO STUDIES-

`(1) REPORTS- Not later than 1 year after the date of completion of a study under subsection (b)(2)(E), the President, or the medical or academic institution or consortium of such institutions that entered into the cooperative agreement under subsection (b)(4), shall submit to the Secretary, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Majority and Minority Leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report on the study.

`(2) CHANGES IN PROCEDURES- To protect the health and safety of first responders, the President shall make such changes in procedures as the President determines to be necessary based on the findings of a report submitted under paragraph (1).'.

END