Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Connecting the Operations of National Networks of Emergency Communications Technologies for First Responders

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 09 Jun 2004 03:24:54 -0400

H.R.4400
Connecting the Operations of National Networks of Emergency
Communications Technologies for First Responders Act of 2004 (Introduced
in House)

May 19, 2004

Mrs. LOWEY (for herself, Mr. TURNER of Texas, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of
California, Mr. DICKS, Ms.  SLAUGHTER, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. ANDREWS, Ms.
NORTON, Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr.
ETHERIDGE, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. LEE,
Mr. REYES, Mr.  GUTIERREZ, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. MATSUI, Mr.
DELAHUNT, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr.
CASE, Mr. FROST, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. GREEN of
Texas, Mr. MOORE, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr.
NADLER, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. WYNN,
Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr.
TIERNEY, Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA, and Mr. LUCAS of Kentucky) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Select
Committee on Homeland Security, 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 establish the Office of Wireless Public Safety Interoperable
Communications, to provide grants and other support to achieve
communications interoperability in the United States, and for other
purposes.
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 `Connecting the Operations of National Networks
of Emergency Communications Technologies for First Responders Act of
2004'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.
(a) Findings- Congress finds the following:

(1) Throughout the United States, public safety agencies--law
enforcement, firefighters, emergency technicians, public health
officials, and others--in the same jurisdictions cannot now communicate
effectively with one another, with agencies in neighboring
jurisdictions, or with other public safety agencies at the Federal and
State level, when responding to emergencies or participating in major
deployment.
(2) The inability of public safety agencies in the United States to
communicate with one another within and across jurisdictions and
disciplines is a long-recognized and complex problem that threatens the
public's safety and security and often results in unnecessary loss of
lives and property.
(3) The lack of interoperability was at least partially responsible for
the deaths of 343 firefighters in New York City on September 11, 2001,
when police could not communicate effectively with firefighters prior to
the collapse of the Twin Towers.
(4) In the immediate aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995,
studies showed that emergency responders had to use runners to carry
messages from one command center to another because the responding
agencies used different emergency radio channels, different frequencies,
and different radio systems.
(5) In Littleton, Colorado, 46 public safety agencies responded to the
shooting spree inside Columbine High School in 1999. Precious minutes
were lost because command personnel were forced to send runners to
communicate crucial information. Incompatible radio communication
systems were a significant factor, according to the Columbine Review
Commission.
(6) There are more than 50,000 State and local public safety agencies.
Many of these agencies are small or volunteer organizations with limited
budgets, and little or no engineering expertise. State and local
agencies consistently cite lack of funding as a critical obstacle to
interoperability.
(7) State and local budget crises have made funding public safety
communications even more difficult, and competition with other critical
homeland security needs, such as personnel, physical facilities,
protective gear, and other kinds of equipment reduce the available
funding for mission-critical communications infrastructures and
equipment.
(8) Funding is needed for all phases of the communications system life
cycle: planning, system design and engineering, procurement and
installation, operations and maintenance, and testing and technology
development.  There is clear need for a dedicated and consistent Federal
funding source that is sufficient to finance comprehensive interoperable
communications solutions. The role of Federal, State, and local
governments and agencies in funding interoperable communications must be
clear.
(9) Achieving nationwide interoperability will require a significant
financial commitment at all levels of government.
In 1998, the Public Safety Wireless Network estimated that developing
interoperable communications nationwide could cost $18,000,000,000.
According to the Office of Wireless Public Safety Interoperable
Communications, the umbrella program in the Department of Homeland
Security designed to lead and coordinate interoperability efforts that
is commonly known as Project SAFECOM, that estimate is now outdated and
includes only part of the total cost of upgrades.
(10) An Independent Task Force sponsored by the Council on Foreign
Relations stated that `among other things, additional funds are
desperately needed . . . to foster interoperable communications systems
for emergency responders across the country so that those on the front
lines can communicate with each other while at the scene of attack'. The
Task Force recommended, `conservatively', that $6,800,000,000 over 5
years is needed for interoperability as well as public alert and
information systems programs.
(11) Numerous Federal agencies provide information or grants that can be
used in the development of interoperable communications systems.
However, without common guidance and standards, funding and grants are
often used in isolation of broader, regional communications needs and
capacities. There is a need to better coordinate these disparate grant
programs, and to provide unified and consistent leadership and funding
from the Federal Government.
(12) The partnership between the private and public sectors has
developed numerous solutions to significantly improve communications
interoperability that can be implemented immediately. These solutions
include deployable vehicles that contain crosspatch capabilities that
allow radio users on separate frequencies to talk to each other;
communications system overlay software and hardware that allow multiple
disparate communications networks to act as one network; and the Project
25 standard for the manufacturing of interoperable digital two-way
wireless communications products.
(13) Current approaches to achieving communications interoperability are
also hampered by the fact that in many jurisdictions--

(A) the existing radio communications infrastructure is old and
outdated;
(B) planning for interoperability is limited and fragmented among
multiple agencies;
(C) the necessary coordination and cooperation within and among
jurisdictions is difficult to achieve; and
(D) there is limited and fragmented amount of radio spectrum available
to public safety organizations.

(14) The lack of universally recognized, fully open, and implementable
standards for public safety agency needs has limited the cost
efficiencies of interoperability, and has delayed the adoption of new
technologies by public safety agencies.
(15) Solutions can only be achieved through cooperation among all levels
of government, and the Federal Government, through the Department of
Homeland Security, must provide nationwide leadership, coordination, and
a substantial share of resources necessary to purchase appropriate
technologies and create seamless communications among United States
public safety agencies.
(16) In April 2004, the General Accounting Office found that in Project
SAFECOM's 2 year history, the program has made very little progress in
addressing its overall objective of achieving national wireless
communications interoperability among first responders and public safety
systems at all levels of government, principally due to--

(A) a lack of consistent executive commitment and support; and
(B) an inadequate level of interagency collaboration.

(17) Project SAFECOM lacks the statutory authority and dedicated
resources necessary to coordinate Federal programs or accomplish other
tasks required to make the achievement of interoperability a national
priority, and a realistic goal for the Nation.

(b) Purposes- The purposes of this Act are to--

(1) require the Department of Homeland Security to provide effective
leadership, coordination, and technical assistance for the purposes of
enhancing communications interoperability, and to establish and
implement a strategy to ensure the achievement of communications
interoperability for public safety agencies throughout the United
States;
(2) authorize appropriations for interoperable communications grants to
State and local governments and public safety agencies; and
(3) support the effective acquisition, installation, and maintenance of
short-term and long-term interoperable communications equipment for
homeland security at all levels of government.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF WIRELESS PUBLIC SAFETY
INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS.
(a) Amendment- The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.)
is amended by adding after section 313 the following:

`SEC. 314. OFFICE OF WIRELESS PUBLIC SAFETY INTEROPERABLE
COMMUNICATIONS.
`(a) Definitions- In this section, the following definitions shall
apply:
`(1) COMMUNICATIONS INTEROPERABILITY- The term `communications
interoperability' means the ability of public safety service and support
providers, including emergency response providers, to communicate with
other responding agencies and Federal agencies if necessary, through
information technology systems and radio communications systems, and to
exchange voice, data, or video with one another on demand, in real time,
as necessary.
`(2) DIRECTOR- The term `Director' means the Director of Wireless Public
Safety Interoperable Communications.
`(3) OFFICE- The term `Office' means the Office of Wireless Public
Safety Interoperable Communications established under subsection (c).
`(4) PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES- The term `public safety agencies' includes
emergency response providers and any other persons that the Secretary
determines must communicate effectively with one another to respond to
emergencies.
`(b) Sense of Congress Regarding Project SAFECOM- It is the Sense of
Congress that--
`(1) after more than 2 years, Project SAFECOM has made very limited
progress in addressing its overall objective of achieving communications
interoperability among entities at all levels of government;
`(2) a principal impediment to progress has been the failure to
effectively collaborate with, and to obtain consistent
funding from, other Federal agencies involved with SAFECOM; and
`(3) in order to accelerate progress in achieving communications
interoperability among entities at all levels of government, all Federal
funding and program management to achieve this goal should reside within
the Department of Homeland Security.
`(c) Establishment-
`(1) IN GENERAL- There is established the Office of Wireless Public
Safety Interoperable Communications within the Directorate of Science
and Technology, which shall be headed by a Director of Wireless Public
Safety Interoperable Communications appointed by the Secretary.
`(2) ADMINISTRATION- The Secretary shall provide the Office with the
resources and staff necessary to carry out the purposes of this section,
including sufficient staff to provide support to each State. Support
under this paragraph shall include outreach, coordination, and technical
assistance.
`(3) DUTIES-
`(A) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE-
`(i) ASSISTANCE THROUGH DIRECTOR- The Secretary, acting through the
Director, shall--
`(I) provide leadership and coordination among all other Federal
agencies that provide funding, research, technology development, or
other support for communications interoperability;
`(II) accelerate, in consultation with other nationally recognized
standards organizations as appropriate, the development of national
voluntary consensus standards for communications interoperability,
including the Project 25 standard, and establish a schedule of
milestones to be achieved in developing such standards;
`(III) provide technical assistance to Federal, State, and local
governments and public safety agencies on planning, interoperability
architectures, acquisition strategies, and other functions necessary to
achieve communications interoperability;
`(IV) participate in the review and final approval of funding for grant
applications for the
purposes of administering the grant program established under section
430(e); and
`(V) provide direct technical assistance to State and local governments
and public safety agencies for the purposes of administering the grant
program established under section 430(e).
`(ii) ASSISTANCE BY DIRECTOR AND UNDER SECRETARY FOR SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY- The Director, under the direction of the Under Secretary for
Science and Technology, shall--
`(I) conduct and otherwise provide for research, development, testing,
and evaluation for public safety communications technologies and
equipment;
`(II) evaluate and validate new technology concepts, including systems
engineering and
development, and promote the deployment of advanced broadband
communications
technologies; and
`(III) encourage the development of flexible and open architectures and
standards, with appropriate levels of security, for short-term and
long-term solutions to interoperability.
`(B) OUTREACH AND COORDINATION- The Secretary, acting through both the
Director and the Office of State and Local Government Coordination
established under section 801, shall take such steps as are necessary to
enable public safety agencies to achieve more effective and efficient
interoperable communications, and shall collaborate with other Federal
agencies, the leadership of public safety agencies, and State and local
governments to--
`(i) develop and maintain a task force that represents the broad
customer base of State and local public safety agencies, as well as
Federal agencies, involved in public safety agency disciplines, in order
to receive input and coordinate efforts to achieve communications
interoperability;
`(ii) develop and implement a national strategy to achieve
communications interoperability;
`(iii) facilitate collaborative planning and partnerships among local,
State, and Federal government agencies;
`(iv) coordinate, execute, and align all Federal public safety wireless
communications activities, to include the development of common guidance
for grant programs, and any programs conducting demonstration projects,
technical assistance, outreach, testing and evaluation, or research and
development to enhance public safety wireless communications and
interoperability;
`(v) share best practices, and provide outreach and coordination to
State and local governments and public safety agencies, to implement
short-term and long-term solutions to achieve communications
interoperability, and to include commercially available equipment that
facilitates interoperability, coordination, and integration among
existing emergency communications systems;
`(vi) identify and work to overcome the political, institutional, and
geographic barriers within the public safety community that can impede
interoperability among public safety agencies, including among Federal
agencies;
`(vii) develop appropriate performance measures and systematically
measure the Nation's progress
towards interoperability; and
`(viii) monitor the availability of, and make recommendations to
Congress to address problems associated with the availability and more
efficient use of, radio spectrum for public safety.
`(d) National Strategy-
`(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall, in
cooperation with State and local governments, Federal agencies, public
safety agencies, the private sector, and the task force established
under subsection (c)(3)(B)(i), develop a national strategy to achieve
communications interoperability, which shall--
`(A) provide for the development of national voluntary standards for the
purchase and use by public safety agencies of interoperable
communications equipment and technologies;
`(B) identify the appropriate interoperable communications capabilities
necessary for Federal, State, and local public safety agencies to
adequately protect the people of the United States;
`(C) address both short-term and long-term solutions to achieving
Federal, State and local communications interoperability, including
provision of commercially available equipment that facilitates
interoperability, coordination, and integration among existing emergency
communications systems;
`(D) identify how the Federal Government can work effectively with State
and local governments, public safety agencies in all States, and such
other entities as are necessary to implement the strategy;
`(E) include measures to identify and overcome all obstacles to
achieving interoperability; and
`(F) set goals and establish time frames for the achievement of
communications interoperability across the United States, and develop
performance measures to determine whether these goals are being met.
`(2) REPORT- Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of the
Connecting the Operations of National Networks of Emergency
Communications Technologies for First Responders Act of 2004, and each
year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Congress--
`(A) detailing the progress of the Department in carrying out the
purposes of this section;
`(B) detailing the progress in achieving communications
interoperability; and
`(C) making any recommendations necessary to expedite the fulfillment of
the purposes of this section.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c108:34:./temp/~c108pk1uCf:e403:

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