Review - HR 7077 Passed in Senate – USFA Fire Investigations

Yesterday, the Senate took up HR 7077, the Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act which had been passed in the House on May 10^th, 2022 by a vote of 380 to 87. The Senate considered the bill under their unanimous consent process, taking up substitute language from SA 6505 that makes relatively minor changes to the bill. The Senate adopted the substitute language, sending the bill back to the House for further consideration. There was no debate and no vote.

Moving Forward

The bill must now go back to the House for consideration of the changes made by the Senate. I suspect that the House will take up and accept the Senate changes under their suspension of the rules process. There is a slight chance that that may occur this week, but more likely next week.

 

For more information on the changes made in the substitute language, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-7077-passed-in-senate - subscription required.

HR 7077 Amended and Adopted in Science Committee – Fire Investigations

Yesterday, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee held a markup hearing that considered five bills, including HR 7077, the Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act. An amendment was offered by Rep Lofgren (D,CA). The amendment, and then the amended bill, were adopted by voice vote.

The amendment ads the words “and cooperation” to the new §38(b)(1), requiring the USFA to coordinate and cooperate with Federal, State, and local authorities in the conduct of the investigations authorized by the new section.

As soon as the Committee publishes their report on the bill, the House will be cleared to consider the bill. The bill will almost certainly be considered under the suspension of the rules process. If considered, it will pass with substantial bipartisan support.