[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1753 Introduced in Senate (IS)]


109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1753

  To establish a unified national hazard alert system, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 22, 2005

    Mr. DeMint (for himself, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Nelson of 
   Nebraska, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Lott, and Ms. Landrieu) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish a unified national hazard alert system, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Warning, Alert, 
and Response Network Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Establishment of all hazards alert system.
Sec. 3. National program office.
Sec. 4. Working group on national alert system.
Sec. 5. Grant program for remote community alert systems.
Sec. 6. Characteristics of alerts.
Sec. 7. Implementation and use of system.
Sec. 8. Definitions.
Sec. 9. Authorization of appropriations.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF ALL HAZARDS ALERT SYSTEM.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established an all hazards alert 
system that--
            (1) will enable any appropriate Federal department or 
        agency or State or local governmental entity to alert the 
        public to any imminent threat from natural phenomena, 
        accidents, natural disasters, terrorist activity, and other 
        emergency situations that present a significant risk of injury 
        or death to the public;
            (2) will be coordinated with and supplement existing 
        Federal, State, and local emergency warning and alert system;
            (3) will be flexible enough in its application to permit 
        narrowly targeted alerts in circumstances in which only a small 
        geographic area is exposed or potentially exposed to the 
        threat; and
            (4) will transmit alerts in response to natural hazards, 
        hazardous materials incidents, and terrorist attacks across the 
        greatest possible variety of media, including digital and 
        analog broadcast, cable, and satellite television and radio, 
        wireless telecommunications, and hardwire telecommunications, 
        to reach the largest portion of the affected population.
    (b) Technology.--The System--
            (1) shall incorporate multiple technologies for effecting 
        mass communications and be designed to adapt to, and 
        incorporate, future technologies for communicating directly 
        with the public;
            (2) include mechanisms and technologies to ensure that 
        members of the public with disabilities are able to receive 
        alerts and information provided through the System;
            (3) may not interfere with existing alert, warning, or 
        emergency communications systems employed by Federal, State, or 
        local emergency response personnel;
            (4) shall be designed to provide alerts over as diverse a 
        group of media as possible, to include digital and analog 
        broadcast, cable, and satellite television and radio, wireless 
        telecommunications, and landline communications and 
        technologies for communicating within rural communities;
            (5) shall incorporate existing emergency alert technologies 
        currently utilized by digital and analog broadcast, cable, and 
        satellite television and radio; and
            (6) shall incorporate technologies to alert traditionally 
        underserved communities.
    (c) Official Access and Activation.--The director shall implement 
procedures that ensure that--
            (1) the System is available to, and enables, credentialed 
        personnel to access and utilize the System to provide 
        geographically targeted alerts where such alerts are 
        appropriate; and
            (2) the System is available to, and enables, State and 
        local public safety officials to provide alerts for hazards 
        within their respective jurisdictions subject to a mechanism 
        developed by the Working Group for verifying the legitimacy and 
        authenticity of a proffered System alert, ensuring the 
        proffered alert's compliance with regulations established by 
        the Office, and guaranteeing the integrity of a System alert 
        from the point of origination to delivery.
    (d) Public Access.--The System shall--
            (1) utilize multiple technologies for providing alerts to 
        the public, including technologies that do not require members 
        of the public to activate a particular device or use a 
        particular technology to receive an alert provided via the 
        System;
            (2) provide redundant alert mechanisms where practicable so 
        as to reach the greatest number of people regardless of whether 
        they have access to, or utilize, any specific medium of 
        communication or any particular device; and
            (3) incorporate means by which an individual may remove a 
        passive alert device from the System or otherwise block alerts 
        transmitted through the device to the individual on a device 
        owned or controlled by that individual.
    (e) EAS Coordination and Requirements.--The director shall work 
with the Federal Communications Commission to ensure that the System--
            (1) complements, rather than duplicates, the current 
        emergency alert system; and
            (2) obtains the maximum benefit possible from the 
        utilization of existing research and development, technologies, 
        and processes developed for or utilized by the emergency alert 
        system.
    (f) Emergency Alert System.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, all broadcast licensees or permittees engaged in digital 
broadcasting shall broadcast any emergency alert, including alerts 
under the emergency alert system established pursuant to sections 1, 4, 
303, and 706 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151, 154, 
303, and 606) governing war emergency powers of the President of the 
United States, at the request of--
            (1) the President of the United States;
            (2) the Secretary of Homeland Security; or
            (3) a governor of a State in which it broadcasts.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL PROGRAM OFFICE.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--The National Program Office is established 
        within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
            (2) Director.--The office shall be headed by a director 
        with at least 5 years' operational experience in the management 
        and issuance of warnings and alerts, hazardous event 
        management, or disaster planning.
            (3) Staff.--The office shall have a staff with significant 
        technical expertise in the telecommunications industry. The 
        director may request the detailing, with or without 
        reimbursement, of staff from any appropriate Federal department 
        or agency in order to ensure that the concerns of all such 
        departments and agencies are incorporated into the daily 
        operation of the System.
    (b) Functions and Responsibilities.--
            (1) In general.--The Office shall conduct the day-to-day 
        operation and management of the System.
            (2) Implementation of working group recommendations.--The 
        Office shall be responsible for implementing the 
        recommendations of the Working Group established by section 4 
        regarding--
                    (A) the technical issuance of alerts;
                    (B) the incorporation of new technologies into the 
                System; and
                    (C) the technical capabilities of the System.
    (c) Reports.--
            (1) Initial Progress Report.--Fifteen months after the date 
        of enactment of this Act, the director shall transmit a report 
        to the President, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, 
        and Transportation and Committee on Homeland Security and 
        Governmental Affairs and the House of Representatives Committee 
        on Energy and Commerce and Committee on Homeland Security 
        concerning--
                    (A) the progress made toward operational activation 
                of the System; and
                    (B) the anticipated date on which the System will 
                be activated.
            (2) Annual reports.--The director shall submit an annual 
        report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
        Transportation and Committee on Homeland Security and 
        Governmental Affairs and the House of Representatives Committee 
        on Energy and Commerce and Committee on Homeland Security on 
        the status of, and plans for, the System.
            (3) 5-year plan.--Within 1 year after the date of enactment 
        of this Act and every 5 years thereafter, the director shall 
        publish a 5-year plan that outlines future capabilities and 
        warning technologies for the System. The plan shall serve as 
        the long-term planning document for the Office.
    (d) Research and Development Program.--The director shall establish 
a research and development program to support the development of 
technology that will enable all existing and future providers of 
communications services and all existing and future communications 
devices to be utilized effectively with the System.

SEC. 4. WORKING GROUP ON NATIONAL ALERT SYSTEM.

    (a) Establishment of Working Group.--Not later than 60 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the director of the National Program 
Office shall establish a working group, to be known as the Working 
Group on the National Alert System. The director of the Office shall 
serve as chairperson of the Working Group.
    (b) Membership.--
            (1) Federal government.--The membership of the Working 
        Group shall include appropriate personnel from the National 
        Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Oceanic and 
        Atmospheric Administration, the Federal Communications 
        Commission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The 
        chair may also include in the Working Group representatives of 
        other Federal agencies as appropriate.
            (2) State and local governments, etc.--The Working Group 
        shall include 8 representatives from State and local 
        governments and 5 representatives of emergency services 
        personnel, selected by national organizations representing such 
        governments and personnel.
            (3) Communications service providers.--Membership in the 
        Working Group shall be open to representatives of--
                    (A) communications service providers,
                    (B) vendors, developers, and manufacturers of 
                facilities, equipment, and capabilities for the 
                provision of communications services, and
                    (C) trusted third party service bureaus,
        who have the requisite technical knowledge and expertise to 
        assist the Working Group in the fulfillment of its duties.
            (4) Appointments.--The initial meeting of the Working Group 
        shall take place not later than 60 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
            (5) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the Working Group shall not 
        affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner as 
        the original appointment.
    (c) Duties of the Working Group.--Not later than 1 year after the 
enactment of this Act, the Working Group shall transmit to the 
director--
            (1) a description of the emergency alert service to be 
        provided by the System;
            (2) guidelines for the technical capabilities of the 
        System;
            (3) guidelines for technical capability that provides for 
        the priority transmission of System alerts;
            (4) guidelines for the other capabilities of the System as 
        specified in this Act; and
            (5) standards to which the equipment and technologies in 
        the System must conform.
    (d) Acceptance of Gifts and Grants.--The Working Group may accept, 
use, and dispose of gifts or grants of services or property, both real 
and personal, for purposes of aiding or facilitating the work of the 
Working Group. Gifts or grants not used at the expiration of the 
Working Group shall be returned to the donor or grantor.
    (e) Other Resources.--The Working Group shall have reasonable 
access to--
            (1) materials, resources, data, and other information from 
        the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the 
        Department of Commerce and its agencies, the Department of 
        Homeland Security and its bureaus, and the Federal 
        Communications Commission; and
            (2) the facilities of any such agency for purposes of 
        conducting meetings.
    (f) Rules of the Working Group.--
            (1) Quorum.--One-third of the members of the Working Group 
        shall constitute a quorum for conducting business of the 
        Working Group.
            (2) Meetings.--The chairperson shall convene meetings. Any 
        meetings held by the Working Group shall be duly noticed at 
        least 14 days in advance and shall be open to the public.
            (3) Public Notice and Comment.--The Working Group shall 
        provide public notice and an opportunity for public comment on 
        each of the matters committed to it.
            (4) Subcommittees.--To assist the Working Group in carrying 
        out its functions, the chairperson may establish appropriate 
        subcommittees composed of members of the Working Group and 
        other subject matter experts as deemed necessary.
            (5) Additional rules.--The Working Group may adopt other 
        rules as needed.
    (g) Federal Advisory Committee Act.--Neither the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. ) nor any rule, order, or regulation 
promulgated under that Act shall apply to the Working Group.

SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM FOR REMOTE COMMUNITY ALERT SYSTEMS.

    (a) Grant Program.--The Office shall establish a program under 
which grants may be made to provide for the installation of 
technologies in remote communities effectively unserved by broadcast 
and wireless technologies for the purpose of enabling residents of 
those communities to receive System alerts.
    (b) Applications and Conditions.--In conducting the program, the 
director of the Office--
            (1) shall establish a notification and application 
        procedure; and
            (2) may establish such conditions, and require such 
        assurances, as may be appropriate to ensure the efficiency and 
        integrity of the grant program.

SEC. 6. CHARACTERISTICS OF ALERTS.

    (a) In General.--The System shall be capable of--
            (1) notifying the public of hazardous situations that pose 
        an imminent threat to the public health or safety;
            (2) providing appropriate instructions for actions to be 
        taken by individuals affected or potentially affected by such a 
        situation;
            (3) transmitting public address by Federal, State, or local 
        officials; and
            (4) notifying the public of when the hazardous situation 
        has ended or brought under control.
    (b) Event Eligibility Regulations.--The Office shall by regulation 
specify--
            (1) the classes of events or situations for which the 
        System may be used to alert the public; and
            (2) the types of alerts that may be transmitted by or 
        through use of the System.
    (c) Voluntary Alerts Retransmittal.--The System shall be capable of 
transmitting alerts that are not of a nature described in subsection 
(a) subject to the requirement that any recipient of such an alert 
shall take appropriate action to receive the alert.

SEC. 7. IMPLEMENTATION AND USE OF SYSTEM.

    (a) Credentialing.--
            (1) In general.--The System shall include a credentialing 
        process for public officials with responsibility for issuing 
        safety warnings to the public that will enable them to access 
        the System.
            (2) Review of requests.--The Office shall review and 
        approve requests for credentials from Federal, State, and local 
        government agencies. All such requests shall be submitted to 
        the Office by the head of the Federal department or agency, or 
        the governor of the State, concerned.
            (3) Scope and Limitations of Credentials.--The Office 
        shall--
                    (A) establish eligibility criteria for issuing, 
                renewing, and revoking access credentials;
                    (B) limit credentials to appropriate geographic 
                areas or political jurisdictions; and
                    (C) ensure that the credentials permit use of the 
                System only for alerts that are consistent with the 
                jurisdiction, authority, and basis for eligibility of 
                the individual credentialed to use the System.
            (4) Periodic training.--The Office shall--
                    (A) establish a periodic training program for 
                individuals credentialed to use the System; and
                    (B) require credentialed individuals to undergo 
                periodic training under the program as a prerequisite 
                for retaining their credentials to use the system.
    (b) Access Points.--The System shall provide--
            (1) widely dispersed multiple access points to credentialed 
        Federal, State, and local officials to input appropriate alerts 
        into the System for retransmission to citizens; and
            (2) system redundancies to ensure functionality in the 
        event of partial system failures, power failures, or other 
        interruptive events.
    (c) Operational Announcement.--The director of the National Program 
Office shall notify the President and the Congress when the System is 
operational, ready to be deployed, and capable of transmitting alerts 
across a variety of media to the public.
    (d) Election To Carry Service.--
            (1) Amendment of license.--Within 60 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission 
        shall initiate a proceeding--
                    (A) to allow any licensee providing mobile service 
                (as defined in section 3(27) of the Communications Act 
                of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153(27))) to transmit System alerts 
                to all subscribers to, or users of, such service; and
                    (B) to require any such licensee who elects under 
                paragraph (2) not to participate in the transmission of 
                System alerts, to disclose to potential subscribers to 
                its mobile service, at the point of sale of any devices 
                with which its service is included, that it will not 
                transmit System alerts via its service.
            (2) Election to carry service.--
                    (A) In general.--Within 60 days after transmittal 
                by the Working Group of the requirements under section 
                4(c), each such licensee shall--
                            (i) file an election with the Commission 
                        with respect to whether or not it intends to 
                        participate in the transmission of System 
                        alerts; and
                            (ii) if it elects to participate, certify 
                        to the Commission that it will do so in a 
                        manner consistent with the standards and 
                        protocols implemented by the National Program 
                        Office.
                    (B) Withdrawal from or later entry into system.--
                The Commission shall establish a procedure for--
                            (i) participating licensees to withdraw 
                        from the System; and
                            (ii) licensees to enter the System at a 
                        date later than provided in subparagraph (A).
            (3) Limitation of liability.--A licensee described in 
        paragraph (1) shall not be liable to any subscriber to, or user 
        of, such licensee's mobile service for--
                    (A) any act or omission related to or any harm 
                resulting from the transmission of, or failure to 
                transmit, a System alert to such subscriber or user;
                    (B) the failure, deficiency, or malfunction of any 
                network, equipment, or facility of the provider or any 
                other person, or the lack of coverage or network 
                capacity;
                    (C) the discontinuation of service or the 
                unavailability of any networks, equipment, or facility 
                of the provider or any other person; or
                    (D) the release to a government agency or entity, 
                public safety, fire service or law enforcement official 
                or emergency facility of subscriber information related 
                to emergency alert messages.
    (e) Digital Television Transmission Towers.--
            (1) Retransmission capability.--Within 30 days after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications 
        Commission shall initiate a proceeding to require public 
        broadcast television licensees and permittees to install 
        necessary equipment and technologies on, or as part of, any 
        broadcast television digital signal transmitter for the 
        reception, relay, and retransmission of System alerts.
            (2) Compensation.--The National Program Office established 
        pursuant to section 3 shall compensate any such licensee or 
        permittee for costs incurred in complying with the requirements 
        imposed pursuant to paragraph (1).
    (f) FCC Regulation of Compliance.--Except as provided in 
subsections (d) and (e), the Federal Communications Commission shall 
have no regulatory authority under this Act except to regulate 
compliance with this Act by licensees and permittees regulated by the 
Commission under the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et 
seq.).

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Director.--The term ``director'' means the director of 
        the National Program Office.
            (2) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the National Program 
        Office.
            (3) System.--The term ``System'' means the national alert 
        system operated and managed by the Office.
            (4) Working group.--The term ``Working Group'' means the 
        Working Group on the National Alert System established in 
        section 4.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Undersecretary of 
Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 to 
carry out this Act, such sum to remain available until expended.
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