Connecting the Operations of National Networks of Emergency Communications Technologies for First Responders Act of 2004 - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to express the sense of Congress that: (1) Project SAFECOM (an e-government initiative) has made very limited progress toward achieving communications interoperability among government entities; (2) a lack of effective collaboration and consistent funding are impeding progress; and (3) all funding and program management to achieve interoperability should reside within the Department of Homeland Security.
Establishes the Office of Wireless Public Safety Interoperable Communications within the Directorate of Science and Technology.
Requires with regard to communications interoperability: (1) the Secretary, acting through the Director of such Office, to provide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance; (2) the Director, under the direction of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, to conduct R&D, evaluate new technologies, promote deployment of advanced broadband communications technologies, and encourage flexible and open architectures and standards; (3) the Secretary, acting through both the Director and the Office of State and Local Government Coordination, to conduct outreach and coordination; and (4) the Secretary, acting through the Director, to develop a national strategy.
Creates an interoperable communications technology grant program for eligible States (those States lacking adequate interoperability that have submitted a communications interoperability plan to the Secretary) and local governments and public safety agencies within such States.
Prohibits the award of grants to reimburse recipients for past expenditures except that public safety agencies may be reimbursed for funds expended after September 11, 2001, and before the date of enactment of this Act if such expenditures support an approved agency plan.
[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4400 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4400
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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.
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, and
such sums as are necessary each fiscal year thereafter, for the
operations of the Office, and for other entities within the Department
whose activities facilitate the purposes of the Connecting the
Operations of National Networks of Emergency Communications
Technologies for First Responders Act of 2004.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents in
section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101) is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 313 the
following:
``314. Office of Wireless Public Safety Interoperable
Communications.''.
SEC. 4. INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY GRANT PROGRAM.
Section 430 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 238) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(e) Interoperable Communications Grants.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection, the following
definitions shall apply:
``(A) 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.
``(B) Eligible state.--The term `eligible State'
means a State that--
``(i) has submitted a plan under paragraph
(4); and
``(ii) the Secretary determines has not
achieved adequate statewide communications
interoperability.
``(C) 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.
``(2) In general.--The Secretary shall--
``(A) make grants on a competitive basis directly
to local governments (including a consortium of local
governments) and public safety agencies within eligible
States, in consultation with the chief executives of
the State or States, for the purpose of assisting in
the development of interoperable communications systems
at any stage, including--
``(i) planning, system design, and
engineering;
``(ii) procurement and installation of
equipment;
``(iii) operations and maintenance of
equipment; and
``(iv) testing and technology development;
and
``(B) make grants to eligible States for
initiatives necessary to achieve communications
interoperability within each State, including--
``(i) statewide communications planning;
``(ii) system design and engineering;
``(iii) procurement and installation of
equipment;
``(iv) operations and maintenance of
equipment; and
``(v) testing and technology development
initiatives.
``(3) Coordination.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall ensure that
grants administered under this subsection are
coordinated with the activities of other entities of
the Department and other Federal entities so that
grants awarded under this subsection, and other grant
programs related to homeland security, facilitate the
achievement of the strategy developed under section
314(c), and the purposes of the Connecting the
Operations of National Networks of Emergency
Communications Technologies for First Responders Act of
2004.
``(B) Relationship to existing grant programs.--
Nothing in this Act shall provide for the combination
of grant funds among the grant program established
under this subsection and any other grant programs
administered by the Department of Homeland Security,
including the State Homeland Security Grant Program of
the Department, or any successor to such grant program,
and the Urban Area Security Initiative of the
Department, or any successor to such grant program.
``(4) Eligibility.--
``(A) Submission of plan.--To be eligible to
receive a grant under this subsection, each eligible
State, or local governments or public safety agencies
within an eligible State or States, shall submit a
communications interoperability plan to the Secretary
that--
``(i) addresses any stage of the
development of interoperable communications
systems, including planning, system design and
engineering, procurement and installation,
operations and maintenance, and testing and
technology development;
``(ii) if the applicant is not a State,
includes a description of how the applicant
addresses the goals specified in any applicable
State plan or plans submitted under this
section; and
``(iii) is approved by the Secretary.
``(B) Incorporation and consistency.--A plan
submitted under subparagraph (A) may be part of, and
shall be consistent with, any other homeland security
plans required of the submitting party by the
Department.
``(5) Award of grants.--
``(A) Considerations.--In approving plans and
awarding grants under this subsection, the Secretary
shall consider--
``(i) the nature of the threat to the
eligible State or local jurisdiction;
``(ii) the location, risk, or vulnerability
of critical infrastructure and key national
assets;
``(iii) the number, as well as the density,
of persons who will be served by interoperable
communications systems;
``(iv) the extent of the partnerships,
existing or planned, established between local
jurisdictions and agencies participating in the
development of interoperable communications
systems, and their coordination with Federal
and State agencies;
``(v) the level of communications
interoperability already achieved by the
jurisdictions;
``(vi) the extent to which the
communications interoperability plan submitted
under paragraph (4) adequately addresses steps
necessary to implement short-term or long-term
solutions to communications interoperability;
``(vii) the extent to which eligible States
and local governments, in light of their
financial capability, demonstrate their
commitment to expeditiously achieving
communications interoperability by
supplementing Federal funds with non-Federal
funds;
``(viii) the extent to which grants will
expedite the achievement of interoperability in
the relevant jurisdiction with Federal, State,
and local agencies; and
``(ix) the extent to which grants will be
utilized to implement advanced communications
technologies to promote interoperability.
``(B) Cost sharing.--
``(i) In general.--The Federal share of the
costs of an activity carried out with a grant
to an applicant awarded under this section
shall not exceed 75 percent.
``(ii) In-kind matching.--Each recipient of
a covered grant may meet the matching
requirement under clause (i) by making in-kind
contributions of goods or services that are
directly linked with the purpose for which the
grant is made, including personnel overtime,
contractor services, administrative costs,
equipment fuel and maintenance, and rental
space.
``(6) Reimbursement.--
``(A) In general.--Unless otherwise requested by
the recipient of a grant under this subsection, grants
shall not be awarded to reimburse the recipient for
prior expenditures related to achieving communications
interoperability.
``(B) Exception.--The Secretary shall reimburse
public safety agencies directly for costs incurred for
expenditures related to achieving communications
interoperability, if--
``(i) the public safety agency expended
funds after September 11, 2001, and before the
date of enactment of this subsection; and
``(ii) such expenditures are consistent
with and supportive of the communications
interoperability plan approved by the Secretary
under paragraph (4)(A)(iii).
``(C) Termination of authority.--The authority of
the Secretary under subparagraph (B) shall terminate
one year after the date on which the Department of
Homeland Security first allocates grant funds for this
program.
``(7) Authorization of appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $500,000,000 for
fiscal year 2005, $750,000,000 for fiscal year 2006,
$1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, $1,250,000,000 for fiscal
year 2008, $1,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, and such sums
as are necessary each fiscal year thereafter, to carry out the
purposes of this subsection.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security (Select), 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.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security (Select), 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.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security (Select), 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.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness and Response.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Science, and Research and Development.
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