Meijer Bill to Support U.S. Fire Administration Passes House

Press Release

U.S. Representative Peter Meijer (R-MI) today spoke on the floor in support of his bill, H.R. 7077, the Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act, which passed the House by a vote of 378-37. The bill, which Rep. Meijer introduced with Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY), will empower the Fire Administration to help investigate deadly fires and provide recommendations for prevention. The bill is supported by the City of Grand Rapids and the Grand Rapids Fire Department.

"Often times people assume our work ends when the flames go out. But as families grieve and people start to rebuild, fire professionals get to work to understand both what caused the fire and how we can prevent it from happening again. This is a necessary process that can sometimes be tedious and resource intensive. Accessing additional support from our federal partners isn't just helpful but will save lives." -- John Lehman, Chief, Grand Rapids Fire Department.

The full text of Rep. Meijer's remarks as prepared is below:

"Thank you, Madame Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 7077, the Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act, an important piece of bipartisan legislation that supports the U.S. Fire Administration.

"I was honored to join my colleague Ritchie Torres in introducing this bill, spurred from a terrible and heartbreaking tragedy in his district in New York. The fire in the Bronx apartment building left us with many questions, and upon further examination, it became clear that there is currently a serious lack of coordination between the federal U.S. Fire Administration and the other state and local authorities. In fact, the U.S. Fire Administration does not have the authority to conduct on-site investigations of major fires. As a result, our state and local authorities are limited in their capabilities to investigate these major fires.

"The U.S. Fire Administration's expertise can and should be used to the fullest extent, in coordination with all existing authorities responsible for fire investigations.

"That's why H.R. 7077 is so important. It simply addresses the existing coordination gap between the federal, state, and local authorities. It allows the U.S. Fire Administrator to send investigators, including safety specialists, fire protection engineers, codes and standards experts, and fire training specialists to the site of a major fire. These experts can then work on the ground with the state and local authorities to determine cause, examine building failures, provide answers to those affected by these fires and establish lessons learned so similar fires can be prevented in the future.

"The tragedy we saw in the Bronx was heartbreaking and should never have happened. We need answers, and we need to ensure something like that never happens again. It's past time that we allow the experts at all levels -- federal, state, and local -- to coordinate and help us achieve this goal.

"This bill has received support from fire departments across the country, including the Grand Rapids Fire Department in my home district. I want to thank my colleagues Ritchie Torres, Haley Stevens, and Anthony Gonzalez for their work on this bill. I am proud to support this bill, I urge my colleagues to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time."

The full text of H.R. 7077 is available here.

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