authorization of program

authorization of program Sec. 102. The Act entitled “An Act to establish the National Bureau of Standards”, approved March 3, 1901, as amended (15 U.S.C. 271–278e), is further amended by adding the following sections: “Sec. 16. The Secretary of Commerce (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Secretary’) is authorized to— “(a) Conduct directly or through contracts or grants— “(1) investigations of fires to determine their causes, frequency of occurrence, severity, and other pertinent factors; “(2) research into the causes and nature of fires, and the development of improved methods and techniques for fire prevention, fire control, and reduction of death, personal injury, and property damage; “(3) educational programs to— “(A) inform the public of fire hazards and fire safety techniques, and “(B) encourage avoidance of such hazards and use of such techniques; “(4) fire information reference services, including the collection, analysis, and dissemination of data, research results, and other information, derived from this program or from other sources and related to fire protection, fire control, and reduction of death, personal injury, and property damage; “(5) educational and training programs to improve, among other things— “(A) the efficiency, operation, and organization of fire services, and “(B) the capability of controlling unusual fire-related hazards and fire disasters; and “(6) projects demonstrating— “(A) improved or experimental programs of fire prevention, fire control, and reduction of death, personal injury, and property damage, “(B) application of fire safety principles in construction, or “(C) improvement of the efficiency, operation, or organization of the fire services. “(b) Support by contracts or grants the development, for use by educational and other nonprofit institutions, of— “(1) fire safety and fire protection engineering or science curriculums; and “(2) fire safety courses, seminars, or other instructional materials and aids for the above curriculums or other appropriate curriculums or courses of instruction. “Sec. 17. With respect to the functions authorized by section 16 of this Act— “(a) Grunts may be made only to States and local governments, other non-Federal public agencies, and nonprofit institutions. Such a. grant may be up to 100 per centum of the total cost of the project 82 Stat. 36for which such grant is made. The Secretary shall require, whenever feasible, as a condition of approval of a grant, that the recipient contribute money, facilities, or services to carry out the purpose for which the grant is sought. For the purposes of this section, ‘State’ means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Canal Zone, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; and ‘public agencies’ includes combinations or groups of States or local governments. “(b) The Secretary may arrange with and reimburse the heads of other Federal departments and agencies for the performance of any such functions, and, as necessary or appropriate, delegate any of his powers under this section or section 16 of this Act with respect to any part thereof, and authorize the redelegation of such powers. “(c) The Secretary may perform such functions without regard to section 3648 of the Revised Statutes (31 U.S.C. 529). “(d) The Secretary is authorized to request any Federal department or agency to supply such statistics, data, program reports, and other materials as he deems necessary to carry out such functions. Each such department or agency is authorized to cooperate with the Secretary and, to the extent permitted by law, to furnish such materials to the Secretary. The Secretary and the heads of other departments and agencies engaged in administering programs related to fire safety shall, to the maximum extent practicable, cooperate and consult in order to insure fully coordinated efforts. “(e) The Secretary is authorized to establish such policies, standards, criteria, and procedures and to prescribe such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary or appropriate to the administration of such functions or this section, including rules and regulations which— “(1) provide that a grantee will from time to time, but not less often than annually, submit a report evaluating accomplishments of activities funded under section 16, and “(2) provide for fiscal control, sound accounting procedures, and periodic reports to the Secretary regarding the application of funds paid under section 16.”