tem (or equivalent level of safety) and hard-wired smoke detectors; and

(ii) in the case of any other housing, the housing, before(I) occupancy by the first Federal employees (or their dependents) who do not occupy such housing as of such date of enactment 1; or

(II) the expiration of 3 years after such date of enactment1,

whichever occurs first, is protected by hard-wired smoke detectors.

(B) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to supersede any guidelines or requirements applicable to housing for Federal employees that call for a higher level of fire safety protection than is required under this paragraph.

(C) Housing covered by this paragraph that does not have an adequate and reliable electrical system shall not be subject to the requirement under subparagraph (A) for protection by hard-wired smoke detectors, but shall be protected by battery operated smoke detectors.

(D) If funding has been programmed or designated for the demolition of housing covered by this paragraph, such housing shall not be subject to the fire protection requirements of subparagraph (A), but shall be protected by battery operated smoke detectors.

(2)(A)(i) Housing assistance may not be used in connection with any newly constructed multifamily property, unless after the new construction the multifamily property is protected by an automatic sprinkler system and hard-wired smoke detectors.

(ii) For purposes of clause (i), the term "newly constructed multifamily property" means a multifamily property of 4 or more stories above ground level—

(I) that is newly constructed after the date of enactment of this section 1; and

(II) for which (a) housing assistance is used for such new construction, or (b) a binding commitment is made, before commencement of such construction, to provide housing assistance for the newly constructed property.

(iii) Clause (i) shall not apply to any multifamily property for which, before such date of enactment1, a binding commitment is made to provide housing assistance for the new construction of the property or for the newly constructed property.

(B)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), housing assistance may not be used in connection with any rebuilt multifamily property, unless after the rebuilding the multifamily property complies with the chapter on existing apartment buildings of National Fire Protection Association Standard 101 (known as the Life Safety Code), as in effect at the earlier of (I) the time of any approval by the Department of Housing and Urban Development of the specific plan or budget for rebuilding, or (II) the time that a binding commitment is made to provide housing assistance for the rebuilt property.

(ii) If any rebuilt multifamily property is subject to, and in compliance with, any provision of a State or local fire safety standard or code that prevents compliance with a specific provision of

National Fire Protection Association Standard 101, the requirement under clause (i) shall not apply with respect to such specific provision.

(iii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the term "rebuilt multifamily property" means a multifamily property of 4 or more stories above ground level

(I) that is rebuilt after the last day of the second fiscal year that ends after the date of enactment of this section 1; and (II) for which (a) housing assistance is used for such rebuilding, or (b) a binding commitment is made, before commencement of such rebuilding, to provide housing assistance for the rebuilt property.

(C) After the expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this section 1, housing assistance may not be used in connection with any other dwelling unit, unless the unit is protected by a hard-wired or battery-operated smoke detector. For purposes of this subparagraph, housing assistance shall be considered to be used in connection with a particular dwelling unit only if such assistance is provided (i) for the particular unit, in the case of assistance provided on a unit-by-unit basis, or (ii) for the multifamily property in which the unit is located, in the case of assistance provided on a structure-by-structure basis.

(d) REGULATIONS.-The Administrator of General Services, in cooperation with the United States Fire Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Defense, within 2 years after the date of enactment of this section1, shall promulgate regulations to further define the term "equivalent level of safety", and shall, to the extent practicable, base those regulations on nationally recognized codes.

(e) STATE AND LOCAL AUTHORITY NOT LIMITED.-Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the power of any State or political subdivision thereof to implement or enforce any law, rule, regulation, or standard that establishes requirements concerning fire prevention and control. Nothing in this section shall be construed to reduce fire resistance requirements which otherwise would have been required.

(f) PREFIRE PLAN.-The head of any Federal agency that owns, leases, or operates a building or housing unit with Federal funds shall invite the local agency or voluntary organization having responsibility for fire protection in the jurisdiction where the building or housing unit is located to prepare, and biennially review, a prefire plan for the building or housing unit.

(g) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.-(1) *

(2) Within 10 years after the date of enactment of this section1, each Federal agency providing housing to Federal employees or housing assistance shall submit a report to Congress on the progress of that agency in implementing subsection (c) and on plans for continuing such implementation.

(3)(A) The National Institute of Standards and Technology shall conduct a study and submit a report to Congress on the use, in combination, of fire detection systems, fire suppression systems, and compartmentation. Such study shall

1 The date of enactment was October 26, 1992.

(i) quantify performance and reliability for fire detection systems, fire suppression systems, and compartmentation, including a field assessment of performance and determination of conditions under which a reduction or elimination of 1 or more of those systems would result in an unacceptable risk of fire loss; and

(ii) include a comparative analysis and compartmentation using fire resistive materials and compartmentation using noncombustible materials.

(B) The National Institute of Standards and Technology shall obtain funding from non-Federal sources in an amount equal to 25 percent of the cost of the study required by subparagraph (A). Funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology for carrying out such study shall be derived from amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated, for the Building and Fire Research Center at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, not to exceed $750,000. The study shall commence until receipt of all matching funds from non-Federal sources. The scope and extent of the study shall be determined by the level of project funding. The Institute shall submit a report to Congress on the study within 30 months after the date of enactment of this section 1.

(h) RELATION TO OTHER REQUIREMENTS.-In the implementation of this section, the process for meeting space needs in urban areas shall continue to give first consideration to a centralized community business area and adjacent areas of similar character to the extent of any Federal requirement therefor. [15 U.S.C. 2227]

1 The date of enactment was October 26, 1992.

PART XI-ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT ACT

[Public Law 89-174; 79 Stat. 667; 42 U.S.C. 3531 et seq.]

That this Act may be cited as the "Department of Housing and Urban Development Act". [42 U.S.C. 3531 note]

DECLARATION OF PURPOSE

SEC. 2. The Congress hereby declares that the general welfare and security of the Nation and the health and living standards of our people require, as a matter of national purpose, sound development of the Nation's communities and metropolitan areas in which the vast majority of its people live and work.

To carry out such purpose, and in recognition of the increasing importance of housing and urban development in our national life, the Congress finds that establishment of an executive department is desirable to achieve the best administration of the principal programs of the Federal Government which provide assistance for housing and for the development of the Nation's communities; to assist the President in achieving maximum coordination of the various Federal activities which have a major effect upon urban community, suburban, or metropolitan development; to encourage the solution of problems of housing, urban development, and mass transportation through State, county, town, village, or other local and private action, including promotion of interstate, regional, and metropolitan cooperation; to encourage the maximum contributions that may be made by vigorous private homebuilding and mortgage lending industries to housing, urban development, and the national economy; and to provide for full and appropriate consideration, at the national level, of the needs and interests of the Nation's communities and of the people who live and work in them. [42 U.S.C. 3531]

ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT

SEC. 3. (a) There is hereby established at the seat of government an executive department to be known as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (hereinafter referred to as the "Department"). There shall be at the head of the Department a Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (hereinafter referred to as the "Secretary"), who shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Department