Reps. Vander Veen, Caswell, Vagnozzi, Polidori, Green, Ball, Sheltrown, Accavitti, Bieda, Booher, Brandenburg, Brown, Byrum, Condino, Espinoza, Gillard, Gleason, Gonzales, Hansen, Jones, Kooiman, LaJoy, Lemmons, III, Lemmons, Jr., McDowell, Meyer, Nitz, Palmer, Pastor, Pearce, Proos, Sak, Shaffer, Alma Smith, Spade, Stahl, Waters and Zelenko offered the following resolution:

            House Resolution No. 247.

            A resolution to memorialize the Congress of the United States to enact the Nursing Home Fire Safety Act.

            Whereas, The safety of the elderly and disabled, our most vulnerable citizens, deserves the highest priority and attention. It is estimated that 20 to 30 percent of the nation's 17,000 nursing homes lack sprinkler systems. Such blatant oversights place the residents of these facilities at great risk in the event of a fire; and

            Whereas, In 2005, legislation was introduced in Congress to enact the Nursing Home Fire Safety Act.  It is the intent of Congress, through this legislation, to equip every nursing home in the country with a fire sprinkler system over the next five years, adopt the Life Safety Code, and provide direct loans and sprinkler retrofit assistance grants to assist with installation costs; and

            Whereas, The bill requires the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency authorized to implement nursing home regulations, to adopt the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) new requirement that all existing nursing homes be equipped with automatic fire sprinklers.  It also provides the resources that existing nursing homes will need to retrofit their facilities while continuing to care for residents; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we memorialize the Congress of the United States to enact the Nursing Home Fire Safety Act; and be it further

            Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.