FASTER Act

This bill would require FEMA to give three-year competitive grants to career, combination, and volunteer fire departments for programs that improve home safety and prevent falls among older adults. Grant money could pay for things like lock boxes that let emergency responders enter homes faster, smoke detectors, minor home changes such as grab bars and hand rails, medication reviews, and community paramedicine staff. Federal grants could cover up to 75 percent of program costs in the first two years and 35 percent in the third year, and departments whose fire and emergency budgets were cut below 80 percent of recent levels could not receive grants unless FEMA grants a hardship waiver. The bill authorizes funding that rises from $1 million per year in 2026 to $7 million in 2035, requires a report to Congress within two years, and ends the program on September 30, 2036.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Lois Frankel Democrat sponsor
• 12 cosponsors