Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BICE of Oklahoma. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7077, the Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act. This bipartisan legislation would help us better investigate and prevent deadly fires by giving the U.S. Fire Administration the authority to collaborate with local fire departments. With this authority, they can send safety specialists, fire protection engineers, codes and standards experts, researchers, and fire training specialists to assist with on-site investigations of major fires.

The U.S. Fire Administration is housed within FEMA, and it helps enhance our ability to prevent and respond to fires through research and education.

It has valuable and lifesaving resources in preventing, responding to, and investigating fires. This bill would ensure that State and local governments can access their expertise and, hopefully, prevent major fires in the future.

The bill directs U.S. Fire Administration incident investigators to examine the causes and origins of fires. Their expertise will help local officials assess factors that contributed to the loss of property and life, including the use of codes and standards, demographics, structural characteristics, smoke and fire dynamics, and related costs.

Additionally, the bill requires the U.S. Fire Administration to issue a report in coordination with Federal, State, and local authorities on their findings and to provide recommendations on how to prevent similar fires from occurring in the future.

I thank Representative Torres for introducing this bill after New York's deadliest fire in over three decades claimed the lives of 17 residents, including 8 children.

Representative Torres recognizes that it is critical that we empower the U.S. Fire Administration to partner with local fire departments to help determine the root cause of these tragic and horrific fires to make sure they never happen again.

The bill incorporates stakeholder and agency feedback and is endorsed by the Fire Department of New York, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Fighters, the National Association of State Fire Marshals, and the National Fire Protection Association.

It is smart and practical policy to make the best possible use of our resources to protect American lives. In addition to Representative Torres, I thank the original cosponsors from our committee: Representatives Stevens, Meijer, and Gonzalez.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mrs. BICE of Oklahoma. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Meijer), my freshman colleague.

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Mrs. BICE of Oklahoma. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise again in support of H.R. 7077, the Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act.

As I previously mentioned, the USFA has valuable and lifesaving resources in preventing, responding to, and investigating fires. This bill would ensure that State and local governments have access to these resources and that the U.S. Fire Administration has the authority needed to conduct on-site investigations of major fires.

We cannot afford to let any more tragic and preventable fires like the one in Representative Torres' district happen in the future.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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