[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2979 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2979
To support infrastructure investment in small law enforcement agencies
and small fire departments.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 21, 2025
Mr. Pappas (for himself, Ms. Letlow, and Mr. Kean) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary,
and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure,
and Science, Space, and Technology, 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
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To support infrastructure investment in small law enforcement agencies
and small fire departments.
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 ``Building Up Infrastructure for Local
Departments Act of 2025'' or the ``BUILD Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. BUILDING UP INFRASTRUCTURE FOR LOCAL DEPARTMENTS GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Grant Program.--Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968 is amended by adding at the end the following:
``PART PP--BUILDING UP INFRASTRUCTURE FOR LOCAL DEPARTMENTS GRANT
PROGRAM
``SEC. 3061. GRANT AUTHORIZATION.
``The Attorney General is authorized to make grants to State and
local law enforcement agencies that serve jurisdictions with fewer than
50,000 residents for use in accordance with section 3062.
``SEC. 3062. USE OF FUNDS.
``(a) In General.--Funds made available to a State or local law
enforcement agency under this part shall be used for a project to
modify, upgrade, or construct a facility of the law enforcement agency,
which project shall have a substantial nexus to--
``(1) the improvement of the provision of emergency
services;
``(2) the training and development of law enforcement
officers;
``(3) the recruitment and retention of law enforcement
officers;
``(4) community engagement; or
``(5) the improvement of community safety.
``(b) Clarification.--A portion of a project to modify, upgrade, or
construct a facility of a law enforcement agency that does not have a
substantial nexus to any of paragraphs (1) through (5), such portion
may not use funds made available under this part.
``SEC. 3063. APPLICATION.
``The head of a State or local law enforcement agency seeking a
grant under this part shall submit to the Attorney General at such time
and containing such information as the Attorney General may reasonably
require, including an estimate of the cost of the project for which the
grant will be used, as well as a demonstration of financial need for
the grant.
``SEC. 3064. DUTIES OF ATTORNEY GENERAL.
``(a) Guidance.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of this part, the Attorney General shall issue guidance to
carry out the grant program under this part.
``(b) Distribution of Information.--The Attorney General shall
distribute information about the grant program under this part to
eligible State and local law enforcement agencies.
``(c) Equitable Distribution.--In awarding grants under this part,
the Attorney General shall ensure, to the extent practicable, an
equitable geographic distribution among the regions of the United
States.
``(d) Report.--On the date that is 2 years after the date of
enactment of this part, and biannually thereafter until the date that
is 6 years after the date of enactment of this part, the Attorney
General shall submit to Congress and make publicly available a report
on the grant program under this part.
``SEC. 3065. GRANT AMOUNT.
``A grant under this part may not exceed $4,000,000.
``SEC. 3066. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
``There is authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General to
carry out this section $250,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026
through 2028.''.
(b) Reports.--
(1) Attorney general.--The Attorney General shall
periodically conduct and publish a study of the met and unmet
construction and renovation needs of a national sample of law
enforcement agencies. Such study may be conducted as a
supplement to the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative
Statistics program operated by the Bureau of Justice
Statistics.
(2) GAO.--Not later than one year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall conduct a study that examines the sufficiency of
existing capital infrastructure of law enforcement agencies
that serve jurisdictions with fewer than 50,000 residents,
including the met and unmet construction and renovation needs
of such law enforcement agencies. Such report shall include
projections relating to such needs over the following periods:
(A) One to five years.
(B) Five to ten years.
(C) More than ten years.
SEC. 3. BUILDING UP INFRASTRUCTURE FOR LOCAL DEPARTMENTS--FIRE GRANT
PROGRAM.
(a) Grant Authorization.--The Administrator is authorized to make
grants to entities described in subsection (b) to modify, upgrade, or
construct fire department facilities.
(b) Entities Described.--Entities described in this subsection are
career fire departments, combination fire departments, and volunteer
fire departments which serve jurisdictions of 50,000 people or fewer.
(c) Distribution of Information.--The Administrator shall
distribute to entities described in subsection (b) information
regarding the grant program.
(d) Applications.--An entity described in subsection (b) seeking a
grant under this section shall submit to the Administrator an
application at such time and containing such information as the
Administrator may reasonably require, including the size of the
jurisdiction served by such applicant, an estimate of the cost of the
project for which the grant will be used, and a demonstration of
financial need for the grant.
(e) Uses of Funds.--In carrying out the purpose described in
subsection (a), a recipient of a grant under this section may use funds
received for the following:
(1) The improvement of the provision of emergency services,
including either firefighting or affiliated EMS capabilities.
(2) The training and development of firefighting or EMS
personnel.
(3) The recruitment and retention of such personnel,
including by improving safety.
(4) Community engagement.
(5) The improvement of community safety.
(f) Equitable Distribution.--In awarding grants under this part,
the Administrator shall ensure, to the extent practicable, an equitable
geographic distribution among the regions of the United States.
(g) Grant Amount.--A grant under this section may not exceed
$4,000,000.
(h) Reports on Grants.--Not later than two years after the date of
the enactment of this Act and biennially thereafter for six years, the
Administrator shall submit to Congress and make publicly available a
report on grants made under this section.
(i) Reports on Construction and Renovation Needs.--
(1) FEMA.--To the greatest extent possible, the
Administrator shall periodically conduct and publish a study of
the met and unmet construction and renovation needs of a
national sample of career fire departments, combination fire
departments, and volunteer fire departments.
(2) GAO.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall conduct a study on the sufficiency of existing
capital infrastructure for career fire departments, combination
fire departments, and volunteer fire departments that serve
jurisdictions with fewer than 50,000 residents that includes a
representative sample nationwide, and includes the met and
unmet construction and renovation needs and the provision of
emergency services. Such report shall include projections
relating to such needs and services over the following periods:
(A) One to five years.
(B) Five to ten years.
(C) More than ten years.
(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Administrator $250,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2026 through 2028 to carry out this section.
(k) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(2) Career fire department.--The term ``career fire
department'' means a fire department that has an all-paid force
of firefighting personnel other than paid-on-call firefighters.
(3) Combination fire department.--The term ``combination
fire department'' means a fire department that has--
(A) paid firefighting personnel; and
(B) volunteer firefighting personnel.
(4) EMS.--The term ``EMS'' means emergency medical
services.
(5) Volunteer fire department.--The term ``volunteer fire
department'' means a fire department that has an all-volunteer
force of firefighting personnel.
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