[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                   20 YEARS AFTER 9/11: EXAMINING EMERGENCY 
                                  COMMUNICATIONS

=======================================================================

                               HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                            SUBCOMMITTEE ON
                        EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS,
                         RESPONSE, AND RECOVERY

                                 OF THE

                     COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                  OCTOBER 7, 2021 and NOVEMBER 2, 2021

                               __________

                           Serial No. 117-32

                               __________

       Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
                                     

[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 
                                     

        Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov

                               __________


                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
46-622 PDF                 WASHINGTON : 2022                     
          
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
                            

                     COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

               Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi, Chairman
Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas            John Katko, New York
James R. Langevin, Rhode Island      Michael T. McCaul, Texas
Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey     Clay Higgins, Louisiana
J. Luis Correa, California           Michael Guest, Mississippi
Elissa Slotkin, Michigan             Dan Bishop, North Carolina
Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri            Jefferson Van Drew, New Jersey
Al Green, Texas                      Ralph Norman, South Carolina
Yvette D. Clarke, New York           Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa
Eric Swalwell, California            Diana Harshbarger, Tennessee
Dina Titus, Nevada                   Andrew S. Clyde, Georgia
Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey    Carlos A. Gimenez, Florida
Kathleen M. Rice, New York           Jake LaTurner, Kansas
Val Butler Demings, Florida          Peter Meijer, Michigan
Nanette Diaz Barragan, California    Kat Cammack, Florida
Josh Gottheimer, New Jersey          August Pfluger, Texas
Elaine G. Luria, Virginia            Andrew R. Garbarino, New York
Tom Malinowski, New Jersey
Ritchie Torres, New York
                       Hope Goins, Staff Director
                 Daniel Kroese, Minority Staff Director
                          Natalie Nixon, Clerk
                                 
                                 ------                                

     SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, AND RECOVERY

                Val Butler Demings, Florida, Chairwoman
Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas            Kat Cammack, Florida, Ranking 
Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey         Member
Al Green, Texas                      Clay Higgins, Louisiana
Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey    Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa
Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi (ex  Andrew R. Garbarino, New York
    officio)                         John Katko, New York (ex officio)
              Lauren McClain, Subcommittee Staff Director
          Diana Bergwin, Minority Subcommittee Staff Director
                    Aaron Greene, Subcommittee Clerk
                           
                           C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

                       Thursday, October 7, 2021
                               Statements

The Honorable Val Butler Demings, a Representative in Congress 
  From the State of Florida, and Chairwoman, Subcommittee on 
  Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery:
  Oral Statement.................................................     1
  Prepared Statement.............................................     2
The Honorable Kat Cammack, a Representative in Congress From the 
  State of Florida, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Emergency 
  Preparedness, Response, and Recovery:
  Oral Statement.................................................     3
  Prepared Statement.............................................     5
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress 
  From the State of Mississippi, and Chairman, Committee on 
  Homeland Security:
  Prepared Statement.............................................     7

                               Witnesses

Dr. Christopher Rodriguez, Director, Homeland Security and 
  Emergency Management Agency, District of Columbia:
  Oral Statement.................................................     9
  Prepared Statement.............................................    10
Mr. Mel Maier, Captain, Oakland County Sheriff's Office:
  Oral Statement.................................................    11
  Prepared Statement.............................................    13
Mr. Chris Lombard, Deputy Chief, Seattle Fire Department, On 
  Behalf of International Association of Fire Chiefs:
  Oral Statement.................................................    16
  Prepared Statement.............................................    17
Mr. H.D. ``Gator'' DeLoach, III, Sheriff, Putnam County Sheriff's 
  Office:
  Oral Statement.................................................    23
  Prepared Statement.............................................    26

                             For the Record

The Honorable Val Butler Demings, a Representative in Congress 
  From the State of Florida, and Chairwoman, Subcommittee on 
  Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery:
  Statement of Art Acevedo, President, Major Cities Chiefs 
    Association..................................................    47

                       Tuesday, November 2, 2021
                               Statements

The Honorable Val Butler Demings, a Representative in Congress 
  From the State of Florida, and Chairwoman, Subcommittee on 
  Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery:
  Oral Statement.................................................    53
  Prepared Statement.............................................    54
The Honorable Kat Cammack, a Representative in Congress From the 
  State of Florida, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Emergency 
  Preparedness, Response, and Recovery:
  Oral Statement.................................................    55
  Prepared Statement.............................................    57
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress 
  From the State of Mississippi, and Chairman, Committee on 
  Homeland Security:
  Prepared Statement.............................................    58

                               Witnesses

Mr. Antwane Johnson, Director, Integrated Public Alert and 
  Warning System, Federal Emergency Management Agency:
  Oral Statement.................................................    59
  Prepared Statement.............................................    60
Mr. Billy Bob Brown, Jr., Executive Assistant Director, Emergency 
  Communications, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 
  Agency:
  Oral Statement.................................................    65
  Prepared Statement.............................................    66
Mr. Edward Parkinson, Chief Executive Officer, First Responder 
  Network Authority, National Telecommunications and Information 
  Administration:
  Oral Statement.................................................    71
  Prepared Statement.............................................    72

                                Appendix

Questions From Chairwoman Val Demings for Antwane Johnson........    99
Questions From Ranking Member Val Demings for Antwane Johnson....   101
Question From Honorable Val Demings for Billy Bob Brown, Jr......   102
Questions From Honorable Kat Cammack for Billy Bob Brown, Jr.....   102

 
    20 YEARS AFTER 9/11: EXAMINING EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, PART I

                              ----------                              


                       Thursday, October 7, 2021

             U.S. House of Representatives,
                    Committee on Homeland Security,
                   Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, 
                                    Response, and Recovery,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 12:04 p.m., 
via Webex, Hon. Val Butler Demings [Chairwoman of the 
subcommittee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Demings, Jackson Lee, Payne, 
Green, Watson Coleman, Cammack, Higgins, and Miller-Meeks.
    Also present: Representative Slotkin.
    Mrs. Demings. The Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, 
Response, and Recovery will come to order.
    The subcommittee is meeting today to receive testimony on 
``20 Years After 9/11: Examining Emergency Communications.''
    Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare the 
subcommittee in recess at any point.
    Last month, our Nation marked 20 years since the worst 
terrorist attack on U.S. soil. The Committee on Homeland 
Security joined many of our colleagues from New York and New 
Jersey to visit the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, 
and held a roundtable with first responders. We have also 
conducted several hearings on the evolution of the Department 
of Homeland Security and heard from our intelligence community 
regarding the current and emerging threats to our homeland.
    Today, the Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery 
Subcommittee will examine the progress made in emergency 
communications since September 11, 2001, and discuss the 
challenges that may still persist today.
    As you know, from emergency managers and first responders 
who served on September 11 and the 9/11 Commission Report, 
police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services 
experienced significant problems communicating within their own 
agencies and with others who responded on that day.
    On the morning of September 11, I was assigned to the 
Orlando International Airport as the commander of the Orlando 
Police Department Airport Police Division. As reports of the 
attack on the World Trade Center emerged and the Federal 
Aviation Administration ordered all aircraft grounded, airport 
and law enforcement leadership had to immediately execute 
emergency operations to protect passengers, employees, and the 
public.
    I know how the first responders felt in Orlando. I can't 
even begin to imagine all that the first responders on the 
ground experienced and went through in New York. My husband 
served in law enforcement as well, and I have two sons who are 
firefighters. My heart continues to go out to the families who 
lost loved ones that tragic day.
    Communications and interoperability are essential. First 
responders consider it their lifeline.
    Over the next months and years, incredible progress has 
been made to address the undescribable challenges on September 
11 and improve the Nation's emergency communications apparatus 
through programs such as First Responder Network Authority and 
the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System. However, 
challenges in operability and interoperability still persist, 
and our aging 9-1-1 infrastructure poses additional 
vulnerabilities.
    Operability and interoperability remain among the greatest 
concerns that first responders and public safety officials 
face. Tragedy and disaster can come, as we all know, in many 
forms.
    Climate change also poses significant and growing 
challenges for emergency communications. From rapid-spreading 
wildfires in the West to increasingly strong and frequent 
hurricanes, cell towers and radio communications systems remain 
vulnerable to critical failures. In August, Hurricane Ida, a 
powerful Category 4 storm, crashed the New Orleans, Louisiana, 
9-1-1 call center and FirstNet Authority, making it difficult, 
if not impossible, to respond to emergencies.
    Members of Congress, we know we have an important role in 
the improvement of emergency communications technology. We must 
continue to provide funding through grants, such as the State 
Homeland Security Program and the Urban Area Security 
Initiative. These programs have provided critical Federal 
funding for jurisdictions to buy equipment, build and fix 
communications towers, and make broadband improvements.
    While grant programs such as UASI are created specifically 
for urban areas, we understand that rural communities and 
Tribal lands face their own challenges with broadband and 
connectivity that can also complicate emergency response. 
Federal grants support these communities, but can always be 
more robust to meet the needs more completely.
    Though communications, interoperability, and resilient 
infrastructure are priorities for emergency and first 
responders, the public may only experience their benefit or 
challenges during times of crisis. Today's hearing will serve 
as an important forum to understand the current state of 
emergency communications systems and any gaps that may still 
persist.
    I am grateful today for the participation of our witnesses, 
and I look forward to your testimony.
    [The statement of Chairwoman Demings follows:]
                  Statement of Chairwoman Val Demings
                            October 7, 2021
    Last month, our Nation marked 20 years passed since the worst 
terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. The Committee on Homeland Security 
joined many of our colleagues from New York and New Jersey to visit the 
National September 11 Memorial & Museum and held a roundtable with 
first responders. We have also conducted several hearings on the 
evolution of the Department of Homeland Security and heard from our 
intelligence community regarding the current and emerging threats to 
our homeland.
    Today, the Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery 
Subcommittee will examine the progress made in emergency communications 
since September 11, 2001 and discuss the challenges that may persist 
today. As we know from emergency managers and first responders who 
served on September 11 and the 9/11 Commission Report, police officers, 
firefighters, and emergency medical services experienced significant 
problems communicating within their own agencies and across all who 
responded that day.
    On the morning of September 11, I was serving as the Orlando Police 
Department's captain of the division stationed at the Orlando 
International Airport. As reports of the attack on the World Trade 
Center emerged and the Federal Aviation Administration ordered all 
aircraft grounded, airport and law enforcement leadership had to 
immediately execute emergency operations to protect passengers, 
employees, and the public. Further, given the location and runway 
length, the airport became a safe harbor for aircraft to land in 
compliance with FAA orders. Communications and interoperability were 
essential to our ability to keep the public safe that day.
    Over the next months and years, incredible strides were made to 
address the system failure on September 11 and improve the Nation's 
emergency communications apparatus through programs such as the First 
Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) and the Integrated 
Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS). However, challenges in 
operability and interoperability still persist, and our aging 9-1-1 
infrastructure poses additional vulnerabilities.
    Operability and interoperability remain among the greatest concerns 
that first responders and public safety officials face. During the 9/11 
attacks, due to insufficient technology police officers and 
firefighters were unable to communicate among themselves and with each 
other, delaying response efforts. I know first-hand how valuable every 
second is when responding to an emergency and that being unable to get 
in touch with fellow officers can have detrimental consequences.
    Climate change also poses significant and growing challenges for 
emergency communications. From rapid-spreading wildfires in the West to 
increasingly strong and frequent hurricanes, cell towers and radio 
communications systems remain vulnerable to critical failures. In 
August, Hurricane Ida, a powerful Category 4 storm, crashed the New 
Orleans, Louisiana 9-1-1 call center and FirstNet Authority, making it 
difficult, if not impossible to respond to emergencies.
    Members of Congress have an important role in the improvement of 
emergency communications technology. We must continue to provide 
funding through grants such as the State Homeland Security Program and 
the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI). These programs have provided 
critical Federal funding for jurisdictions to buy equipment, build and 
fix communications towers, and make broadband improvements.
    While grant programs such as UASI are created specifically for 
urban areas, rural communities and Tribal lands face their own 
challenges with broadband and connectivity that can also complicate 
emergency response. Federal grants support these communities but can 
always be more robust to meet the needs more completely. Though 
communications, interoperability, and resilient infrastructure are 
priorities for emergency and first responders, the public may only 
experience their benefit--or challenges--during times of crisis. 
Today's hearing will serve as an important forum to understand the 
current state of emergency communications systems and any gaps that may 
persist.

    Mrs. Demings. The Chair now recognizes the Ranking Member 
of the subcommittee, the gentlewoman from Florida, Mrs. 
Cammack, for an opening statement.
    Mrs. Cammack. Well, thank you, Chairwoman Demings. I 
appreciate your leadership on this issue. As we have said many 
times before, we are extremely lucky that Florida has two, two 
leaders that are focused on our first responders, emergency 
preparedness, and have extremely personal ties to this. So 
thank you again for convening this important hearing today on 
our first responder communications.
    As we all know, first responders play an invaluable role in 
communities across America, and ensuring that they have the 
necessary training, equipment, funding, and resources is a top 
priority. I look forward to working with the Chairwoman to 
address some of the challenges currently facing our first 
responders, an issue I know that she also cares very deeply 
about.
    Now, last month, we mourned the 20th anniversary of the 
September 11 attacks. The 9/11 Commission Report, which 
recounts events surrounding that tragic day, calls attention to 
the fact that the lack of communication among emergency 
personnel, 9-1-1 communication call centers, and individuals in 
the towers caused confusion, ultimately costing lives.
    One New York fire department chief who was stationed in the 
North Tower is quoted in the report as saying, ``people 
watching on TV certainly had more knowledge of what was 
happening 100 floors above us than we did in the lobby. Without 
critical information coming in, it is very difficult to make 
informed, life-saving, critical decisions.''
    I have said this before. My own husband, Matt, he became a 
firefighter in part because of 9/11, watching 343 men and women 
run into the towers to save their community members, their 
neighbors, their coworkers. I can't imagine as the wife of a 
first responder what it would be like to witness in real time a 
lack of communication on the ground.
    Now, fast-forward, after first responders experienced 
similar communication challenges during Hurricane Katrina in 
2005, Congress passed the Post-Katrina Emergency Management 
Reform Act. This legislation took significant steps to 
standardize emergency communications across the country by 
establishing the National Emergency Communications Plan. Now, 
as a result of the work accomplished by the NECP, a survey 
conducted in 2018 found that 84 percent of State and 
territorial respondents reported significant or some 
improvement in the strengthening of their communications 
operability.
    The Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act also 
helped provide State and local first responders with access to 
grant funding to develop and implement State-wide communication 
interoperability plans to enhance interoperable communications 
for public safety and officials at all levels of government.
    In 2012, Congress took an additional step to improve our 
Nation's emergency communication network by passing the Middle 
Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act. This legislation 
established the first responder network authority, also known 
as FirstNet, which is responsible for overseeing the build-out 
and operation of a Nation-wide interoperable public safety 
broadband network. This dedicated public safety network has 
been critical in ensuring that, during a disaster, necessary 
information is able to reach first responders on the ground.
    While both the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act 
and the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act made 
significant improvements to emergency communications, many 
challenges still remain. One such challenge facing first 
responder networks is the very real threat of a cyber attack. 
In fact, a recent survey conducted by SAFECOM found that over a 
third of organizations indicated that cybersecurity incidents 
have had an impact on the ability of their emergency response 
providers and Government officials' ability to communicate over 
the past 5 years.
    The study also found that fire departments and 
organizations located in rural areas tend to be the least 
prepared for cybersecurity attacks, with 62 percent of fire 
departments indicating that they do not conduct any 
cybersecurity planning. Over 55 percent of organizations 
surveyed indicated that lack of funding is the reason that they 
do not and cannot invest in cybersecurity.
    First responders in rural areas like Putnam County, one of 
my counties in my district, oftentimes do not have the 
necessary funding to update their technology, and even when 
they are able to secure the necessary funds, the technology can 
be unreliable because of a lack of coverage. However, while 
advances in technology may lead to increases in cyber attacks, 
technological innovation can also be revolutionary.
    Next Generation 9-1-1 enhances the capabilities of today's 
9-1-1 networks, allowing compatibility with more types of 
communication to provide greater situational awareness to 
dispatchers and emergency responders. Next Generation 9-1-1 
will enable 
9-1-1 call centers to accept and process voice calls, video, 
photos, and text message from responders and the public. This 
capability really could be a game changer for those in need and 
for those responding to the call.
    As we continue to work to address the challenges facing 
emergency communications networks to improve the capabilities 
across the board, we must work to ensure that we are not 
pursuing a one-size-fits-all approach that may not accommodate 
the unique needs that many of our communities face, especially 
those in rural communities.
    I applaud the progress that has been made to improve first 
responder communications over the last 20 years, but we have a 
long way to go. In preparation for today's hearing, I actually 
spoke with several of my sheriffs, fire chiefs, and emergency 
managers. Coming from a rural district, several said we are no 
better today than we were 20 years ago.
    So, today, I look forward to hearing from our witnesses on 
what additional steps we in Congress can take to ensure that 
our first responders have the information and connectivity to 
continue serving our communities.
    With that, Madam Chairwoman, I yield back.
    [The statement of Ranking Member Cammack follows:]
                Statement of Ranking Member Kat Cammack
    I would like to thank Chairwoman Demings for convening this 
important hearing today on first responder communications.
    First responders play an invaluable role in communities across 
America and ensuring they have the necessary training, equipment, 
funding, and resources is a top priority of mine. I look forward to 
working with the Chairwoman to address some of the challenges currently 
facing our first responders, an issue I know she also cares very deeply 
about.
    Last month, we mourned the 20th anniversary of the September 11 
attacks. The 9/11 Commission report, which recounts events surrounding 
that tragic day, calls attention to the fact that lack of communication 
among emergency personnel, 
9-1-1 call centers, and individuals in the towers sowed confusion, 
ultimately costing lives. One FDNY chief who was stationed in the North 
Tower is quoted in the report as saying, ``people watching on TV 
certainly had more knowledge of what was happening a hundred floors 
above us than we did in the lobby . . . [W]ithout critical information 
coming in . . . it's very difficult to make informed, critical 
decisions.''
    After first responders experienced similar communication challenges 
during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Congress passed the Post-Katrina 
Emergency Management Reform Act (PKEMRA). This legislation took 
significant steps to standardize emergency communications across the 
country by establishing the National Emergency Communications Plan 
(NECP). As a result of the work accomplished by the NECP, a survey 
conducted in 2018 found that 84 percent of State and territorial 
respondents reported significant or some improvement in the 
strengthening of their communications operability.
    PKEMRA also helped provide State and local first responders with 
access to grant funding to develop and implement State-wide 
Communication Interoperability Plans to enhance interoperable 
communications for public safety and officials at all levels of 
government.
    In 2012, Congress took additional steps to improve our Nation's 
emergency communication networks by passing the Middle Class Tax Relief 
and Job Creation Act. This legislation established the First Responder 
Network Authority (FirstNet), which is responsible for overseeing the 
build-out and operation of a Nation-wide interoperable public safety 
broadband network. This dedicated public safety network has been 
critical in ensuring that during a disaster, necessary information is 
able to reach first responders on the ground.
    While both PKEMRA and the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation 
Act made significant improvements to emergency communications, many 
challenges still remain.
    One such challenge facing first responder networks is the very real 
threat of a cyber attack. In fact, a recent survey conducted by SAFECOM 
found that, ``over a third of organizations indicated that 
cybersecurity incidents have had an impact on the ability of their 
emergency response providers and government officials' ability to 
communicate over the past 5 years.''
    The study also found that, ``fire departments and organizations 
located in rural areas tend to be least prepared for cybersecurity 
attacks [ . . . ] with 62 percent of fire departments indicating that 
they do not conduct any cybersecurity planning.'' And over 55 percent 
of organizations surveyed indicated that lack of funding is the reason 
that they do not invest in cybersecurity.
    First responders in rural areas, like Putnam County, Florida, 
oftentimes do not have the necessary funding to update their 
technology, and even when they are able to secure the necessary funds, 
the technology can be unreliable because of lack of coverage.
    However, while advances in technology may lead to increases in 
cyber threats, technological innovations can also be revolutionary. 
Next Generation 9-1-1 enhances the capabilities of today's 9-1-1 
networks allowing compatibility with more types of communication to 
provide greater situational awareness to dispatchers and emergency 
responders. Next Generation 9-1-1 will enable 9-1-1 call centers to 
accept and process voice calls, video, photos, and text messages from 
responders and the public. This capability could really be a game-
changer--for those in need, and those responding to the call.
    As we continue to work to address the challenges facing emergency 
communications networks, to improve capabilities across the board, we 
must work to ensure that we are not pursuing a one-size-fits-all 
approach that may not accommodate the unique needs of many first 
responders, especially those in rural communities.
    I applaud the progress that has been made to improve first 
responder communications in the past 20 years and look forward to 
hearing from our witnesses today on what additional steps are needed to 
ensure first responders have the information and connectivity to 
continue serving our communities.

    Mrs. Demings. I want to thank the Ranking Member.
    Members are also reminded that the subcommittee will 
operate according to the guidelines laid out by the Chairman 
and Ranking Member in their February 3 colloquy regarding 
remote procedures.
    Without objection, Members not on the subcommittee shall be 
permitted to sit and question the witnesses. Additional Member 
statements may be submitted for the record.
    [The statement of Chairman Thompson follows:]
                Statement of Chairman Bennie G. Thompson
                            October 7, 2021
    Twenty years ago, on 9/11, we suffered the deadliest terrorist 
attack in our Nation's history. During this unprecedented attack, our 
brave first responders did their best to locate and rescue survivors 
and many lives were saved because of their heroism. Unfortunately, 
their heroic efforts to rescue survivors were hampered by 
communications challenges.
    The 9/11 Commission's investigation found that first responders 
were forced to make life-and-death decisions based on poor 
communications. Unable to connect with one another, neither the 
supporting agencies nor the rescuers themselves could coordinate 
effectively to help victims. Systems were overloaded, and 9-1-1 call 
centers placed victims on hold multiple times. Operators faced a ``lack 
of awareness'' about what was happening at the World Trade Center and 
were overwhelmed by the volume of incoming calls. In short, 9/11 
revealed fundamental problems with communications systems used by first 
responders and public safety officials.
    Since then, we have made great strides in technology and 
capabilities, including the creation of Integrated Public Alert and 
Warning System (IPAWS), the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet 
Authority), and Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG 911). However, two decades 
later, several emergency communications challenges remain, including, 
interoperability issues, network outages, and challenges with FirstNet 
Authority.
    On December 25, 2020, a bomb was detonated downtown in Nashville, 
Tennessee, interrupting 66 emergency communications districts for more 
than 97 hours. The AT&T hub was one of the buildings blasted during the 
bombing, forcing failure of the generators, and causing a loss of 9-1-1 
communications for 4 days. A major issue in these situations is that 
generators are often the back-up solution for when a major disaster 
renders communication towers inoperable, but it may take days to reach 
an area ravaged by storm or explosion, leaving lives at risk. While we 
continue to protect our Nation against threats posed by foreign and 
domestic terrorist organizations, we also must ensure adequate focus 
and funding to end communication infrastructure challenges.
    Department of Homeland Security preparedness grants such as Urban 
Security Initiative (UASI) and State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) 
serve as an important source of funds for first responders and public 
safety officials. It allows them to use funding for expenses such as 
communications equipment, planning, training, and exercises. As the 
threats to our Nation continue to evolve, we must strengthen our 
communication systems to better protect our Nation from potential 
threats. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today about the 
communication challenges we face and what we can do to aid them in 
making our communities safer.

    Mrs. Demings. It is now my honor to welcome our panel of 
witnesses.
    Our first witness is Dr. Chris Rodriguez. Dr. Rodriguez is 
the director of the Homeland Security Emergency Management 
Agency for the District of Columbia, where he serves as the 
Homeland Security advisor and State coordinating officer. Dr. 
Rodriguez serves as the State administrative agent for all 
Homeland Security Federal grant funding for the district and 
the National Capital region.
    Prior to his current role, Dr. Rodriguez served as the 
director of New Jersey's Office of Homeland Security and 
Preparedness from 2014 to 2017. Dr. Rodriguez also serves as a 
senior analyst in the Central Intelligence Agency's 
Counterterrorism Center following the attacks of September 11.
    Dr. Rodriguez, thank you so much for joining us.
    The Chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from Michigan, Ms. 
Slotkin, to introduce our second witness.
    Ms. Slotkin. Great. Thank you so much, Madam Chair, for 
letting me do a little cameo here. I wanted to do it just to 
acknowledge Captain Maier, who is one of your witnesses today. 
Thank you for allowing me to introduce him.
    I have the privilege of representing part of Oakland 
County, Michigan, and Captain Mel Maier from Oakland County 
Sheriff's Office, he commands the Emergency Communication and 
Operations Division. He has also been one of the foremost 
advocates for modernizing our Nation's emergency communications 
as chairman of the Public Safety Next Generation 9-1-1 
Coalition.
    Captain Maier is responsible for overseeing radio and 9-1-1 
emergency communications within the sheriff's operations center 
and is the sheriff's communications representative within 
Oakland County's Homeland Security and Emergency Operations 
Center. He began his career in law enforcement more than 28 
years ago as a patrol officer with the Garden State Police 
Department before joining the Oakland County Sheriff's Office 
in 2009. He is one of our local leaders.
    I describe him, Captain Maier, as one of Michigan and the 
Nation's most knowledgeable experts on the subject of emergency 
communications and has been a, quote, stalwart champion of 
connecting our first responders and communities over two 
decades. He led the deployment of the text to 9-1-1 technology 
for Oakland County, and he has been at the forefront of 
developing shared emergency communications in Michigan.
    So it is my pleasure just as the Representative of part of 
Oakland County to welcome him to the committee today.
    Mrs. Demings. Representative Slotkin, thank you so much for 
that introduction.
    Captain Maier, thank you so much for joining us today.
    Our third witness is Chris Lombard, the deputy chief of the 
Seattle Fire Department. Chief Lombard was a member of the 
first service who responded to Ground Zero in Manhattan for 2 
weeks.
    Chief Lombard, we thank you so much for your service on 
that day and your continued service to this day.
    Chief Lombard has been active in the fire service for 
nearly 30 years, mainly with the Seattle Fire Department. In 
addition to 
9/11, he has also responded to incidents, including the 
Washington landslide and hurricanes in the Pacific, Atlantic, 
and Gulf of Mexico.
    Chief Lombard works in the Seattle Fire Department's 
Operation Division and 9-1-1 center, and manages communications 
coordination for the Department's specialty teams.
    Chief Lombard, it is an honor to have you with us today, 
and thank you so much for joining us.
    The Chair now recognizes the Ranking Member to introduce 
our fourth witness from the great State of Florida.
    Mrs. Cammack. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I see you 
chuckling, because everyone has been wondering on this call, is 
Gator actually his name? I can report that, yes, he is named 
Gator.
    So it is with great affection and a pleasure to introduce 
my friend but also one of our fantastic sheriffs in north 
central Florida, Sheriff Gator DeLoach. A lifelong resident of 
Putnam County, he has had a long career in public service, 
starting over 20 years ago. Sheriff DeLoach has played integral 
roles throughout his law enforcement career, from sergeant, 
where he held leadership positions in the drug unit, patrol, 
and property crimes, to lieutenant of Criminal Investigations 
Bureau.
    In January 2017, Sheriff DeLoach was sworn in as sheriff of 
Putnam County, and we are so lucky to have you in that role. I 
am honored to be your Representative in Congress, and thank you 
for your continued service to our community, as well as your 
work on several of the task forces that we have. So thank you 
again for your testimony here today, Sheriff DeLoach. Again, 
yes, his name actually is Gator.
    I yield back.
    Mrs. Demings. Thank you to the Ranking Member.
    Let this Florida State Seminole welcome you, Sheriff Gator 
DeLoach.
    Thank you so much to all of our witnesses for joining us 
today.
    Without objection, the witnesses' full statements will be 
inserted in the record.
    I now ask each of our witnesses to summarize their 
statement for 5 minutes, beginning with Dr. Rodriguez.

STATEMENT OF CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUEZ, DIRECTOR, HOMELAND SECURITY 
     AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

    Mr. Rodriguez. Thank you.
    Good afternoon, everyone, Chairwoman Demings, Ranking 
Member Cammack, Members of the subcommittee, and especially 
greetings to our New Jersey Representatives, Bonnie Watson 
Coleman and Donald Payne, who I worked very closely with when I 
was the State director in 2014 and 2017.
    My name is Dr. Christopher Rodriguez. I am the director of 
the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. As 
an appointee of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, I am honored to be 
before this committee to talk about the strides that the 
District of Columbia has made in emergency communications since 
the tragic events of 9/11.
    When it comes to emergency communications, there is really 
no place in the country and perhaps in the world like the 
National Capital region. With frequent special events and the 
ever-present threat of disasters, terrorism, the hazard 
landscape here in the district is unique. We are home to over 
40 Federal and local response agencies, and we have a robust 
mutual aid system that spans the mid-Atlantic region. All of us 
need to communicate seamlessly and reliably across the whole 
spectrum of possible contingencies.
    I think when people often think or talk about emergency 
communications, they think in terms of radios. But the 
solutions to these communications challenges that we now face 
are multifaceted, and they span technologies beyond just land 
mobile radios. With my time today, I would just like to discuss 
a few key solutions, successes, and challenges that are unique 
to the District.
    As mobile data and cellular communications become 
increasingly important elements of effective emergency 
response, the District first utilized FirstNet for first 
responders in 2018. By providing dedicated cellular 
connectivity for the public safety community, FirstNet enables 
us to continue sharing voice data and video even in the face of 
extreme network congestion.
    Additionally, our partnership with FirstNet has enabled us 
to request rapidly deployable cellular infrastructure to 
support the demands of large events and incidents.
    Leading up to the 2021 Presidential inauguration and on 
January 6, we had coordinated with FirstNet to have such 
infrastructure in place to cover the U.S. Capitol complex. 
Ultimately, this collaboration and their dedicated bandwidth 
allowed FirstNet to perform reliably for our first responders 
at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
    We are now in the process of working with FirstNet to 
acquire two of our own compact rapid deployable units, which 
will contribute to increased resilience and self-sufficiency 
for the District's emergency communications.
    While the ability to communicate between Government 
partners is vital, the ability to quickly reach the public with 
life-saving information is equally important. There are many 
ways to quickly push emergency information to the public during 
a crisis, but a unique challenge to the District is that we 
receive an extremely high volume of visitors and transient 
populations. These individuals may not be in the District long 
enough to sort-of learn about our opt-in emergency notification 
systems or follow our public safety officials on social media.
    Wireless Emergency Alert, or WEA, has proven to be an 
incredibly valuable resource in our public learning and warning 
toolbox. My agency has been both a regional and National leader 
in the WEA space since it was tested before the 2017 
Presidential inauguration.
    Following the successful first test, which was the first of 
its kind in the Nation, our staff were asked to share best 
practices on alerting procedures with our State, local, Tribal, 
territorial, and even FEMA partners.
    But while WEA is a powerful tool, it is not without its 
limitations. We still see challenges with the accuracy of 
geofencing, which can lead to bleed over outside of our 
intended target area. It is also a very high-profile alerting 
method and its overuse or inappropriate use can lead 
individuals to opt out of the service, which would limit our 
ability to reach them in a dire emergency. We did use WEA in 
announcing curfews during the Black Lives Matter protests and 
the January 6 insurrection, as well as with other extreme 
weather events.
    So improving the interoperability and reliability of 
emergency communications here in the District is a top priority 
for us and I know for the Mayor. I appreciate the opportunity 
to share these experiences with the subcommittee, so thank you 
very much.
    [The prepared statement of Dr. Rodriguez follows:]
              Prepared Statement of Christopher Rodriguez
                            October 7, 2021
    Thank you, Chairwoman Demings, Ranking Member Cammack, and Members 
of the subcommittee. My name is Dr. Christopher Rodriguez and I am the 
director of the DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. 
As an appointee of Mayor Muriel Bowser, I am honored to lead an agency 
that is a National leader in emergency management. I appear today to 
speak with you about the strides the District of Columbia has made in 
emergency communications since the tragic events on 9/11.
    When it comes to emergency communications, there is no place like 
the National Capital Region. With frequent special events and the ever-
present threat of terrorism and disasters, the hazard landscape in the 
District of Columbia is unique. The District is home to over 40 local 
and Federal response agencies, and we have a robust mutual aid system 
that spans the Mid-Atlantic region. All need to communicate seamlessly 
and reliably across the whole spectrum of possible contingencies.
    People often think of emergency communications solely in terms of 
radios. But the solutions to these communications challenges are 
multifaceted and span technologies beyond just land mobile radios. With 
my time today I will discuss a few key solutions, successes, and 
challenges that are unique to the District.
    As mobile data and cellular communications become increasingly 
important elements of effective emergency response, the District first 
utilized the FirstNet service for our first responders in 2018. By 
providing dedicated cellular connectivity for the public safety 
community, FirstNet enables us to continue sharing voice, data, and 
video even in the face of extreme network congestion. Additionally, our 
partnership with FirstNet has enabled us to request rapidly deployable 
cellular infrastructure to support the demands of large events and 
incidents. Leading up to the 2021 Presidential Inauguration and on 
January 6, we had coordinated with FirstNet to have such infrastructure 
in place to cover the U.S. Capitol complex. Ultimately, this 
collaboration and their dedicated bandwidth allowed FirstNet to perform 
reliably for our first responders at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. We 
are in the process of working with FirstNet to acquire two of our own 
compact rapid deployable units, which will contribute to increased 
resilience and self-sufficiency for the District's emergency 
communications.
    While the ability to communicate between government partners is 
vital, the ability to quickly reach the public with life-saving 
information in emergency situations is equally important. There are 
many ways to quickly push emergency information to the public during a 
crisis, but a unique challenge in the District is that we receive an 
extremely high volume of visitors and transient populations. These 
individuals may not be in the District long enough to learn about opt-
in emergency notification systems or follow public safety officials on 
social media. Wireless Emergency Alert, or WEA, technology has proven 
to be an incredibly valuable resource in our public alert and warning 
toolbox.
    The DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency has been 
both a regional and National leader in the WEA space since just before 
the 2017 Presidential Inauguration, when we became the first local 
alerting authority to issue a live WEA test. Following this successful 
test, our staff were asked to share best practices and alerting 
procedures with State, local, Tribal, territorial, and even our FEMA 
partners. While WEA is a powerful tool, it is not without limitations. 
The accuracy of geofencing is not perfectly accurate, which can lead to 
bleed over outside of the intended target area. Additionally, WEA is a 
high-profile alerting method. Overuse or inappropriate use of the 
technology can lead to individuals opting out of the service which 
would limit or ability to reach them in a truly dire emergency. The 
District has found success in using WEA for situations such as Boil 
Water Advisories, announcing curfews (for example during the BLM 
protests), and extreme weather events. While WEA remains an incredibly 
effective tool to alert the public in the District, we employ a multi-
modal approach which includes our Opt-In Alert DC program, Integrated 
Public Alert & Warning System (which includes WEA), social media and 
traditional media messaging, and door-to-door canvassing.
    Improving the interoperability and reliability of emergency 
communications systems is a top priority for the District of Columbia. 
I appreciate the opportunity to share our experiences with the 
subcommittee.
    Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.

    Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much, Dr. Rodriguez, for your 
testimony.
    I now recognize Captain Maier to summarize his statement 
for 5 minutes.

   STATEMENT OF MEL MAIER, CAPTAIN, OAKLAND COUNTY SHERIFF'S 
                             OFFICE

    Mr. Maier. Good afternoon, Chairwoman Demings, Ranking 
Member Cammack, and thank you to Congresswoman Slotkin for that 
introduction, and Members of the subcommittee. I am Mel Maier, 
a captain in the Oakland County, Michigan, Sheriff's Office.
    The sheriff of Oakland County, Michael J. Bouchard, is a 
member of the Major County Sheriffs of America, MCSA, and I 
offer my comments today on behalf of all their members 
represented by that association.
    I will spend a minute each on four issues: Radio 
communications interoperability, 9-1-1 systems, FirstNet, and 
IPAWS. I look forward to your questions afterwards.
    Overall, 20 years after the 9/11 attacks, we have made a 
lot of progress in emergency communications, but there is still 
more to be done. We need to meet the needs and expectations of 
the American people in the 21st Century.
    The ability to communicate and coordinate via radio 
networks is essential, no matter the type of incident we are 
responding to, whether it is a highway crash, an active 
shooter, a wildfire, hurricane, or terrorist attack. Since 9/
11, more advanced radio features and technologies have improved 
interoperability between public safety agencies.
    Funding from the Department of Homeland Security's UASI and 
State Homeland Security grant programs has helped us improve 
infrastructure and get responder devices into the field. 
However, barriers to radio communications technology growth and 
intraoperability still exist. There still remains at times lack 
of coordination and intraoperability among agency 
communications systems due to the varying levels of radio 
technology, system maturity, and continued reliance upon legacy 
proprietary systems.
    Additional Federal funding would help us accelerate the 
move to modern systems and true intraoperability. It would help 
agencies implement technologies that can bridge those different 
communication networks, enabling data and voice 
intraoperability.
    Regarding 9-1-1, we are on the verge of seeing Next 
Generation 9-1-1 become much more widely deployed across the 
United States. Next Generation 9-1-1 was developed to address 
long-standing issues with legacy 9-1-1 systems. This technology 
[inaudible] like FirstNet. However, without Federal funding, 
many jurisdictions will not be able to transition to NG 9-1-1 
any time soon. This will create a patchwork of haves and have-
nots, resulting in uneven capabilities throughout the United 
States, and that is not fair to the responders or to the 
citizens. Some 9-1-1 centers will achieve NG 9-1-1, while 
others, especially those in rural areas, will not have the 
means.
    The Public Safety Next Generation 9-1-1 Coalition includes 
many of the leading organizations in the country representing 
fire, EMS, law enforcement, and emergency communications 
professionals. We are advocating for a one-time commitment of 
$15 billion in Federal grant funding to support a Nation-wide 
transition to NG 9-1-1.
    MCSA strongly believes this once-in-a-generation investment 
will allow the successful deployment of NG 9-1-1 Nation-wide. 
It improves emergency response. It saves lives.
    With regards to FirstNet, the 9/11 Commission recommended 
establishing an interoperable Nation-wide broadband network 
dedicated solely to first responders. Through this leadership 
of the public safety community and Congress, we now have 
FirstNet, a reliable, dedicated, Nation-wide high-speed network 
solely for first responders.
    Since FirstNet's creation, coverage and capacity have 
consistently improved. There is a dedicated network core that 
is completely focused on public safety. There are now over 2.5 
million FirstNet connections across 17,000 public safety 
agencies and other organizations, and the FirstNet Authority is 
looking further ahead toward 5G connectivity for public safety 
in its course dedicated core.
    At the same time, the success of FirstNet ultimately 
depends on continued investment in the development of reliable 
coverage and capacity throughout the United States. The 
network's roll-out has been fast by any standard, and there is 
still progress to be made. Congress should continue to ensure 
that FirstNet Authority gets the support it needs to realize 
the full promise of FirstNet.
    Finally, with regard to IPAWS, FEMA has simplified the 
system, improved the ability to quickly reach more in the 
public. In my home State of Michigan, during the COVID 
pandemic, we utilized IPAWS to provide information on public 
health orders and other recommendations, which resulted in 
successfully messaging the important public health emergency 
information.
    At the same time, there are opportunities to upgrade the 
system. Current IPAWS systems do not work on older cellular 
devices and may fail to reach the targeted public. Geofencing 
is an inaccuracy, as you heard the previous speaker state. 
IPAWS should continue to better integrate and leverage IP-based 
systems, including integration of NextGen 9-1-1.
    I want to thank you, Chairman Demings and Ranking Member 
Cammack, for focusing on this critically important issue. Every 
single one of our citizens deserves to have their first 
responders equipped with the best and most reliable emergency 
communications systems. I look forward to your questions.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Maier follows:]
                    Prepared Statement of Mel Maier
                            October 7, 2021
                              introduction
    Good afternoon Chairwoman Demings, Ranking Member Cammack, and 
Members of the subcommittee. I am Mel Maier, a captain in the Oakland 
County, Michigan Sheriffs Office. Currently, I am the commander of the 
Emergency Communications & Operations Division. As commander, I am 
responsible for overseeing our radio and 9-1-1 emergency communications 
and manage our Operations Center. I have been a sworn law enforcement 
officer for more than 31 years and have significant experience with and 
insight into emergency communications technology and policy challenges.
    I am pleased to testify before your subcommittee to discuss the 
current state of emergency communications. I intend to offer my own 
first-hand knowledge of the current state of emergency communications 
and considerations for future progress. The sheriff of Oakland County, 
Michael J. Bouchard, is a member of the Major County Sheriffs of 
America (MCSA) and I offer my comments today on behalf of other members 
represented by that Association. Truly, the issues we face here in 
Oakland County are similar to those faced by sheriff's offices and our 
colleagues in public safety agencies across the country.
    The tragedy of September 11, 2001 revealed fundamental problems 
with communication systems used by our Nation's first responders. These 
issues ranged from the lack of a dedicated broadband network for public 
safety communications to issues with interoperability and communication 
between radio networks and 
9-1-1 systems. Twenty years later, significant progress has been made 
to address these shortcomings. However, much more needs to be done to 
meet the needs and expectations of the American people in the 21st 
Century. Thank you for the opportunity to share my perspective on these 
critical issues.
                          radio communications
    Since 9/11 more advanced radio features and usage policies have 
improved resiliency and system capacity and led to more and better 
coordination between first responders. The ability to communicate and 
coordinate via radio networks is essential no matter the type of 
incident we are responding to, whether it is a highway crash, an active 
shooter, a wildfire, a hurricane, or a terrorist attack. APCO Project 
25 standards and the P25 CAP program have improved interoperability. 
Specific features such as advanced trunking, dedicated event talk 
groups and both encrypted and clear channels for Law Enforcement, Fire, 
Emergency Medical Service, and Emergency Management have improved how 
we use the radio technology. Funding from the Department of Homeland 
Security's Urban Area Security Initiative Program (UASI), dedicated to 
interoperability, has been pivotal in providing resources to improve 
infrastructure and field responder devices. In addition, tabletop and 
field-based exercises have been effective in identifying gaps between 
communication systems and in establishing better operational policies.
    However, barriers to radio communications technology growth and 
interoperability still exist. Vendor solutions often introduce new 
features and (at times mandatory) upgrades to P25 systems that impede 
or defeat any interoperability gains. There is still a lack of 
coordination and interoperability among agency communication systems 
and varying levels of system maturity including the continued reliance 
upon legacy proprietary systems. Increasing costs and decreased Federal 
investments have made support for radio communications harder to 
maintain.
    Additional Federal funding would be helpful in improving overall 
radio communications capabilities, and in helping agencies implement 
technology that can bridge different communications networks. Public 
safety grade networks have become increasingly popular targets for 
cyber attacks, and sustainment of these systems will require more on-
going costs to support cybersecurity protections. Systems need to 
advance to be able to share voice and data to increase first responder 
situational awareness. We should also consider adopting standardized 
encryption key management features to better support interoperability 
among first responder agencies. Additional grant opportunities and 
stronger grant conditions, accountability, and compliance programs for 
vendors might help provide the incentives needed to improve 
interoperability.
                    9-1-1 and next generation 9-1-1
    Our Nation's 9-1-1 systems are critical infrastructure relied upon 
Nation-wide every day by citizens seeking assistance in a variety of 
life-or-death situations. Since 9/11, new 9-1-1 technology called Next 
Generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1) has been developed to address long-standing 
issues with our legacy 9-1-1 systems. This technology offers 
improvements to a wide range of issues that affect emergency response 
times and capabilities.
    Many of the 9-1-1 networks across the United States have not kept 
up with advances in communications technology and, in large part, are 
based upon technology dating back to the 1960's. Legacy 9-1-1 systems 
are built on old copper landline systems and Public Safety Answering 
Points (PSAP) are often not able to accept and process texts, images, 
videos and other modern data formats. Additionally, 9-1-1 systems have 
become popular targets of ransomware and denial-of-service cyber 
attacks by malign actors. These cyber events have taken entire 9-1-1 
systems off-line, threatening emergency response times and risking 
public safety.
    Jurisdictions across the Nation have begun to transition to Next 
Generation 
9-1-1 systems to match capabilities first responders are receiving from 
FirstNet. NG 9-1-1 systems can acquire and integrate additional 
information useful to handling 9-1-1 requests, like photos, videos, and 
location data and support sharing information related to 9-1-1 requests 
for emergency assistance among emergency communications centers and 
emergency response providers.
    However, without Federal funding, many jurisdictions will not be 
able to transition to this new technology. This will create a patchwork 
of ``haves'' and ``have-nots'' creating sub-optimal responses and 
uneven capabilities throughout the United States. Some 9-1-1 centers 
will achieve NG 9-1-1 while others, especially those in rural areas, 
will not have the means.
    As a founding member of the Public Safety Next Generation 9-1-1 
Coalition, the Major County Sheriffs of America, together with the 
International Association of Chiefs of Police, International 
Association of Fire Chiefs, Major Cities Chiefs Association, 
Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association, National Association of State EMS 
Officials, and National Sheriffs' Association is advocating for a one-
time commitment of $15 billion in Federal grant funding to support a 
Nation-wide transition to 
NG 9-1-1. MCSA strongly believes this once in a generation investment 
will allow the successful deployment of NG 9-1-1 Nation-wide, improve 
emergency response, and save lives.
         first net--nation-wide public safety broadband network
    The 9/11 Commission Report recommended establishing an 
interoperable Nation-wide broadband network dedicated solely to first 
responders. The public safety community, encouraged by the 9/11 
Commission report, worked together to advocate for Congress to pass 
legislation establishing a reliable, dedicated, and Nation-wide high-
speed network solely for first responders. In 2012, Congress passed the 
Middle-Class Tax Relief and Jobs Creation Act which allocated $7 
billion and 20 megahertz of broadband spectrum to establish a network 
for the Nation's first responders. It also established the FirstNet 
Authority, an independent entity, within the Department of Commerce, to 
ensure the build-out, operation, and maintenance of that network.
    Today, public safety utilizes FirstNet to support a wide variety of 
emergency incidents, including hurricanes, wildfires, search-and-rescue 
missions, and many other small and large multi-jurisdictional 
responses. Since the network's creation, coverage and capacity have 
consistently improved. Public safety agency costs have been reduced. 
Deployable communications assets have been dedicated to FirstNet users 
across the Nation. The FirstNet Authority is looking further ahead 
toward 5G connectivity for public safety. It is also working to 
facilitate Land Mobile Radio (LMR) to LTE interfaces to provide 
complementary services when field responders need extended network 
coverage. Overall, the Nation-wide deployment of Band 14 for public 
safety is moving at a rapid pace.
    The success of FirstNet ultimately depends on continued investment 
in the development of reliable coverage and capacity throughout the 
United States. FirstNet should continue to ensure the security of 
public safety data and ensure secure information exchange. FirstNet 
should continue to engage and consult directly with public safety and 
support the Public Safety Advisory Committee and look for opportunities 
to reduce costs to public safety. FirstNet should also continue to 
develop direct-mode mission-critical push-to-talk to provide first 
responders reliable voice communications using the network and 
prioritize FirstNet core development.
               integrated public alert & warning systems
    The Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) from FEMA has 
simplified the public notification system and improved the ability to 
quickly reach more of the public. IPAWS provides the public with 
information related to immediate safety issues, information related to 
recovery efforts, and links and direction to gain additional assistance 
or information. The system also supports multiple languages, which is 
critical when serving diverse populations. During the COVID-19 
pandemic, we utilized IPAWS to provide information on health orders and 
recommendations, as well as testing and vaccination information. We 
have also utilized IPAWS to successfully engage the community on 
missing and wanted person alerts through Amber and Silver Alerts.
    There are many opportunities to upgrade the National emergency 
alerting system. Current IPAWS systems do not work on older cellular 
devices. IPAWS should continue to better integrate and leverage IP-
based systems including integration into Next Generation 9-1-1 systems, 
to provide messages outbound and inbound to Emergency Communications 
Centers over a secure and reliable network.
    Thank you for the opportunity to address you today and I welcome 
any questions you may have.

    Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much, Captain Maier, for your 
testimony. There was a little bit of a connectivity issue 
there. I know that our team is going to troubleshoot with your 
team. So thank you so much for being with us today.
    The Chair now recognizes Chief Lombard to summarize his 
statement for 5 minutes.

    STATEMENT OF CHRIS LOMBARD, DEPUTY CHIEF, SEATTLE FIRE 
  DEPARTMENT, ON BEHALF OF INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE 
                             CHIEFS

    Mr. Lombard. Good morning, Chairwoman Demings and Ranking 
Member Cammack. I am Chris Lombard, the deputy fire chief with 
Seattle Fire Department and acting chair of the Communications 
Committee for the International----
    [Audio interruption.]
    Mr. Lombard. I appreciate today's opportunity to discuss 
the progress that has been made in emergency communications 
since 9/11. As a responder who assisted with efforts at Ground 
Zero in New York, I am keenly aware of the communications 
issues that faced responders on that day in 2001 and the 
progress made since.
    SAFECOM and FirstNet are two triumphs that emerged from the 
9/11 Commission Report for improving intraoperability. Federal 
grants have also greatly improved responder communications 
through funding, training, information sharing, and equipment.
    As others have mentioned, the First Responder Network 
Authority is a Nation-wide cellular network that enables first 
responders to communicate within and across jurisdictions, 
provides redundancy to ensure network resilience, and reduces 
the impact of network congestion. Through FirstNet, first 
responders have priority and preemption on dedicated public 
safety spectrum. On behalf of the International Association of 
Fire Chiefs, I ask that Congress continue to support FirstNet.
    SAFECOM is also mentioned by others, a DHS advisory group, 
works with stakeholders to develop better technologies and 
processes for the coordination of communications systems. 
SAFECOM trains first responders in emergency communications, 
coordinates grant guidance, and encourages intraoperability.
    As the first vice chair of SAFECOM, I have seen its great 
work first-hand. On behalf of the IAFC, I ask Congress to 
continue to support the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure 
Security Agency and its support of SAFECOM.
    Post-9/11, the State Homeland Security Program and Urban 
Area Security Initiative grants have been crucial to improving 
emergency communications. These grants incentivize first 
responders across jurisdictions to collaborate before, during, 
and after an incident. This coordination reduces confusion and 
directly saves lives. Our members have used this grant funding 
to improve regional radio interoperability and develop 
resilient communications. The IAFC urges Congress to continue 
to support strong funding for SHSP and UASI grants.
    FEMA's Assistance to Firefighter Grants and SAFER grants 
are also used for equipment, training, and staffing. AFG grants 
are key to public safety communications, especially since 50 
percent of fire departments still lack enough portable radios 
to equip a full shift. The SAFER grants are used to address 
staffing shortages faced by all manner of fire departments. The 
IAFC asks Congress to fully fund the AFG and SAFER grants which 
are critical to the fire service.
    Though great progress has been made in emergency 
communications, there is still room for improvement. Many IAFC 
members are often mentioning how 9-1-1 calls from jurisdictions 
are being improperly routed, resulting in significant delays. 
We should be able to do better in an emergency, and this 
highlights the need for 9-1-1 infrastructure to catch up with 
other commercially available technology.
    The IAFC is a member of the Public Safety Next Generation 
9-1-1 Coalition. The Coalition requests that Congress enact 
legislation funding, a $15 billion NextGen 9-1-1 package via 
the reconciliation package.
    The availability of spectrum for public safety operations 
is also critically important. The 4.9 gigahertz band was set 
aside for public safety use after 9/11. Public safety use of 
4.9 gigahertz spectrum includes hosting mission-critical 
broadband networks. Public safety has increasingly relied on 
this spectrum as new technologies become more widely-used.
    Last October, the FCC issued an order to set up a system of 
State licenses to make 4.9 gigahertz spectrum available to 
commercial entities. On September 30 of this year, the FCC 
rescinded that order and adopted a notice to seek comment on 
public safety and non-public safety use of the ban. The IAFC 
supports the FCC's decision to rescind the framework of State 
licenses.
    Public safety also uses 6 gigahertz spectrum to support 
backhaul for communication systems and radio communications in 
rural areas across the United States. The IAFC urges Congress 
to continue to monitor these FCC proceedings to protect 
critical public safety communications in the 6 gigahertz band.
    In conclusion, public safety and emergency response are 
perhaps the pinnacle of team sports with no higher expectations 
and no higher importance for getting it right. Immediately 
after 9/11, we recognized our challenges were people-based. We 
recognized that our--likewise, the successes I and others 
experienced on 9/11 were also because of the people and 
relationships we had formed.
    We wouldn't be here today without the spirit of working 
together and the foundations by the likes of retired police 
chief Harlin McEwen from Ithaca, New York, and retired fire 
chief and past president of the IAFC, Jeff Johnson, 
instrumental in launching efforts like SAFECOM, FirstNet, and 
others. It continues today with relationships that public 
safety forms, like the one between Captain Mel Maier and 
myself, across the country.
    Facilitating and forming maintenance of these relationships 
may be the biggest single success that the Federal Government 
has done, and for that we thank you.
    I thank the subcommittee for all it has done to improve 
public safety communications in the 20 years since 9/11. I also 
have got to thank my family and the support team back at the 
IAFC, Ryan Woodward and Ken LaSala. The IAFC looks forward to 
continuing the work of the subcommittee and to address the 
continued communications needs of public safety.
    Thank you very much.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Lombard follows:]
               Prepared Statement of Christopher Lombard
                            October 7, 2021
    Good morning, Chairwoman Demings and Ranking Member Cammack. I am 
Chris Lombard, deputy fire chief of the Seattle (Washington) Fire 
Department and acting chair of the International Association of Fire 
Chiefs' (IAFC) Communications Committee. I appreciate the opportunity 
today to discuss the progress that has been made in emergency 
communications since 9/11 and how Congress and first responders can 
build upon this progress going forward.
    The IAFC represents the leadership of over 1.1 million firefighters 
and emergency responders. IAFC members are the world's leading experts 
in firefighting, emergency medical services, terrorism response, 
hazardous materials (hazmat) incidents, wildland fire suppression, 
natural disasters, search and rescue, and public safety policy. Since 
1873, the IAFC has provided a forum for its members to exchange ideas, 
develop best practices, participate in executive training, and discover 
diverse products and services available to first responders.
    America's fire and emergency service is an all-hazards response 
force that is locally situated, staffed, trained, and equipped to 
respond to all types of emergencies. There are approximately 1.1 
million men and women in the fire and emergency service--consisting of 
approximately 300,000 career firefighters and 800,000 volunteer 
firefighters--serving in over 30,000 fire departments around the 
Nation. They are trained to respond to all hazards ranging from 
earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods to acts of terrorism, 
hazardous materials incidents, technical rescues, fires, and medical 
emergencies. We usually are the first on the scene of a disaster and 
the last to leave.
    the state of public safety communications during and since 9/11
    As a member of the fire service who responded to ground zero in 
Manhattan for 2 weeks as a member of Washington Task Force 1 with 
FEMA's Urban Search & Rescue system in the wake of the September 11 
attacks, I am keenly aware of the challenges and issues facing public 
safety communications on September 11, 2001; the progress we have made 
since; and the work that remains to be done. During the first hours 
after the attacks, cell phone networks were jammed, and priority 
cellular access was not provided to emergency responders. Radio 
channels and phone lines to emergency communications centers also were 
jammed.
    In addition, there were problems with interoperability between 
jurisdictions. Public safety radio systems operated on various 
frequencies and were not interoperable. Officials struggled to 
coordinate the multiagency response, and to maintain command and 
control of the numerous agencies and responders. Pagers and runners 
proved to be the most effective form of communication.
    The Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks 
Upon the United States (also known as ``the 9/11 Commission Report'') 
identified the need for improved interoperable communications between 
first responders and recommended a Nation-wide public safety wireless 
broadband network. In the 20 years since 
9/11, Congress and the administration have worked hard to bring these 
recommendations into fruition.
    SAFECOM and the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) are 
two triumphs that have emerged from the 9/11 Commission Report's 
recommendations and have substantially improved first responder 
communications and interoperability. FEMA preparedness grants like the 
State Homeland Security Program (SHSP), Urban Area Security Initiative 
(UASI), Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) and 
Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) programs also have done a great 
deal to improve first responder communications through funding, 
training, information-sharing efforts, and equipment. I thank the 
committee for all it has done in the years since 9/11 to bring about 
these improvements.
                                firstnet
    Interoperability involves the ability of public safety service and 
support providers--law enforcement, firefighters, EMS, emergency 
management, public utilities, transportation, and others--to 
communicate with staff from other responding agencies, and to exchange 
voice and/or data communications on demand, when authorized and in real 
time. To address the 9/11 Commission Report's recommendations to 
improve interoperability and establish a Nation-wide public safety 
wireless broadband network, Congress incorporated a key public safety 
communications provision in The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job 
Creation Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-96). This legislation provided the 
necessary 20 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band and $7 billion to 
build a Nation-wide broadband network dedicated to the mission 
requirements of public safety. It also created the First Responder 
Network Authority (FirstNet), as an independent agency in the U.S. 
Department of Commerce.
    While mentioning Pub. L. 112-96, I would like to take an 
opportunity to thank this subcommittee for their work to remove a 
provision of this bill that would have dealt a tremendous blow to 
public safety, the T-Band Auction mandate. This mandate would have 
required the auctioning of T-Band (470 MHz--512 MHz) spectrum starting 
this year and would have required public safety to vacate this spectrum 
by 2023. The GAO report requested by Rep. Payne and former Reps. 
Donovan and King showed just how irreplaceable this spectrum is for the 
operations of public safety's land mobile radios in 11 metropolitan 
areas across the country, an area that covers 20 percent of the 
Nation's population.
    Pub. L. 112-96, also authorized FirstNet to enter a public-private 
partnership to deploy the network. Through a competitive bidding 
process, FirstNet selected AT&T as its partner in March 2017. AT&T has 
been deploying the network as specified in its contract and in State-
specific plans, with 80 percent of the network buildout completed. I 
personally think public-private partnerships are extremely valuable to 
public safety communications. Public safety has a very low turnover 
rate relative to the private sector, and as a result can be very slow 
to adopt new technologies. Public-private partnerships offer the 
opportunity to pair the adaptability of the private sector with the 
knowledge and resources of the public sector.
    FirstNet became operational in March 2018 and is based on a single, 
National network architecture that evolves with technological advances 
and consists of a physically separate evolved packet core (EPC) network 
and radio access networks (RANs). This Nation-wide network enables 
first responders to communicate with one another within and across 
jurisdictions. FirstNet allows multiple agencies to be interoperable 
on-scene at an incident. It also provides redundancy which allows it to 
be more resilient than commercial networks and prevents the network 
being jammed by users during an emergency.
    The FirstNet network supplements legacy voice systems by providing 
public safety entities with mission-critical advanced data and voice 
capabilities and services including, but not limited to messaging, 
image sharing, video streaming, group text, voice, data storage, 
application, location-based services, and preemption. It also provides 
applications, and deployable assets that can restore communications 
after disasters.
    Agencies are subscribing to and using the network in emergencies, 
including the COVID-19 pandemic and wildland fires. In his testimony to 
the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation's 
Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband in June, Chief 
Jeffrey Johnson, chief executive of the IAFC's Western Division said:

``Before FirstNet, field-based first responders, such as wildland 
firefighters, were hesitant to adopt new technology solutions because 
they couldn't count on it working when they needed it most. Now that we 
have FirstNet, first responders have priority and preemption, dedicated 
700 MHz public safety spectrum that has been built out across the 
country (with aggressive rural coverage build benchmarks--an important 
priority for the WFCA), and the ability to request portable cell towers 
(Colts and Cows) to make sure first responders have connectivity, such 
as in the event infrastructure has been damaged by a fire or when a 
command post is staged in a remote mountainous area.''

    On behalf of the IAFC, I ask that Congress continue to support 
FirstNet in its mission to fulfill the 9/11 Commission Report's 
recommendation of a Nation-wide public safety wireless broadband 
network.
                                safecom
    Another entity that has been critical to fulfilling the 9/11 
Commission Report's recommendation of improved interoperability is 
SAFECOM. SAFECOM was formed in 2001 after the September 11 terrorist 
attacks, as part of the Presidential E-Government Initiative to improve 
public safety interoperability, allowing emergency responders to 
communicate effectively before, during, and after emergencies and 
disasters. SAFECOM's mission is to improve designated emergency 
response providers' interjurisdictional and interdisciplinary emergency 
communications interoperability through collaboration with emergency 
responders and elected officials across Federal, State, local, Tribal, 
and territorial governments, and international borders.
    As the first vice chairman of SAFECOM, I have seen first-hand the 
great work it has done to fulfill its mission. SAFECOM is one of the 
first organizations to bring together representatives from public 
safety associations as well as emergency responders in the field. Its 
membership includes more than 60 members representing Federal, State, 
local, Tribal, and territorial emergency responders, and major 
intergovernmental and National public safety associations. I serve on 
SAFECOM in my capacity as deputy chief of the Seattle Fire Department. 
The IAFC also has two representatives to SAFECOM's membership, 
including Greg Rubin, assistant chief of Miami-Dade (Florida) Fire 
Rescue.
    SAFECOM is managed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 
Agency (CISA) and works with existing Federal communications programs 
and key emergency response stakeholders to address the need to develop 
better technologies and processes for the coordination of existing 
communications systems and future networks. SAFECOM focuses both on 
technology and the need for jurisdictions to develop an effective 
command interoperability plan. SAFECOM trains emergency responders to 
be communications unit leaders during all-hazards emergency operations, 
and coordinates grant guidance to use Federal funding to encourage 
interoperability.
    Through their partnerships, SAFECOM has created key documents such 
as the Interoperability Continuum, the Statement of Requirements (SoR) 
for baseline communications and interoperability standards, the State-
wide Communication Interoperability Plan (SCIP) Methodology, and the 
National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP) to assist emergency 
responders Nation-wide with improving communications and 
interoperability.
    SAFECOM serves as a tremendous resource to first responders in 
providing key guidance to attain grant funding, improve interagency 
communications, and develop interjurisdictional and interagency 
relationships. On the behalf of the IAFC, I ask Congress to continue 
support CISA in its management of SAFECOM.
      the need for investment in next generation 9-1-1 (ng 9-1-1)
    Public safety fought hard to establish FirstNet because we knew 
that we were being left behind compared to the technologies available 
for personal-use communications. The same holds true for NG 9-1-1. 
First responders handle over 240 million emergency 9-1-1 calls per 
year. Unfortunately, 9-1-1 networks across the United States have not 
kept up with advances in communications technology and, in large part, 
are based upon technology dating back to the 1960's.
    Even though 9-1-1 systems are critical infrastructure in every 
community, they are underfunded and technologically inadequate to 
address the needs and expectations of the American people in the 21st 
Century. While 9-1-1 operations are State and local functions, the 
investment of Federal resources in this critical infrastructure will 
ensure that all communities in the United States will have a secure, 
resilient, interoperable, and reliable way of receiving, processing, 
and responding to requests for emergency assistance.
    IAFC member and Philadelphia Fire Commissioner, Adam Thiel equates 
the upgrading of our Nation's 9-1-1 infrastructure to NG 9-1-1 to 
shifting from a rotary phone to a smart phone. When discussing issues 
concerning the current state of 
9-1-1 infrastructure, Commissioner Thiel often speaks about how 9-1-1 
calls coming from his jurisdiction in Philadelphia are often routed 
across the river to Camden, New Jersey. This results in significant 
delays due to having the call re-routed to the 9-1-1 center in 
Philadelphia. IAFC members around the country have spoken of similar 
issues and delays. This is unacceptable in an emergency situation where 
every second counts.
    The focus on improving our Nation's infrastructure provides a 
unique opportunity for Congress to make a once-in-a-generation 
investment to modernize our 9-1-1 systems to NG 9-1-1. NG 9-1-1 will 
enable Emergency Communications Centers (ECCs) to receive a variety of 
multimedia (photos, videos) and other data from 
9-1-1 callers and seamlessly share this information with other ECCs and 
responding fire, EMS, and law enforcement officials in the field. This 
will make emergency responses faster and more efficient and make public 
safety professionals and the communities they serve safer. Simply put, 
NG 9-1-1 will save lives.
    The IAFC is a member of the Public Safety Next Generation 9-1-1 
Coalition, which consists of the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association, 
the Major County Sheriffs of America, the Major Cities Chiefs 
Association, the National Association of State EMS Officials, the 
National Sheriffs' Association, the International Association of Chiefs 
of Police, and the Association of Public-Safety Communications 
Officials International. This coalition is advocating for a one-time 
$15 billion 
NG 9-1-1 upgrade to be part of the reconciliation package Congress is 
currently considering.
    A 2018 study requested by Congress and conducted by the National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration determined that $9.5-12.7 billion 
was required to achieve NG 9-1-1 Nation-wide. In the time since this 
study was completed, our 
9-1-1 infrastructure has faced additional challenges like increased 
cybersecurity threats. To adequately meet these challenges and 
cybersecurity concerns, $15 billion is needed to upgrade our Nation's 
9-1-1 infrastructure most effectively.
    Additionally, the IAFC and the Public Safety Next Generation 9-1-1 
Coalition are requesting that the following NG 9-1-1-related priorities 
be included in the reconciliation package along with $15 billion in 
funding for the NG 9-1-1 upgrade:
    (1) Ensure that NG 9-1-1 is interoperable by requiring the use of 
        standards that are commonplace in the consumer marketplace.
    (2) Funding for training, so that an on-scene incident commander 
        can properly prioritize the data they receive.
    (3) Establish a Next Generation 9-1-1 Advisory Board to ensure NG 
        9-1-1 grants meet the needs of public safety professionals and 
        the public they serve.
    (4) Establish a Nation-wide Next Generation 9-1-1 Security 
        Operations Center to meet the vital 9-1-1-related cybersecurity 
        needs of local public safety agencies.
    All the priorities listed above are in the House's reconciliation 
proposal (H.R. 5376). H.R. 5376 only provides $10 billion in funding 
for NG 9-1-1. The IAFC and Public Safety NG 9-1-1 Coalition hope the 
Senate will include our NG 9-1-1 priorities in their reconciliation 
proposal along with $15 billion in funding, and that the House will 
support this funding as well.
                   importance of shsp and uasi grants
    The SHSP grants assist State, local, Tribal, and territorial 
efforts to build, sustain, and deliver the capabilities necessary to 
prevent, prepare for, protect against, and respond to acts of 
terrorism. The UASI program assists high-threat, high-density urban 
areas' efforts to build, sustain, and deliver the capabilities 
necessary to prevent, prepare for, protect against, and respond to acts 
of terrorism. In the wake of the terrorist attacks on 9/11, both grant 
programs have been crucial in assisting public safety to be better 
prepared and trained to address a terror attack or any major incident 
that may occur in their communities.
    The great success of SHSP and UASI is that they provide an 
incentive for Federal, Tribal, State, territorial, and local 
jurisdictions to collaborate before, during, and after an incident. By 
planning, training, and conducting exercises together, local fire 
chiefs, police chiefs, sheriffs, public health officials, emergency 
managers, and State and Federal officials are prepared to work together 
in the event of an emergency. This preplanning and coordination prevent 
confusion during an incident and directly saves lives.
    The IAFC's members and the communities they serve have strongly 
benefited from SHSP and UASI grant funding. Many of our members have 
utilized this funding to strengthen their information sharing and 
communications abilities. Our members in the National Capitol Region 
(NCR) have utilized funding from these programs to develop several 
emergency communications functions to aid in providing information 
during an emergency. Through these systems, residents in every 
jurisdiction throughout the NCR can sign up for free text messaging 
alert systems from local governments that provide real-time emergency 
alerts and notifications to cell phones, pagers, email accounts.
    The NCR has also utilized this funding to interconnect the fiber 
optic networks built and funded by the local jurisdictions to form the 
``NCR Net.'' This system enables the seamless transmission of critical 
data such as that used by computer-aided dispatch systems throughout 
the region thus elevating situational awareness and reducing emergency 
call processing time. IAFC members in California have utilized this 
funding to improve regional radio interoperability, develop resilient 
internal communications, improve fire station security, and train 
chiefs and company officers to lead in large-scale and complex 
incidents.
    IAFC members in Clark County Nevada have used these funds to 
support fusion center activities within the Southern Nevada 
Counterterrorism Center. These activities include suspicious activity 
analysis and reporting; evaluation and support of special events; 
multi-agency intelligence and information sharing; and the hardware and 
software to support these programs. They also have utilized this 
funding to support community outreach and education programs like ``See 
Something, Say Something'' campaigns; training and exercises; and the 
development of public/private partnerships to help protect the region.
    The IAFC is pleased that the Department of Homeland Security 
Appropriations Act, 2022 (H.R. 4431) contains $705 million for UASI and 
$610 million for SHSP. We urge Congress to continue to support strong 
funding for these important grant programs.
                   importance of afg and safer grants
    The AFG and SAFER grant programs are critical to the fire and EMS 
service. The AFG program is one of the few grant programs dedicated to 
all-hazards preparedness and response. The AFG grant program was 
created in 2000 as part of the Fiscal Year 2001 National Defense 
Authorization Act (Pub. L. 106-398) to improve the baseline operational 
capability of America's fire service through improved equipment, 
training, and staffing.
    The SAFER grant program was created in 2003 as part of the fiscal 
year 2004 National Defense Authorization Act (Pub. L. 108-136) to 
specifically address the staffing shortages in career, volunteer, and 
combination fire departments. SAFER grants are especially important in 
today's environment where volunteer fire recruitment and retention are 
suffering.
    AFG grants are helpful in improving public safety communications by 
enabling fire departments to purchase much-needed radios and 
communications equipment. The National Fire Protection Association's 
Fourth Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service showed that 50 percent 
of all departments still do not have enough portable radios to equip 
all emergency responders on a shift.
    The IAFC is grateful for the extra $200 million provided to each 
the AFG and SAFER programs during the COVID-19 pandemic and ask that 
Congress fully fund these programs.
                            4.9 ghz spectrum
    In 2002, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designated the 
4.9 GHz spectrum for public safety operations. This spectrum is used by 
public safety mostly for fixed point-to-point and secure Wi-Fi 
operations. Other public safety uses of 
4.9 GHz spectrum include hosting broadband intranet networks, video 
camera networks, in-building communications, bomb disposal robot 
operations, and airborne public safety video operations. Public safety 
has increasingly relied upon 4.9 GHz spectrum as new technologies 
emerge and become more widely used. In a 2018 filing with the FCC, the 
National Public Safety Telecommunications Council reported that the 
number of fixed point-to-point sites on the 4.9 GHz band increased by 
31 percent between 2015 and 2018.
    In recent years, National public safety organizations, like the 
IAFC, and the FCC have disagreed about public safety's level of usage 
of 4.9 GHz spectrum. The FCC under Chairman Pai believed that public 
safety was not adequately using the 
4.9 GHz band. Public safety contended that the FCC was not adequately 
accounting and tracking 4.9 GHz licenses. Seattle has both a single 
area-license and 58 licensed hops of 4.9 GHz. Seattle uses the 4.9 GHz 
spectrum primarily for communications backhaul to support data network 
connectivity as well as voice services. The network also supports the 
Seattle Police Department's mobile command center and is deployed on 
Seattle Fire Department fire boats.
    Citing lack of utilization, the FCC moved to open 4.9 GHz spectrum 
to commercial users. Last October, the FCC issued an order adopting a 
State-by-State leasing framework that would have set up a patchwork 
regulation of State-run auctions of 4.9 GHz spectrum to commercial 
entities. The IAFC and multiple public safety organizations submitted 
comments and petitions opposing this move. After public safety 
organizations filed petitions for reconsideration of the FCC's order, 
the FCC placed a stay on last October's order in May and on September 
30 the FCC unanimously rescinded the State-by-State leasing rules, 
finding that they risked fragmenting the band. The FCC also partially 
lifted a freeze on applications in this band to allow existing public 
safety licensees to modify their licenses and to license new permanent 
fixed sites.
    Additionally, on September 30 the FCC adopted a Further Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking that explores options to ensure public safety use 
of the band, including protecting public safety users from harmful 
interference, collecting more granular licensing data, and adopting 
technical standards to promote interoperability. The Further Notice 
also seeks comment on ways to encourage use of new technologies, 
including 5G, and dynamic spectrum access systems to facilitate 
coexistence between public safety and non-public safety uses of the 
band.
    The IAFC is pleased with FCC's decision to rescind the State-by-
State auction framework and views it as a step in the right direction. 
The IAFC will remain engaged with the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
regarding 4.9 GHz spectrum that was approved by the FCC on September 30 
and urges Congress to monitor these proceedings to ensure public safety 
interests on the 4.9 GHz band are preserved.
                             6 ghz spectrum
    Public safety uses 6 GHz spectrum to support backhaul for 
communications systems and radio communications in rural areas across 
the United States. This spectrum is heavily utilized by public safety 
with approximately 30,000 active licenses. In April 2020 the FCC voted 
to allow unlicensed users to operate on the 6 GHz spectrum. As a part 
of this rule, incumbents and new entrants in the 6 GHz band have 
established a multi-stakeholder group (MSG) to discuss concerns and 
find mutually-agreeable solutions to sharing the spectrum. The IAFC is 
a member of the MSG. The MSG continues to operate three focus groups to 
address issues of particular concern relating to the FCC's vote on 6 
GHz band. The IAFC is a member of focus group on Harmful Interference.
    The IAFC has filed comments with the FCC, critical of its move to 
open the 
6 GHz spectrum to unlicensed users. In February IAFC, Utilities 
Technology Council (UTC), and other organizations submitted comments to 
the FCC opposing a January Public Notice opening the 6 GHz band to 
unlicensed client-to-client operations. The IAFC opposes this proposal 
because it would exponentially increase the potential for interference 
to licensed 6 GHz microwave systems and would make it more difficult to 
resolve interference complaints. The IAFC, UTC, and others followed up 
with reply comments in March.
    The IAFC supported the inclusion of language in Pub. L. 116-20 
directing the FCC to provide a report to Congress within 90 days on its 
progress in ensuring rigorous testing related to unlicensed use of the 
6 GHz band. The IAFC continues to monitor the FCC's proceedings related 
to 6 GHz spectrum. The IAFC also urges Congress to monitor these 
proceedings to ensure public safety interests on the 
6 GHz band are preserved.
                               conclusion
    I thank you for the opportunity to address the subcommittee on the 
landscape of public safety communications in the 20 years since 9/11. 
Through FirstNet, SAFECOM and strong funding for SHSP, UASI, AFG, and 
SAFER grants, we have come a long way in 20 years. However, there is 
still work to be done to protect these efforts and grants, along with 
ensuring full implementation of NG 9-1-1 and the protection of public 
safety spectrum. I thank the subcommittee for all it has done to bring 
about the progress that has been made in public safety communications 
in the years since 9/11. The IAFC looks forward to continuing to work 
with the subcommittee to address the continued communications needs of 
public safety.

    Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much, Chief Lombard, for your 
testimony.
    The Chair now recognizes the sheriff from Putnam County, 
Sheriff DeLoach, to summarize his statement for 5 minutes.
    Thank you, Sheriff, for being with us today.

   STATEMENT OF H.D. ``GATOR'' DELOACH, III, SHERIFF, PUTNAM 
                    COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

    Mr. DeLoach. Thank you.
    Members of the subcommittee, Chairwoman Demings, and 
Ranking Member Cammack, thank you for the opportunity to 
testify before this committee today.
    As a sheriff in a rural Florida county, my office faces 
unique challenges to communicate with our emergency service 
providers in the field. It is my pleasure to be with you here 
today and to share some of the obstacles we face while we work 
together to ensure our Nation is best equipped to respond to 
emergent threats and life-safety issues alike.
    I want to begin by talking about emergency communications 
post-9/11 to offer a rural perspective to Members of the 
subcommittee. Although our Nation has seen significant changes 
to the way that first responders communicate, there are still 
significant gaps and lapses in coverage areas.
    Just for a little background, Putnam County is part of 
rural northeast Florida, situated approximately 60 miles south 
of Jacksonville and north of Daytona Beach. Our community and 
county is approximately 827 square miles, with a population 
near 75,000 residents. Putnam County is comprised primarily of 
farmland and large stands of pine forest harvested for timber. 
The county is fiscally constrained and is designated as a 
county of critical economic concern by the Florida legislature. 
This presents significant challenges to our first responders, 
not the least of which is our emergency communications systems.
    While emergency services in rural areas look significantly 
different than it does for our urban counterparts, many things 
we do look the same. We all apply the same statutes and are 
held to the same standards by certifying bodies and have 
similar missions. What does contrast starkly, however, is how 
we communicate.
    The majority of our Federal, State, and local partners use 
digital P25-based land mobile radio systems. Putnam County is 
an outlier in that we currently use an antiquated radio system 
which is based on technology developed during the second World 
War. Our current communications platform is an analog VHF radio 
system, primarily assembled with parts from decommissioned 
systems that were donated from other areas and were otherwise 
destined for a landfill. This effectively isolates us with no 
ability to communicate with our counterparts that we frequently 
work with or rely on for assistance.
    Imagine a law enforcement officer and a paramedic who were 
responding to a domestic violence call in a rural area 25 to 30 
minutes away from your current location. When you arrive, you 
speak to the victim who is conscious but not ambulatory and has 
a large laceration above the eye. Based on her description of 
her injuries, you suspect she may have internal injuries as 
well. The suspect ran into a densely forested area behind the 
residence. You try to reach the emergency communications center 
through your portable radio to request an expedited response 
from EMS and your back-up but get no response. You then attempt 
to use your cell phone to call but have no luck.
    Frustrated, you have no choice but to leave the victim in a 
vulnerable position while you return to your patrol car to use 
your more powerful mobile radio. The dispatchers can hear you, 
but your transmission is filled with static and unintelligible 
at times. Fortunately, the dispatcher has the foresight to send 
another deputy to assist, but, unfortunately, another 20 
minutes will lapse before rescue arrives. The victim's 
condition deteriorates quickly because of the time delay. She 
suffers a stroke and loses her ability to speak and testify 
against her attacker.
    In 2013, the FCC issued a mandate that required analog VHF 
systems to narrowband or otherwise decrease their wavelength 
from 25 kilohertz to 12.5 kilohertz to free up additional 
frequencies. The net effect of that on us here was a greatly 
reduced ability to transmit or receive radio traffic, 
especially in buildings or in isolated areas.
    Post-9/11 funding was robust immediately following the 
attacks but seems to have waned significantly. For rural 
communities, this funding was significant in assisting 
emergency communications in receiving vital technology in a 
timely manner. Larger communities have funded their 
communications updates through their ability to leverage money 
from an extensive and diverse socioeconomic population. Rural 
communities, unfortunately, lack that advantage.
    The majority of residents in communities like Putnam are 
older, rely on fixed incomes, and do not have diversity of 
economic growth as seen in areas such as St. Johns or Orange 
counties. At the same time, communities such as Putnam are not 
so economically stagnant that we receive an overabundance of 
grant funding. Quite simply, we and other communities similar 
to ours are in a financial stranglehold where we have to choose 
to have the emergency responders to meet the needs of the 
community but have the potential to lose signal with 
communications, or pay to update the technology and 
communications but not have the people to respond to the 
emergency call.
    Currently in Putnam County, we are still operating on the 
Florida Interoperability Network rather than the more up-to-
date digital mutual aid model our area counterparts use. FIN is 
the technology developed that allows public safely counterparts 
to patch channels together, effectively creating a bridge that 
allows radio traffic and data to flow both directions.
    In the immediate post-9/11 years, there was a significant 
emphasis on interoperability which led to the development of 
it. Focus on maintaining the system and others like it has all 
but grinded to a halt based on the use of digital mutual aid 
channels, which has contributed to a lack of maintenance and 
failure of user agencies to remain proficient in the operation 
of it. Furthermore, it has limitations, the most obvious of 
which being the users' inability to roam outside of their 
agency coverage area.
    From our perspective, the most logical and cost-effective 
strategy for rural areas is regional communications systems 
with independent dispatch centers. Multiple users are counties 
which hear these systems within a geographic area and would 
enable the users to roam freely within their coverage area, 
which reduces cost based on shared infrastructure, while still 
maintaining the autonomy of independent dispatch centers.
    Regional center models are not new. There are several well-
established communication centers built Nation-wide and in 
Florida. These systems create additional efficiencies, the most 
notable of which creates a workaround allowing certain 
transmitters to be optimized for additional coverage, which 
isn't currently allowed because the FCC mandates transmitters 
cannot transmit more than 5 miles outside of their intended 
coverage area. This also can reduce the need to build costly 
tower sites by leveraging optimized antenna placement versus 
the need to build additional sites when transmitters can be 
tuned accordingly.
    Although I am not aware of any current agreements, we do 
also have the ability to use existing infrastructure through 
partnering with internet service providers which allows for a 
leasing of tower space for last-mile efforts to further----
    Mrs. Demings. Sheriff DeLoach, excuse me, but your time has 
expired a couple of minutes ago. But during the line of 
questioning from the Members, if there is something that is 
still in your opening statement that you want to share with us, 
please seize that opportunity to do that.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. DeLoach follows:]
           Prepared Statement of H.D. ``Gator'' DeLoach, III
                       Thursday, October 7, 2021
                              introduction
    Chairwoman Demings and Ranking Member Cammack, thank you for the 
opportunity to testify before this committee today. As sheriff in a 
rural Florida county, my office faces unique challenges to communicate 
with our emergency service providers in the field. It is my pleasure to 
be here with you today and share some of the obstacles we face while we 
work together to ensure our Nation is best equipped to respond to 
emergent threats and life safety issues.
        emergency communications post-9/11: a rural perspective
    Although our Nation has seen significant changes to the way first 
responders communicate, there are still significant gaps and lapses in 
coverage areas.
    Background.--Putnam County is part of rural northeast Florida 
situated approximately 60 miles south of Jacksonville and North of 
Daytona Beach. Our county is approximately 827 square miles with a 
population near 75,000 residents. Putnam County is comprised primarily 
of farmland and large stands of pine forest harvested for timber. The 
county is fiscally constrained and designated as a county of critical 
economic concern by the Florida Legislature. This presents significant 
challenges to our first responders; not the least of which is emergency 
communications.
    While emergency services in rural areas looks significantly 
different than it does for our urban counterparts, many things we do 
look the same. We all apply the same statutes, are held to the same 
standards by certifying bodies and have similar missions.
    What does contrast starkly is how we communicate. The majority of 
our Federal, State, and local partners use digital P25-based land 
mobile radio systems. Putnam County is an outlier, in that we currently 
use an antiquated radio system based on technology developed during 
World War II. Our current communications platform is an analog VHF 
radio system primarily assembled from parts of decommissioned systems 
that were donated from other areas and were otherwise destined for a 
landfill. This effectively isolates us with no ability to communicate 
with our counterparts that we frequently work with or rely on for 
assistance.
    Imagine a law enforcement officer and paramedic crew responding to 
a domestic violence call in a rural area 25 to 30 minutes away from 
your current location. When you arrive, you speak to the victim who is 
conscious but not ambulatory and has a large laceration above their 
eye. Based on her description of her injuries, you suspect she may have 
internal injuries as well. The suspect ran into a densely forested area 
behind the residence. You try to reach the emergency communications 
center from your portable radio to request an expedited response from 
EMS and back-up, but get no response. You then attempt to use your cell 
phone to call, but no luck. Frustrated, you have no choice but to leave 
the victim in a vulnerable position while you return to your patrol car 
to use the more powerful mobile radio. The dispatchers can hear you, 
but your transmission is filled with static and unintelligible. 
Fortunately, the dispatcher has the foresight to send another deputy to 
assist, but unfortunately another 20 minutes will elapse before rescue 
arrives. The victim's condition deteriorates quickly because of the 
time delay, suffers a stroke and loses her ability to speak and testify 
against her attacker.
    In 2013 the FCC issued a mandate that required analog VHF systems 
to narrowband or decrease their wavelength from 25 KHZ to 12.5 KHZ to 
free up additional frequencies. The net effect of that was a greatly 
reduced ability to transmit or receive radio traffic, especially in 
buildings or isolated rural areas.
    Post-9/11 funding was robust immediately following the attacks, but 
has waned significantly. For rural communities this funding was 
significant in assisting emergency communications in receiving vital 
technology in a timely manner. Larger communities have funded their 
communications upgrades through their ability to leverage money from an 
extensive and diverse socio-economic population. Rural communities lack 
that advantage. The majority of residents in communities like Putnam 
are older, rely on fixed incomes and do not have the diversity of 
economic growth seen in areas such as St. Johns or Orange counties. At 
the same time communities such as Putnam are not so economically 
stagnant that we receive an overabundance of grant funding. Quite 
simply we, and other communities similar to ours, are in a financial 
stranglehold where we have to choose to have the emergency responders 
to meet the needs of the community, but have the potential to lose 
signal with communications or pay to update the technology in 
communications but not have the people to respond to the emergency 
call.
    Currently in Putnam County we are still operating on the Florida 
interoperability network (FIN) rather than the more up-to-date digital 
mutual aid model our area counter parts use. FIN is a technology 
developed that allows public safety partners to patch channels 
together, effectively creating a bridge that allows radio traffic and 
data to flow both directions. In the immediate post-9/11 years there 
was significant emphasis on interoperability which led to development 
of the FIN. Focus on maintaining this system and others like it has all 
but grinded to a halt based on use of digital mutual aid channels which 
has contributed to a lack of maintenance and failure of user agencies 
to remain proficient in the operation of FIN. Furthermore, FIN use has 
limitations, the most obvious being user's inability to roam outside of 
their agency coverage area.
                       where do we go from here?
    The logical and most cost-effective strategy for rural areas is 
regional communications systems with independent dispatch centers. 
Multiple users or counties would share these systems within a 
geographic area and would enable users to roam freely within the 
coverage area, which reduces cost based on shared infrastructure while 
still maintaining the autonomy of independent dispatch centers. 
Regional communications models are not new--there are several well-
established regional communications systems built Nation-wide and in 
Florida. These systems create additional efficiencies; the most notable 
of which creates a work-around allowing certain transmitters to be 
optimized for additional coverage, which isn't currently allowed 
because the FCC mandates transmitters cannot transmit more than 5 miles 
outside their intended coverage area. This also can reduce a need to 
build costly tower sites by leveraging optimized antenna placement 
versus a need to build additional sites, when transmitters can be tuned 
accordingly.
    Although I am not aware of any current agreements, we do have the 
ability to use existing infrastructure through internet service 
provider partnerships which allow leasing of tower space for last-mile 
efforts to further reduce cost, where feasible. This has the obvious 
benefit of potentially providing internet service for rural areas not 
previously afforded access.
                               conclusion
    While tremendous progress toward connectivity was made in the two 
decades since the 9/11 attacks, there still remains a significant 
amount of work to bridge the communications interoperability gap. In 
summary, if we are unable to talk and receive messages, we are unable 
to help those in need during their most critical time.

    Mrs. Demings. We want to thank you so much for joining us 
today. Matter of fact, I want to thank all of our witnesses for 
your testimony.
    I would remind the subcommittee that we will each have 5 
minutes to question the panel.
    I will now recognize myself for questions.
    I want to start with Chief Lombard. You said having been on 
the ground during 9/11, you said something to the effect of you 
are, of course, keenly aware of the conditions on the ground 
that day. We know one of the major challenges was 
intraoperability. Could you just kind-of talk a little bit more 
what it was like on the ground that day? Then, since 9/11, 
paint a picture for us of the improvements that we have made 
but we still need to make.
    Thank you.
    Mr. Lombard. Sure, Chair. Thank you very much for the 
question. So I responded with--so the FEMA contracts around the 
Nation to form 28 Urban Search and Rescue teams. The Seattle 
Fire Department is part of one of those teams, so we responded. 
We were actually in what was the second round, and it was 
definitely a life-altering experience. The sights, the sounds, 
the smells, like nothing I have ever seen since or had never 
seen before. Like you, I was coming off duty that morning and 
saw the news on the TV, and it was, again, life-altering.
    When we responded to New York, one of the challenges is 
that even as the Federal USAR teams, we all had disparate 
communications. Further, our communications didn't integrate to 
the public safety responders, the police, fire, EMTs, dispatch 
on scene as well, so we had to make extensive use of runners. 
We had to kind-of come by fly by-wire patching and 
communications, you know, networks to try to do the best that 
we could at the time.
    Thankfully, like I have mentioned in my testimony, you 
know, there were some relationships that were already 
established, so at least we had some kind of idea on who we 
should reach out to and who we should talk to. Talking with 
colleagues and counterparts at the Washington, DC aspect of 9/
11, it was kind-of the same thing, that they tried to patch 
everything, and then all of a sudden, everybody was talking to 
everybody, and nobody could talk.
    So probably the biggest success was, again, the bringing 
all of the efforts together with SAFECOM under what was 
eventually DHS. SAFECOM had a couple of key models to identify 
ways to improve governance, equipment, standard operating 
procedures, training, and exercises. Through those and 
coordinating the grant funds accordingly, in each of those 
areas, what we have been able to do since is, through 
attrition, public safety all across the United States has been 
able to do a much better job at coordinating as far as our 
purchases; hey, what are you guys getting, what are we getting, 
you know, how should we talk, language, you know.
    The example that we always use between police and fire, and 
in your family, I am sure you know how these little debates go 
between police and fire. Lots of good kidding and ribbing. You 
know, if the military says cover me, if a firefighter says 
cover me, and if a police officer says cover me, you can get 
some very different responses as to what that will mean, 
whether it is water, whether it is equipment, or whether there 
are guns being pulled out. So we worked on all of those 
different aspects.
    Again, you know, FirstNet, SAFECOM, the technology is 
coming, but we didn't get into that position, you know, on 
September 10. It took a long time to get into the pickle, and 
it is going to take--continue to take time to get out of it.
    Mrs. Demings. Chief, thank you so much for that.
    Captain Maier, you talked a little bit in your opening 
statement about IPAWS and the usefulness of that platform. What 
would you say are some additional things that can be done to 
improve the performance of the platform?
    Mr. Maier. One of the most important things that FirstNet 
has done for us--and can you hear me OK, ma'am? I should check 
first.
    All right. Thank you. My apologies for the earlier 
technical difficulties.
    But with FirstNet, we have to talk about the resiliency of 
the network and to make sure that the build-out as it is at--I 
think it is 95 percent complete at this point moving band 14 
across the United States, putting that National public safety 
broadband power in the hands of first responders--that we want 
to make sure some of that legacy equipment, that the towers are 
actually built to standards that we would use for our public 
safety radio systems, that the power systems that back them up, 
that the diversity of the paths that actually connect those 
network of networks together is built to that same standard.
    So we see that with FirstNet, they do have a transparency 
platform with AT&T where I can see, as a first responder, there 
is help with the network. I can see how things are going. I can 
see if there is outages or impairments. Here is the thing for 
us: As first responders, we actually have to anticipate those 
disruptions and impairments to our operations. We do that all 
the time, and that includes outages not just related to 
FirstNet. We plan for those responses, and then during those 
events, as well as for recovery.
    So we know that FirstNet is working with them on this. I 
have some experience with this. I was part of the FirstNet 
Public Safety Advisory Committee for many years, served as its 
vice chair, proud to say that I am very proud of the effort we 
have seen through the FirstNet Authority and the hard-working 
people there.
    Also think about the deployables that they have put out. 
They have more than 100 deployables ready to go that can be 
pre-staged, like they did in the District of Columbia, like 
they have done in Michigan, to prepare for events, like they 
have done in Florida and New Orleans. Those are things that we 
have to be ready for.
    I am talking to you from New Orleans right now, and I can 
see the devastation when I look out the window of what these 
storms can do and how they can tear up infrastructure. That is 
what being prepared is doing for us. By partnering with 
FirstNet and moving this forward, we are building in more 
resiliency, we are identifying the weak parts, we are ensuring 
the diversity of the pathways. I am very proud of the work that 
is going on with it, and it is a very, very useful tool for 
public safety.
    Mrs. Demings. Captain Maier, thank you so much for your 
response.
    The Chair now recognizes the Ranking Member of the 
subcommittee, the gentlewoman from Florida, for your questions.
    Mrs. Cammack. Thank you, Chairwoman Demings.
    This question is going to be for Sheriff Gator DeLoach, 
Chief Lombard, and Captain Maier. If you guys could quickly, 
because I only have 5 minutes, just weigh in yes or no and then 
elaborate just a little bit.
    As you guys know, CISA has cybersecurity advisors deployed 
across the 10 FEMA regions, and you all have worked with FEMA 
in one capacity or another, to assist State and local 
governments and the private sector to help mitigate cyber 
threats. So my question to you three is, have you had any 
engagement with the CISA representatives regarding 
cybersecurity services? If so, has that engagement been 
beneficial, and how can it be improved?
    I will start with you, Sheriff DeLoach.
    Mr. DeLoach. Well, my office has not had any personal 
engagement with CISA. We do have, even for a very rural county, 
a very robust response to cyber threats that we address through 
our internal IT staff and also one of the vendors of record 
that we use here.
    Mrs. Cammack. Thank you.
    Captain Maier.
    Mr. Maier. Thank you, Congresswoman. Yes is the short 
answer. To expand upon that, I was part of the SAFECOM 
committee under CISA for many years. I was chair of funding and 
sustainment. We took into account building these networks from 
the bottom up to include cybersecurity so that they are built 
upon the network of networks security. In fact, one of the 
things that we have used is that CISA model of really about 
intrusion detection and intrusion prevention systems and 
building those in.
    The contact with CISA is extensive. I mean, honestly, it 
would take more than 5 minutes to list it all, but I can tell 
you they do have the ability to do a technical assistance 
program that they can actually go out and help identify gaps in 
what your technology services, especially communications, is 
doing----
    Mrs. Cammack. Thank you.
    Mr. Maier [continuing]. As well as some of the COML/COMT 
stuff.
    Mrs. Cammack. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you, Captain 
Maier.
    Chief Lombard.
    Mr. Lombard. Yes. Ranking Member, yes. We actually had the 
privilege to meet the newly-appointed director, Jen Easterly, 
and we have had several meetings with Deputy Director Nitin 
Natarajan, and some great outcomes from that.
    You know, being from the home of Amazon and Microsoft, one 
of the things that we started to do through SAFECOM and working 
with CISA is start to really foster some of those public-
private partnerships, you know, where are some of the expertise 
and how can we bring some of the talent and the support from 
the Federal Government together to start addressing public 
safety needs in this.
    Mrs. Cammack. Excellent. Thank you, Chief.
    Sheriff DeLoach, as you know and we have talked about this 
several times before, about 60 million Americans or 1 in 5 
Americans live in rural America. In fact, 97 percent of America 
is rural. So, knowing that, and you representing a rural 
community, can you talk about what it would cost your 
department to upgrade your radio system?
    Mr. Lombard. Yes, absolutely. So we have--we are actually 
in the process of attempting to upgrade our radio system and 
identify a funding source right now. The long and short of it 
is, is that it would cost us about $7 million to $8 million to 
upgrade our radio system and the existing infrastructure. So we 
are in a position where we can either buy the car or put gas in 
it, so to speak.
    Mrs. Cammack. I know we are going to dig into a lot of the 
nitty-gritty systems themselves in some of the grant funding 
programs, but something that constantly I believe gets 
overlooked is the personal human side of what can happen when 
these radio systems are going down or they don't work.
    Have you ever or anyone in your department had a situation 
where an officer was put in danger or there was a loss of life 
due to a lack of communications?
    Mr. Lombard. Fortunately, we have not had a loss of life. 
However, there are more than we can cover in the short period 
of time that we have of situations where both fire and EMS 
crews and deputies were placed in grave harm or peril because 
of their lack of ability to communicate back with our regional 
communications center.
    Mrs. Cammack. Excellent.
    I have got about 20 seconds left, so I am going to open it 
up to all of the witnesses. I think it will probably be hit on 
later today, but just yes or no in my 10 seconds. You have 
experienced within your department potentially tragic 
situations or a tragic situation due to a lack of 
communication.
    Chief Lombard.
    Mr. Lombard. Yes. There is many examples in the fire 
service where either radio failures or radio system failures 
have led to fatalities, lots of reports affirming that.
    Mrs. Cammack. Captain Maier.
    Mr. Maier. Yes, we had an incident at a shooting scene 
where departments could not talk to each other. It created a 
much more dangerous event. It is a terrible situation that 
could have been averted with better communications.
    Mrs. Cammack. I appreciate it. Thank you.
    With that, I yield back, Madam Chairwoman.
    Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much to the Ranking Member.
    The Chair will now recognize other Members for questions 
they may wish to ask the witnesses. In accordance with the 
guidelines laid out by the Chairman and Ranking Member in their 
February 3 colloquy, I will recognize Members in order of 
seniority alternating between Majority and Minority. Members 
are also reminded to unmute themselves when recognized for 
questioning.
    The Chair recognizes for 5 minutes the gentlewoman from 
Texas, Ms. Sheila Jackson Lee. Sheila, I know you were on 
earlier. Is Ms. Jackson Lee still with us?
    OK. The Chair will now recognize the gentleman from New 
Jersey, Mr. Payne, for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Payne. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for having 
this hearing, very timely hearing.
    I am very pleased to hear the discussion earlier, in the 
beginning of the hearing, with mention of H.R. 615, the DHS 
Interoperable Communications Act, which was--I authored that 
legislation, so I am very proud of that, and also shepherded in 
the FirstNet operation here at DHS. So it is really good to 
hear all of that being functioning and active here at Homeland.
    Dr. Rodriguez, it is good to see you again. We miss you in 
Jersey, but it is wonderful that you landed in Washington.
    Mr. Rodriguez. Thank you, sir.
    Mr. Payne. Let's see. So access to emergency alerts and 
calls are necessary for every American no matter what the 
economic background or ability. What systems or initiatives 
does your agency have in place to ensure that all residents 
receive emergency alerts and information?
    Mr. Rodriguez. Congressman Payne, thank you for the 
question. You are right, and here in the District we do have a 
diverse socioeconomic resident population, and we did see that 
certainly in our response to the pandemic but also with some of 
the disasters and emergencies that we have experienced.
    So in addition to some of the tools that I mentioned in my 
opening statements, we do employ a multifaceted and multimodal 
approach to disseminating information. I mentioned our Alert 
D.C. Campaign, which will go and ping to our resident cell 
phones either via text or via email.
    We also, through the mayor's office and many of our 
community-based organizations, do a lot of door-to-door 
canvassing as well directly reaching our residents, 
particularly in our more disadvantaged wards, wards 7 and 8 in 
particular.
    We also try to reach our residents by getting them to also 
sign up for some of our telephone notifications. So for 
residents that don't have cell phones, for example, we can, 
through our public messaging campaigns, again working with the 
mayor's office, we are able to reach them in that way so that 
we can make calls to them during an emergency.
    Mr. Payne. Thank you. In 2018, a false ballistic missile 
alert was accidentally issued in Hawaii via the emergency alert 
system and the wireless emergency alert system. This false 
alarm caused wide-spread concern. How can we ensure that such 
accidents never happen again, and are there current challenges 
or concerns that you have with the emergency alert system and 
the wireless emergency alert system?
    Mr. Rodriguez. Thank you. I certainly remember that false 
alarm and alert that was sent out. It did reverberate, I think, 
across the country and--sorry. For a lot of the witnesses on 
the line, it was significant.
    So what we did here and in my agency actually disseminates 
the WEA alerts on behalf of the District. So we actually looked 
at our processes for ensuring that that type of message 
wouldn't go out. So we do have a layered approach to not only 
drafting a WEA message but also looking at our geofencing and 
where we are actually doing it.
    I, again, mention the challenges of geofencing. It is not 
an accurate technology so we do get bleed-over sometimes into 
Maryland and Virginia, our surrounding counties, which can also 
be a challenge. But we do have a layered process for ensuring 
that once the send is hit on the WEA that that has been looked 
at by several individuals before we actually put out--and 
vetted before it is put out to the public.
    Mr. Payne. Well, thank you for those responses.
    Madam Chair, I will yield back the balance of my time.
    Mrs. Demings. The gentleman yields back. Thank you so much.
    The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from Louisiana, Mr. 
Higgins, for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Higgins. I thank my friend and colleague, the 
Chairwoman, and the Ranking Member for holding this hearing 
today. I thank our law enforcement and first responders for 
being here today.
    Madam Chair, I am concerned about continued endeavors to 
defund the police. As it relates to today's topic, 
communications and the effectiveness thereof, here is an 
example: In Austin, Texas, the police department was defunded 
to the tune of $150 million. That is about a third of their 
budget. It is facing quite a crisis. In fact, the Department is 
now reporting that they are not going to respond to many calls. 
They have advised the citizens of Austin to dial 3-1-1 for many 
complaints, including burglaries, suspicious vehicles and 
people, public disturbances.
    Let me clarify that, from Austin's website: When you dial 
3-1-1, your call is answered by a friendly and knowledgeable 
city of Austin ambassador. Our ambassadors are always ready to 
answer any questions or assist you with any issue you may have 
regarding the city of Austin's departments or services, 24 
hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. If you dial 3-1-1, 
you can get an ambassador.
    Now, let me just say, when an American citizen is in a 
bind, they feel like they need to call 9-1-1, they need to be 
sure--we, the people, need to be certain that there is a police 
officer on the other end of that phone. The Austin example is 
quite startling because it is happening across the country in 
different ways.
    After reviewing each of our first responders and law 
enforcement witness testimonies today, there was a common 
theme: Every witness here talks about the need for additional 
resources.
    So the answer to improving emergency response efforts, 
including communications and interoperability across 
departmental jurisdictional authority, has never been to 
withdraw resources from our first responders. As a former cop, 
I can assure the country that defunding the police is the 
greatest threat to our Nation's ability to respond to 
emergencies.
    Sheriff DeLoach, I am going to ask you a question, and I am 
going to call you Sheriff Gator DeLoach, because that is the 
coolest name that has come through this committee in quite some 
time. According to a post-Katrina FCC report, more than 1,000 
cell sites were knocked out, preventing millions of calls from 
going through. The report goes on to say, a large number of 
transmission outages also had a huge impact on the ability of 
public safety systems to communicate.
    Your county is susceptible to hurricanes. I have first-hand 
experience in the challenges that first responders face, that 
cops face when dealing with the aftermath of a hurricane in 
communications. Could you please explain to the committee how 
hurricanes challenge the communications interoperability gap, 
and how a county sheriff like yourself would respond to those 
challenges and as that might relate to moves to defund the 
police. I will yield the balance of my time to you, Sheriff 
Gator, to answer that question for the country.
    Mr. DeLoach. Thank you, Representative Higgins. That is an 
excellent question. Yes, hurricanes are one of the biggest 
threats that face our communications infrastructure systems. In 
fact, that ties directly back in to my testimony, so I will 
dovetail off of some of that.
    Whenever we talk about a regional communications system and 
regional approaches, we are actually in the process of 
negotiating with St. Johns County, which is our sister county 
to the east, to potentially develop a regional communications 
center which would allow coastal counties like St. Johns to tie 
into our system or rather us to tie into their system to build 
additional redundancies and fail safes in the event that we 
have some type of a catastrophic cell failure, which would 
allow both entities to continue to operate independent of one 
another while still depending on the same core or the same 
common system, if that makes sense.
    Mr. Higgins. Yes, Sheriff, that makes sense to me.
    Madam Chair, I cannot see the clock. I don't know if I have 
time remaining.
    Mrs. Demings. You have 25 seconds left.
    Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Madam Chair, for the clarification.
    Sheriff, could you continue and comment, just talk to 
America about the challenge that--there is some legitimate 
argument, you understand, and it is OK for Americans to have 
this debate. But would you just honestly respond from your 
perspective to the attempt to defund police across the country?
    Mrs. Demings. The gentleman's time has expired, but the 
witness may answer the question.
    Mr. DeLoach. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    So, fortunately, living in rural northeast Florida, we 
don't even have those discussions here. Law enforcement is 
almost unilaterally respected by our citizens, and we are very 
grateful for that.
    My heart certainly goes out to my brothers and sisters in 
blue who are experiencing some of those devastating blows to 
their departments, and certainly even more so to the residents 
who are suffering at the hands of the funds to--or the attempt 
to defund police right now. It is un-American, in my opinion, 
and shouldn't be tolerated.
    Mrs. Demings. The Chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Texas, Ms. Jackson Lee, for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. I am trying to unmute.
    Mrs. Demings. We can hear you now.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Thank you so very much. Let me quickly----
    Mrs. Demings. Ms. Jackson Lee, you are on two different 
screens. Perhaps if we could eliminate one of them. There is 
some feedback. I am going to give you a couple of seconds to do 
that.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. We have eliminated it, I think. We were 
desperately trying to get on everywhere, but here we are.
    Mrs. Demings. That is better. That is better. Go right 
ahead.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. I still see some jeopardy here so I better 
talk very fast. First of all, Madam Chair, thank you so very 
much. [Inaudible]
    Mrs. Demings. Ms. Jackson Lee, we continue to have----
    Ms. Jackson Lee. I want to thank you for the committee 
hearing and the Ranking Member--[inaudible]
    Mrs. Demings. Ms. Jackson Lee, we are still having some 
communication issues. We are going to come back to you. We are 
going to come back to you.
    The Chair will now recognize the gentlewoman from New 
Jersey, Mrs. Bonnie Watson Coleman, for 5 minutes.
    Mrs. Watson Coleman. Thank you. Thank you, Madam 
Chairwoman, and thank you to the witnesses.
    I haven't had a chance to be here for the entire thing 
because I was double-booked, as life is, but I am very much 
concerned about this issue. You all represent very different 
communities, but one thing you all have in common is the 
vulnerability of being hacked by cyber criminals. Standard 
communications systems are vulnerable to cyber attacks where 
encrypted information can be intercepted and copied, and a 
hacker can attack electronic devices used for information 
transmission.
    So let me ask you, Captain Maier, what are some of your 
cybersecurity concerns, and do you feel as though DHS has been 
as supportive as it needs to be with this mission?
    Mr. Maier. Thank you, Congresswoman. That is the best 
question I have had really related to cyber, what keeps me up 
at night. Cyber intrusion is a serious threat, and it is a 
scary consideration that we put this digital data, personal 
information, all this information that is so essential to 
criminal justice out on the internet and all these other places 
and people are hacking in. It is a danger.
    So one of the things we have done is we have said, look, 
these need to be closed systems with controls at entry, 
controls that have to do with credentialing and management, 
controls that have to do with understanding the physical layers 
of the network versus the logical layers of the network, and 
those are the things that are built into the best systems out 
there.
    We look at some of the work that the CJIS through DHS and 
through NIST and all of those agencies have really done, and we 
are talking about risk identification, whether it is assets, 
data, and those capabilities. Putting that all together for us, 
we protect it, we detect it, we then respond and then we 
recover. That is how we do things, and those are the best 
systems.
    But remember, the most important thing is our employees and 
the people that work for us. We have to do the training, and we 
have to make sure that they have the information available to 
say this is a scam, don't respond to that email. We have all 
seen them--or the telephone calls, and DHS has been on the 
front of that. Especially having the folks from CISA, they are 
actually able to work with us in southeast Michigan. It has 
been very important for us and it is effective.
    Mrs. Watson Coleman. Thank you. Thank you, Captain. We want 
to make sure that you have whatever resources and whatever 
support that you need from DHS and----
    Mr. Maier. Thank you, ma'am. We appreciate your help and 
the work of those professionals.
    Mrs. Watson Coleman. Well, you know, please know that we 
are strong supporters of the resources that you need. We are 
strong supporters of law enforcement across this country, and 
we don't engage in hyperbole or politicization of the 
protection of our citizens through its law enforcement.
    I have a question for Dr. Rodriguez. Dr. Rodriguez, always 
good to see you. You know, the attack that took place on 
January 6 was just sort-of unexpected and--I think it was--I 
don't know. Maybe--it certainly was unacceptable and it was 
unexpected with people like me. I personally said, let's go to 
the Capitol because we will be safe there, and lo and behold, 
that was like the worst place we could have been on that day.
    So Dr. Rodriguez, I want to ask you, could you please 
describe the current communications operation in our Nation's 
capital and detail what systems worked on January 6 and what 
systems caused challenges and where we are in fixing those?
    Thank you.
    Mr. Rodriguez. Thank you, Congresswoman, and I appreciate 
the question. It is good to see you as well.
    As I mentioned in my opening statements, the FirstNet 
system did work reliably and consistently on January 6, which I 
think did assist our first responders, the Metropolitan Police 
Department, Capitol Police in doing what they needed to do to 
clear the Capitol of the insurrectionists.
    I would also add that there are some, as I mentioned also, 
our D.C. radio system did work well, as well, on the 6th. We do 
continue to look for ways that we can better partner with our 
Federal counterparts, our police, the Capitol Police, in order 
to make sure that there is that interoperable communications 
with our Federal partners.
    Because oftentimes, you know, with our First Amendment 
events and special events we host here in the Nation's capital, 
we do need to make sure that we are able to communicate very 
quickly with our Federal counterparts because we are called on 
to support them in many instances.
    Mrs. Watson Coleman. Thank you, Dr. Rodriguez.
    Madam Chair, how much time do I have?
    Mrs. Demings. The gentlewoman's time has expired.
    Mrs. Watson Coleman. OK. Can I just close with a question 
that--can I just close maybe with a comment, because Dr. 
Rodriguez raised for me something that was really quite 
significant, in that Washington was ready and able to respond 
in a timely manner at the point that it knew it needed to 
respond.
    So the question that's still needed to be answered is why 
weren't we proactively prepared?
    Thank you, Madam Chair, and I yield back.
    Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much. The gentlewoman yields 
back.
    The Chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from Iowa, Mrs. 
Miller-Meeks, for 5 minutes.
    Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, 
Ranking Member Cammack.
    To all of our witnesses, our first responders, our 
firefighters, our sheriffs, all of you who are here with us 
today, it is greatly appreciated the work that you do.
    Now, you know, Sheriff Gator DeLoach, you mentioned 
response to hurricanes and how that affects you. Others of you 
have mentioned other disasters, how they affect your different 
regions. In Iowa, we don't get hurricanes unless they are 
called derechos, which are inland hurricanes.
    So some of the comments that I have heard today have talked 
about resiliency, and I have heard a lot about the FirstNet 
system and using, you know, cellular communication.
    But in a derecho, I can tell you that here in Iowa and 
central Iowa, in fact, at some of our larger cities, and 
cellular towers, cellular communication was unavailable. As a 
State senator, I have, you know, put through legislation for 
broadband. Our Governor, Governor Reynolds, has just put 
through $100 million to broadband.
    So my question really, and, Dr. Rodriguez, maybe you can 
answer this or Sheriff DeLoach can answer, you know, in order 
to have resiliency, should we not have also redundancy of 
communications systems, because the same natural or unnatural 
disaster is not going to affect both areas?
    This also leads into the cybersecurity arena as well. You 
know, what is the possibility of satellites being taken out in 
outer space? What does that do to our communications system? We 
have seen U.S. companies purchased by the Chinese Communist 
Party, and if a Chinese Communist Party purchases a U.S. system 
or, for example, Huawei and 5G as it is being developed and the 
challenges with Huawei and security, I think all of these 
things are important as we develop a communications system and 
strategy, and hopefully we will see that in this upcoming 
report.
    So if Dr. Rodriguez and Sheriff DeLoach could answer that 
question briefly, it would be greatly appreciated.
    Mr. Rodriguez. Sheriff, I will defer to you and then I will 
come in after you, if that is all right.
    Mr. DeLoach. Certainly, thank you. That is an excellent 
question. I think one of the key components to focus on here is 
with the FirstNet build-out, which coincidentally is almost 
complete in Putnam County, and we are nearing the final stages 
of completion here.
    One of the things that FirstNet brings that makes it so 
attractive is an additional layer of redundancy above and 
beyond our land mobile radio system, which allows it to serve 
as an adjunct to our traditional radio system and even allows 
us to transmit data that we would normally transmit over our 
digital land mobile radio systems over cellular or LTE network.
    With that in mind and with the particular types of storms 
that you are talking about, you know, it is difficult to build 
out some type of infrastructure that could survive some type of 
a, you know, a catastrophic, really powerful, major hurricane 
or some type of a 500-year storm. But that was something that 
FirstNet actually took into consideration whenever they were in 
the design and engineering phase, so certainly credit goes to 
them and everyone who had a hand in that.
    Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Thank you. Before you answer, Dr. 
Rodriguez, you know, we have recently seen with the outage of 
Facebook, we know that these types of redundancies are 
necessary because one communication avenue may be susceptible. 
So, Dr. Rodriguez, if you would expand upon that and thank you, 
again, for your testimony.
    Mr. Rodriguez. Absolutely. Thank you, Congresswoman. Thank 
you, Sheriff. We fought--in the District, our interoperability 
coordinator really develops our plan, and it is really based on 
the PACE framework, right, the primary which is our radio 
system, the alternate which is our cell system, our 
contingencies would be satellite, and then our emergency in a 
worst-case scenario would be amateur radio runners. So we 
follow that framework for our communications ecosystem here and 
certainly with the National Capital Region, and we plan and we 
train to that.
    The other thing I would say is, you know, at the National 
level--you were talking about State actors too, Congresswoman--
I think as the National government, the Federal Government 
really examines National resiliency, particularly as part of 
its continuity of the economy framework, as was mandated in 
last year's NDAA in section 9603, I think it is really 
important for State and local authorities to be part of that 
planning process and that training process so that they know 
sort-of at the last mile and how it does impact the residents, 
States, and local jurisdictions. Thank you.
    Mrs. Miller-Meeks. These are excellent points. Thank you so 
much for your testimony.
    Madam Chair, thank you for indulging them to answer the 
questions despite my time having expired, and I yield back.
    Mrs. Demings. The gentlewoman yields back.
    The Chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas, Ms. 
Jackson Lee, for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Madam Chair, can you all hear me now?
    Mrs. Demings. Yes, we can.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. OK. Well, I could have a sense of humor 
about operating on 2 and 3 and 4 devices trying to get into 
this hearing, but I was hearing it, and it is an important 
hearing. So I want to, again, thank you very much for your 
leadership, two Floridians and the Ranking Member, and I 
appreciate the fact that we have a combination, very important 
combination of police departments and fire departments in our 
Chair and Ranking Member.
    I support both in terms of the vital work that they do. 
Coming from Texas and coming from Houston and being in the eye 
of disasters, we have had to rely upon the teams working 
together.
    Let me give a brief anecdote as I raise my questions to the 
witnesses that are there. I was in the United States Capitol on 
9/11. I was told by then-Capitol Police, the first voices we 
heard to get out and run as we saw them doing their job.
    It was well-known that the first level of information was 
not any information, because we did not have the connectedness 
that we needed. Rumors were that they were headed toward the 
White House, the Capitol, the State Department, and as well 
that they were headed to Houston, Texas, because it was the 
energy capital of the world.
    So I first-hand understand clearly, and contrary to my dear 
friend from Louisiana, Mr. Higgins, that we cities and 
communities, we support police with funding. We understand and 
you should understand that there are issues that would involve 
the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, but we are supportive 
of the basic infrastructure of law enforcement in this Nation, 
and that is all Americans who cede themselves to the authority 
of law enforcement and first responders, fire departments, as 
they do their job.
    So let me ask this general question that may have been 
asked but I can ask in a different way. It is all about 
infrastructure. It is all about the connectedness that you need 
to communicate. In our visit to 9/11, we were so much reminded 
of what happened with the firefighters, heroic--running up 
those stairs and how different systems cannot communicate.
    So I understand we are still on the 1960's and 1970's 
infrastructure. Give us just your point of what we need to do 
immediately. There is a funding question. There is a technology 
question. I know that you have been answering, but give it to 
me in a pointed way so that we can end this in 2021 that you 
have been in dealing with for this long period of time.
    I would be delighted to have the witnesses answer these 
questions if they would. Do I need to call on the deputy chief 
of the fire department, Seattle, and then others who could 
answer? Thank you.
    Mr. Lombard. Thank you, Congresswoman.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Chief Lombard, there you are.
    Mr. Lombard. Thank you, Congresswoman. So one of the 
things--you mentioned the technology, but I can't emphasize 
enough the people aspect, that making sure that we have--the 
people that we know that we have to talk to.
    When I went down to Hurricane Harvey, one of the first 
phone calls I was able to make was to Todd Early, your SWIC, 
your State-wide interoperability coordinator, and Ken Wright, 
who works with the Houston Fire Department. By contacting them, 
I was able to find out who I needed to talk to to find out and 
facilitate the communications infrastructure, what is working, 
what is not, what can we bring, how can we help you.
    DHS's support of SAFECOM in the FirstNet Public Safety 
Advisory Committee are two great examples where you, as 
Congress, are bringing us together so that we can make those 
connections, make those relationships so that when disaster 
does come we know who to contact on the ground.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. So Chief Maier, Sheriff Maier, what is 
your assessment of the greater work that we can do for law 
enforcement and the connectivity that you need?
    Speak about connectivity between different first 
responders, such as connectivity with fire departments in 
addition to police departments or law enforcement. Chief Maier.
    Mr. Maier. Thank you, Congresswoman. Go ahead. Oh, I am 
sorry. Can you hear me OK?
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Yes, I can hear you now.
    Mr. Maier. Sorry. Thank you, ma'am. Congresswoman, thank 
you for giving me a chance to talk about this. One of the most 
important things that Deputy Chief Lombard talked about was 
that communication planning process, and that is a fact. DHS 
has been a leader on this.
    Continued funding and support of SAFECOM, where I served in 
the funding and sustainment, where we developed how to have 
radio systems that are not just interconnected but were truly 
interoperable, because we understood, as you stated, we have to 
talk to the police, the fire, the EMS, and all of the public 
safety people that support us, those relationships and in the 
planning process are the single most important thing to move 
forward.
    Technology can be leveraged, most certainly. We have 
diversity. We include resilience in our systems. As the sheriff 
talked about in Florida, we can have alternate locations to 
have our emergency communications centers, so that if they are 
affected, they don't take off the entire communications system, 
just part of it that is affected. We work around those. That is 
what we plan to do. Your continued support and funding of DHS 
SAFECOM and the efforts that we are doing will help keep us on 
the right path forward.
    Mrs. Demings. The gentlewoman's time has expired. Thank you 
so much.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Thank you so very much for this hearing.
    Mrs. Demings. The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas, Mr. Green, for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Green. Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and I thank 
the Ranking Member as well. I am very appreciative that we have 
such outstanding witnesses today to share intelligence with us.
    This is one of those times when I think we can all agree 
that the success of what we are attempting to accomplish is 
going to be of great benefit not only in terms of 
interoperability as it relates to fire and police, which is 
very important, because I was here when Katrina hit. I remember 
how we had the lack of interoperability at that time, and this 
is very important.
    But also, I am concerned about interoperability as it 
relates to the general public, because there are times when the 
lines, the means of communication by way of cell phone, they 
are oversaturated. That oversaturation leaves the public 
without an opportunity to ascertain what the salient issues 
are.
    So I am interested in getting some sense of how we are 
interconnecting with interoperability as it relates to the 
general public. I will start with Mr. Christopher Rodriguez. 
Dr. Rodriguez, your thoughts on the public and how we phase the 
public into all of this, because many times I am being called 
upon and I can't get through to the people that need to know.
    Mr. Rodriguez. Yes, thank you very much, Congressman Green, 
for the question. I think it is important to look at the public 
as part of a larger emergency communications ecosystem that of 
which they are a part of it.
    So from our perspective in the District, I mentioned 
earlier in my comments about the ways that we try to reach the 
public as a city and actually as a region. We do have a 
regional watch-and-warn notification team that actually sits in 
the District that will alert the National Capital Region 
residents, of which there are nearly 6 million, if you include 
the District and surrounding counties. So we can reach them.
    But also, they need to know how to reach us if there are 
issues that they need to bring in emergencies or disasters, 
whether it is reporting suspicious activities or letting us 
know that, you know, a road is closed or a traffic accident has 
happened. So we do a lot of communication with the public to 
make sure they know how to sign up for our alerts, how to get 
direct feeds from authorities, but also how to communicate with 
us as well.
    Mr. Green. Let me share an additional concern. When we have 
had hurricanes here in Houston, I get a lot of calls to my 
office about electric wires, power lines that are down, and 
they are out in the street and they are bouncing around. The 
public needs to get help--needs to get somebody out to take 
care of these wires, and they call my office. So there is an 
additional reason for this. This was the thing that came to 
mind when it was called to my attention. So that is important.
    But let me move on and ask the honorable H.D.--is it 
DeLoach? DeLoach. Can you comment on this, Sheriff?
    Mr. DeLoach. Yes, sir. Just to dovetail on what Dr. 
Rodriguez was talking about, you know, that presents a 
significant challenge in a rural community, you know, not 
unlike your area where we are frequently faced with hurricanes 
and significant storms. I think the early warning is key 
because there is that knowledge we have from past storms that 
typically there is some infrastructure failures there.
    So I think that really what is key to this conversation 
that early warning and notification prior to the impact of the 
actual storm so that residents can put protective measures in 
place and evacuate the areas if they are in low-lying areas.
    Not unlike any other place, we use a multifaceted approach 
when it comes to communication. We rely heavily on social 
media, an early warning system and also a messaging system and 
reverse 
9-1-1 system to push out those messages. But I think there 
still needs to be some significant works that is done as far as 
building redundancy and resiliency into those systems so that 
they function even when conditions are less than optimal.
    Mr. Green. Well, I have about 25 seconds left, according to 
my timer. I don't have the actual timer. So let me just share 
this thought with you. My uncle was a deputy sheriff, and I 
attribute my success in life to him because of some sage advice 
that he gave me.
    So I want to let you know how much I appreciate the persons 
who are in law enforcement, fire departments, the constables, 
the various members of the constabulary who are out there 
putting your lives on the line to make sure we are safe. 
Sometimes you go above and beyond the call of duty even when it 
is not required for you to go above and beyond the call of it, 
so thank you very much.
    Thank you, Madam Chair, again, for your sage advice that 
you have given us as we have gone through this process as well. 
Thank you, everyone.
    Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much. The gentleman yields back.
    We do have time for a second round of questioning if the 
Members so desire. I want to thank our witnesses for the 
outstanding job and information that you have given us today. 
You know, I will begin with myself.
    One of the things that I said in my opening statement was 
Members of Congress have an important role to play. We have an 
important role to play, and today we are here to assess our 
progress over the last 20 years to ensure that our first 
responders and emergency management personnel have the 
resources to effectively respond to tragedies and to protect 
human life, to protect the American people. I thank you for 
staying focused today on that goal and on that purpose.
    We never want a vicious and cowardly attack like we saw on 
9/11 to ever happen to us again. That is not a political goal. 
That should be everybody's goal. So I want to thank you for 
what you have added to this conversation and the information 
that you have given us as Members of Congress who are laser-
focused on making sure that you have the resources that you 
need.
    A part of that, of course, are the DHS grants. I would just 
like to ask all of the witnesses, how has the DHS preparedness 
grants, such as UASI and State Homeland Security Program, 
helped further develop your communication strategies? I would 
like to ask all of the witnesses, and, Dr. Rodriguez, we will 
start with you.
    Mr. Rodriguez. Thank you. I appreciate the question, 
Congresswoman. The preparedness grants are an essential part of 
our ability to be interoperable. Since 2003, the National 
Capital Region has received about $1.2 billion in preparedness 
grants, of which close to $300 million has been spent to 
upgrade our radio systems and make them more interoperable.
    Most of the--but that doesn't tell the whole story, right, 
because there are a lot of local budgets that are impacted by 
having to upgrade radio systems every year, and then we do a 
large replacement of our regional cash every 10 years. So that 
cost is about $10 million per year to just do upgrades to the 
system.
    The other challenge that we have, and we appreciate the 
subcommittee's assistance on this, is, of course, FEMA putting 
in place mandatory minimums for what we have to spend the grant 
on. I think as we enter, you know, a period of where we have to 
be very flexible, the mandatory minimums--which account for 
about 30 percent of the grants that all the UASI regions get, 
kind-of put these limits on what it is we can spend on when, in 
my view, we need to remain flexible and nimble, particularly 
for State and local jurisdictions.
    Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much, Dr. Rodriguez.
    Chief Lombard.
    Mr. Lombard. Thank you very much, Chair. The grants have 
been phenomenal, and, in fact, they have been absolutely 
essential, certainly for our region. You know, we are not just 
buying equipment, although the equipment is very important. We 
have been able to, you know, get over the hump so to speak as 
far as speeding up processes to make sure that our radio 
systems intertwine to all of those radio systems around us at 
the State, the local, the level, the Tribal level, and whatnot.
    But, additionally, they have actually helped us as far as 
training and exercises. So the equipment is only as good as 
your ability to know what you are using and working. So we have 
over the years had multiple training and exercise scenarios 
where we actually got to use the equipment and practice talking 
to each other before the big disaster.
    Then in the usage, we have been able to use the grants to 
get together committees to work on policy so that we know, you 
know, on game day, here is what I need to do, here is where I 
need to go.
    So, again, you know, the policy, the equipment, the usage, 
putting the governance committees, it has all got to work 
together. The grants have been instrumental in making that 
happen, certainly in our region and many like ours.
    Mrs. Demings. Thank you.
    Sheriff DeLoach, I grew up in a rural part of Jacksonville, 
in Mandarin. I am sure you are familiar with that area. But I 
so appreciate what you said the scenario of, you know, the 
challenges may be different, the amount of support that you get 
may be different, but you are responding to the same calls, 
enforcing the same laws. So the level of service that you are 
expected to give is really the same. Could you talk a little 
bit about the importance of grants in your area?
    Mr. DeLoach. Certainly. Thank you again, Madam Chair. The 
unfortunate reality is is that typically what we see, at least 
in Florida, with regard to UASI and DHS monies is that they are 
typically funded--or funneled toward the more urban areas down 
in Broward County and the southern part of the State and even 
into Duval and Orange Counties.
    I understand the importance of protecting those 
infrastructures and ports and some of the assets that we have 
in those more populous areas, but sometimes it feels as if some 
of the more rural areas in Florida and in across the Nation 
often are overlooked or can't meet the demands of the reporting 
requirements and other demands the grants place on us.
    Mrs. Demings. Thank you, Sheriff.
    Last but not least, Captain Maier.
    Mr. Maier. One of the things we see with the UASI funding 
is it is essential to help us move forward, especially since 9/
11. The funding, while it has been reduced, it has stabilized 
the last few years. We would just ask that you continue funding 
that moving forward. To align really with what you had said 
earlier, with 25--[inaudible]
    Mrs. Demings. Captain Maier, we are having some audio--are 
you----
    Mr. Maier. Communications----
    Mrs. Demings. OK.
    Mr. Maier. Subcommittee. With the interoperable 
communications subcommittee, we have seen our amount of that 
shrink too.
    But Chris Lombard is correct; we have addressed more 
training issues rather than equipment-related. But here is the 
thing, through that grant guidance we are able to give the best 
direction possible to avoid those proprietary interfaces and 
those raw connections for some of these communication packages. 
We would be in a much better position. Thank you for supporting 
us on that.
    Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much.
    The Chair now recognizes the Ranking Member, Mrs. Cammack, 
for 5 minutes.
    Mrs. Cammack. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. You hit on one 
of the issues that I really wanted to bring to light and 
discuss today, which is the challenges that some of our rural 
communities have with these grants. So many of them are really 
just unattainable from a number of vantage points, one being 
they don't meet the requirements.
    In Putnam County, for example, and Sheriff DeLoach can 
speak to this, we have the main city Palatka, which is exactly 
400 people over the threshold for certain grants for low 
population areas. So because of that they have the exact same 
struggles that very small, rural communities have, but that 400 
person over the limit has excluded them from a number of grants 
putting them in a pile to compete with cities like 
Jacksonville, Orlando, or Miami.
    So, Sheriff DeLoach, I would love for you to just touch on 
this. I just went through about 28 pages of available grants 
through DHS, and it looks like Putnam County and several of the 
rural communities--and as was mentioned earlier, you know, 97 
percent of America is rural. One in 5 Americans live in rural 
America. When you look at that list of available DHS grants, 
communities, and rural communities only are eligible to apply 
to about 10 to 15 percent of those.
    Can you talk about how you guys are getting creative and 
what we could be doing to open up that grant a little bit more 
so that we are covering both the urban areas but also the rural 
communities?
    Mr. DeLoach. Certainly. I will say this as a qualifier 
prior to answering the question, you know, certainly when it 
comes to grants and reporting requirements, I understand the 
need for accountability. But whenever I manage an organization 
like mine where we have 256 full-time employees, a complete 
complement of 308 full- and part-time employees, it is 
difficult when you contrast us with someone down in south 
Florida where they have a staff and several thousand people and 
perhaps, you know, an entire floor and a building dedicated to 
management of grants. Unfortunately, those are just resources 
that we don't have available to us.
    Like you just said a few minutes ago, because of the 
quagmire that we are placed in because of that awkward stage in 
growth where we are now, it knocks us out of eligibility for 
many of them. So I would ask each of you to reconsider those 
eligibility requirements to open them up to some of rural 
America so that we have access to that money.
    Mrs. Cammack. Thank you, Sheriff.
    This question is for Chief Lombard. So in your testimony 
you had highlighted that SAFECOM had been critical to improving 
interoperability. You also highlighted how SAFECOM is one of 
the first organizations to bring together representatives from 
public safety associations as well as emergency responders in 
the field.
    Can you talk a little bit more about how important it is to 
have buy-in from the emergency responders in the field and 
across all spectrums, rank-and-file, all the way up to 
management when discussing things like SAFECOM or the National 
emergency communications plan?
    As a caveat to that, can you also talk about, from your 
perspective, do you think that rural America is represented 
accurately and adequately in these discussions when you are 
building this out?
    Mr. Lombard. Absolutely. So one of the key points that you 
captured on, Congresswoman, was that, you know, first response 
is only effective in so much as the secondary response is able 
to sustain the events. So one of the things that SAFECOM has 
done that has been so well-received is to actually bring in 
those other parties.
    So, for example, a dear friend of mine, Phillip Mann, who 
is the public works director at Gainesville, Florida, 
represents public works throughout the United States, 
recognizing that, you know, when we are talking about 
interoperability issues, when we are talking about sustaining 
the response, the police, fire, and EMS, and 9-1-1 are doing, 
being able to bring in experts like Director Mann and talk 
about, OK, if you want to keep the water on the big fire, if 
you want to keep the roads open--how are we going to be able 
to, you know, communicate to us and for continuing that dialog?
    SAFECOM really strives to maintain a really diverse group 
as far as, again, Federal, State, local people are brought 
together, responders are brought together, not just big cities. 
There is a lot of smaller, more rural areas that are brought 
together too, because one of the things that we find at the end 
of the day is that even though some of us are bigger or 
smaller, so many of these issues are the same. It is just a 
matter of scaling.
    The western United States, 50 percent or almost 50 percent 
of the land is all Federal out here, so you don't have to go 
too far outside of the big cities on the West Coast before you 
get into some very rural area. As you know, with the wildland 
fires every year, we are going there a lot.
    So it is--again, the--you know, the funding and the support 
that the Federal Government has gotten or put forth on helping 
us facilitate those relationships, I think, the bang for the 
buck that we have been getting is just amazing as far as 
bringing us together and letting us collectively work our 
problems out. Hopefully that answers your question.
    Mrs. Cammack. No, that does.
    Thank you, Chairwoman Demings, and thank you to all of our 
witnesses here today. This is an issue that is important in 
every single one of our Congressional districts, and we want to 
make sure that we are working effectively and efficiently in 
delivering real solutions that meet the needs on the ground. So 
I look forward to continuing that work. Thank you, 
Congresswoman Demings and Chairwoman, for allowing a second 
round of questions.
    Mrs. Demings. I want to thank the Ranking Member. Of 
course, I too look forward to continuing the work with you and 
other Members of this subcommittee to make sure that we are 
being responsive to the needs of all America, particularly 
looking at grant eligibility. So I look forward to that work.
    I want to know if there are any additional Members who 
would like to ask questions? The Chair now recognizes the 
gentlewoman from Texas, Ms. Jackson Lee, for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Thank you, Madam Chair. I would--and thank 
you again for the hearing, along with the Ranking Member.
    I am going to ask Director Rodriguez, and I certainly want 
to express my appreciation. So obviously, January 6 was an 
extreme day for all of us, and it drew on everybody for America 
to see Americans attacking our first responders in a way that 
it was unspeakable.
    But to the coordination question that I am consumed with, I 
want to ask the question, maybe again, dealing with FirstNet, 
because you stated ultimately this collaboration and their 
dedicated bandwidth allowed FirstNet to perform reliably for 
our first responders on January 6. We are in the process of 
working with FirstNet to acquire two of our own units, which 
will contribute and self-sufficiency for the district emergency 
communications.
    I know that you might not pointedly be able to comment, but 
I do understand amongst our Capitol Police, for example, they 
were speaking about some interoperability, and it is important 
that the team in the District of Columbia can all communicate, 
that would be the Capitol Police, other Federal authorities, 
and all of you.
    Can you just speak to the requiring of more funding so that 
Congress can--and how we can--I am sorry--approve the funding 
on how to secure this competency and also with FirstNet, and 
what you might need. Director? Thank you very much.
    Mr. Rodriguez. Yes, thank you, Representative Jackson Lee.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Dr. Rodriguez.
    Mr. Rodriguez. Yes. Can you hear me OK?
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Yes, absolutely.
    Mrs. Demings. Representative Jackson Lee, you did have some 
communication issues, but I hope Dr. Rodriguez was able to hear 
enough to be able to respond to your question.
    Mr. Rodriguez. Yeah, thank you, Representative.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Did you--OK. Thank you.
    Mr. Rodriguez. OK. No problem. So thank you for the 
question. Certainly, during January 6, as I mentioned, FirstNet 
did operate consistently and reliably. We--at the time, U.S. 
Capitol Police was not on FirstNet. Again, any questions about 
getting them on or what the plan is to do that, I would have to 
refer to the Capitol Police for that. But I do know that 
following the 6th of January, we did sort-of reemphasize the 
importance of communication, of interoperability, but also 
operational planning.
    You will recall, just less than 3 weeks ago, there was a 
lot of concern over the September 18 protests that were coming 
to the District, and I know a lot of security was put up around 
the Capitol. Capitol Police did engage in an extensive 
interagency effort to make sure that both local, State, and 
Federal law enforcement agencies were all on the same page.
    We did institute and use at that time the National Capital 
Region's tactical plan, which allowed for interoperability 
across the radio channels, which really helped us. So we 
learned a lot from January 6 in terms of communications, so we 
continue to work with our Federal partners to make sure that we 
just keep refining and building out that capability.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. So if I might, can you hear me? Would it 
be helpful that all of the components, including the Capitol 
Police, have FirstNet in a place that is so visited, so much 
potential target, and so much a singular entity, which is the 
Capitol of the United States and certainly the home of the 
residents of the District of Columbia? How important is that to 
have that resource?
    Mr. Rodriguez. Yes, ma'am, I think it is very important. 
Any effort that drives us toward greater interoperability and 
coordination is always a good thing.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Mr. Rodriguez. I would also add----
    Ms. Jackson Lee. I will yield back.
    Oh, go ahead. Go ahead, Director.
    Mr. Rodriguez. I would also just add that, in addition to 
radio, video and data is also an important component of that as 
well.
    Mrs. Demings. The gentlewoman yields back.
    With that, I want to thank all of our witnesses for your 
invaluable testimony today and for your service every day. I 
want to thank our Members for their questions.
    Additionally, without objection, I would now like to submit 
a statement for the record from the Major Cities Chiefs 
Association. The Members of the subcommittee may have 
additional--the Members--I am sorry. We submit this statement 
for the record.
    [The information follows:]
  Statement of Art Acevedo, President, Major Cities Chiefs Association
                            October 7, 2021
    Chairwoman Demings, Ranking Member Cammack, and distinguished 
Members of the subcommittee: Thank you for the opportunity to submit 
this testimony for the record. In addition to being the chief of police 
in Miami, Florida, I also serve as president of the Major Cities Chiefs 
Association (MCCA). The MCCA is a professional association of police 
chiefs and sheriffs representing the largest cities in the United 
States and Canada.
    Last month, we commemorated the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 
attacks. We must never forget those who lost their lives on that 
terrible day. We must continue to honor the brave first responders in 
New York, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville who made the ultimate 
sacrifice to ensure others made it to safety. We must continue to 
support those heroes, who came from across the country, as they 
continue to battle health complications and other traumas stemming from 
their selfless actions during the response and recovery. Finally, we 
must remain vigilant as the threat environment facing the homeland 
becomes more complex, so the American people never again experience 
such tragedy.
    Local law enforcement is the front-line response, whether it be a 
terrorist attack, natural disaster, or global pandemic. Effective 
communications play a critical role in coordinating and executing the 
public safety response to a given incident. In the aftermath of 9/11, 
deficient and non-interoperable public safety communications were 
identified as shortcomings that needed to be addressed. The 9/11 
Commission found that:

``The inability to communicate was a critical element at the World 
Trade Center, Pentagon, and Somerset County, Pennsylvania, crash sites 
. . . the occurrence of this problem at three very different sites is 
strong evidence that compatible and adequate communications among 
public safety organizations at the local, State, and Federal levels 
remains an important problem.''\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United 
States, The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National 
Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, July 24, 2004, 
pg. 397.

    While significant progress has been made to improve public safety 
communications over the last 20 years, there are still several 
outstanding issues. My testimony will provide a local law enforcement 
perspective on these remaining challenges and offer a few suggestions 
on how they may be addressed.
                         next generation 9-1-1
    Nine-one-one systems are critical infrastructure in every 
community. It is ingrained in us from a young age to dial those numbers 
if we ever find ourselves in an emergency. Millions of Americans every 
year depend on these systems to dispatch help in their time of need. 
Considering the importance of 9-1-1 systems, most people are surprised 
to learn they are underfunded and technologically inadequate. Many 
9-1-1 systems throughout the country rely on decades-old landline 
technology--things like copper wires and conventional switches. One 
could reasonably argue that the smartphones we all carry in our pockets 
are more advanced and have more capabilities than some of the 9-1-1 
systems public safety agencies currently operate.
    Upgrading our Nation's 9-1-1 systems to Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG 
9-1-1) systems is sorely needed and long overdue. NG 9-1-1 will enable 
faster and more efficient emergency responses, make first responders 
and the communities they serve safer, and allow law enforcement and 
public safety professionals to better meet the needs and expectations 
of the tech-enabled, 21st Century American public. For example, NG 9-1-
1 will enable dispatch centers to receive a variety of multimedia and 
other rich data from callers and seamlessly share it with first 
responders in the field. The benefits of this capability are endless. 
Live videos of a crime scene could help law enforcement more quickly 
identify where a suspect is located. Photos from a burning building can 
assist firefighters with determining what rescue equipment is needed. 
Health information sent from a smartphone or smartwatch can assist EMS 
and hospitals with preparing treatments before a patient is in their 
care. The ability to utilize advanced data is just one of NG 9-1-1's 
many benefits. Simply put, upgrading to NG 9-1-1 will save lives.
    To help raise awareness and advocate for NG 9-1-1, approximately 2 
years ago, the MCCA helped found the Public Safety Next Generation 9-1-
1 Coalition. The Coalition consists of the leadership of many of 
America's major law enforcement, fire service, emergency medical 
services, labor unions, and public safety communications associations. 
The goal of the Coalition is to work with Congress and other key 
stakeholders to ensure the right policies are in place and secure the 
requisite resources to bring about a Nation-wide upgrade of existing 9-
1-1 systems to next generation systems. As part of its efforts, the 
Coalition established a set of first principles. These principles must 
be incorporated into any NG 9-1-1 upgrade to ensure public safety 
professionals and the communities we serve can realize the full 
benefits of this technology. The Coalition's first principles are:
   NG 9-1-1 should be technologically and competitively neutral 
        and use commonly-accepted standards that do not lead to 
        proprietary solutions that hamper interoperability, make mutual 
        aid between agencies less effective, limit choices, or increase 
        costs.
   Development of program requirements, grant guidance, 
        application criteria, and rules regarding NG 9-1-1 grants 
        should be guided by an advisory board of public safety 
        practitioners and 9-1-1 professionals.
   NG 9-1-1 must be fully funded to ensure it is deployed 
        throughout the country in an effective, innovative, and secure 
        manner and to enable NG 9-1-1 implementation training Nation-
        wide.
   The process for allocating funds to localities should be 
        efficient, Federal overhead costs should be minimized, and 
        grant conditions should not be onerous or extraneous and should 
        be targeted to achieve important objectives including 
        interoperability and sustainability.
   Cybersecurity of NG 9-1-1 systems should be a primary 
        consideration.
   Incentives for increased efficiency of NG 9-1-1 functions, 
        including through shared technology and regional collaboration, 
        should be included.
    While all the Coalition's first principles are important, I want to 
focus on interoperability. A lack of interoperability is one of the 
most significant flaws with current 9-1-1 systems, as 9-1-1 centers 
cannot quickly transfer calls to other centers. Instead, public safety 
communications professionals typically need to facilitate the transfer 
manually. As a result, the individual who called for help often needs 
to tell their story again to the dispatcher at the new center. Every 
second counts when responding to an emergency, and the delays created 
by a lack of interoperability can be the difference between life and 
death.
    Roughly 80 percent of 9-1-1 calls are now made from cell phones. In 
many instances, the 9-1-1 center that receives the call is based on the 
location of the cell tower that processed the call. It should be noted 
that while wireless carriers and device manufacturers have developed 
and implemented features to route calls based on the device's actual 
location, it is not always possible to direct calls via this method.\2\ 
MCCA member agencies typically border multiple jurisdictions, which 
complicates the challenges related to interoperability. MCCA members 
can provide numerous examples of calls for service in their cities, 
especially near jurisdictional boundaries, being routed to 9-1-1 
centers in neighboring areas. One member located near the State line 
has indicated that emergency calls are sometimes routed to a 9-1-1 
center in another State.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ Mark Reddish, ``New Progress for Getting Wireless 9-1-1 Calls 
to the Right ECC,'' APCO International, September 26, 2019. https://
www.apcointl.org/2019/09/26/new-progress-for-getting-wireless-9-1-1-
calls-to-the-right-ecc/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The upgrade from landline to IP-based technology, known as ESInets, 
is the backbone of an NG 9-1-1 upgrade. This is an important step but 
is not enough on its own to solve interoperability issues. As 9-1-1 
systems are upgraded to NG 9-1-1, these new systems must be 
technologically and competitively neutral. NG 9-1-1 systems also must 
use commonly accepted standards and cannot rely on proprietary 
solutions. If we fail to do this, we risk ending up in a situation that 
shares many of the challenges public safety agencies are currently 
experiencing with land mobile radios. I will discuss those issues in 
greater detail later in my testimony.
    Traditionally, 9-1-1 operations are a State and local function. 
Unfortunately, this has created a situation of ``haves and have-nots,'' 
where 9-1-1 system capabilities vary dramatically between States and 
communities. Given the immense public safety value, we must ensure that 
all of America, from the largest cities to the most rural counties, can 
upgrade to NG 9-1-1 systems as soon as possible. It will be tough to 
efficiently implement this upgrade Nation-wide without an investment of 
Federal resources. The cost of this upgrade goes well beyond the 
infrastructure and technology NG 9-1-1 systems need to operate. There 
are also costs associated with other critical components, such as 
training dispatchers and other personnel on these new systems and 
implementing vital cybersecurity measures to ensure the systems cannot 
be taken off-line by malicious actors. Federal assistance for NG 9-1-1 
systems must be sufficient enough to address all aspects of the 
upgrade. Otherwise, it may further cement the status quo of ``haves and 
have-nots.'' It may also inhibit public safety from addressing all 
existing challenges with current 9-1-1 systems or fully capitalizing on 
the new capabilities NG 9-1-1 systems provide.
    The Coalition worked closely with the House, Senate, and other 
stakeholders to secure funding for NG 9-1-1 in the reconciliation 
package that Congress is developing. These resources will be 
instrumental in ensuring that all communities have a secure, resilient, 
interoperable, and reliable way of receiving, processing, and 
responding to requests for emergency assistance. The MCCA strongly 
encourages all Members of Congress to support the NG 9-1-1 portion of 
this legislation.
                         radio interoperability
    Land mobile two-way radios are law enforcement officers' primary 
communication tool. During calls for service, officers rely on their 
radios to stay connected and share and receive information with 
dispatch centers, command staff, and other officers in the field. The 
ability to communicate seamlessly helps ensure that the law enforcement 
response to an emergency is as effective and safe as possible for all 
parties involved.
    While there are few issues with intra-agency communications, 
interagency communications can be complex, especially among agencies 
using conventional radio systems. Conventional radios use radio bands 
that are typically based on the user's operational needs. For example, 
police departments in metropolitan areas may use ultra-high frequency 
(UHF) radios due to UHF's ability to permeate buildings. However, 
departments in rural areas might use very high frequency (VHF) radios 
due to VHF's ability to transmit information over long distances. 
Conventional systems are not interoperable, as an agency using a UHF 
system cannot communicate with an agency utilizing a VHF system without 
deploying additional technology, often at great expense.
    Considering these challenges, many MCCA member agencies have 
developed and implemented workarounds to facilitate interagency 
communications. These solutions do have some shortcomings that can 
impact their effectiveness. One workaround is to install patches that 
allow radio systems to take incoming communications from one band and 
rebroadcast them out on another band. However, for an officer to 
receive these communications, they must be in range of a radio tower or 
repeater that uses the same band as their radio. This may result in a 
loss of interoperability if the officer is outside of their usual area 
of operations.
    The workarounds to achieve interoperability are also incredibly 
expensive, which limits how widely agencies can deploy them. For 
example, one MCCA member purchased dual-band radios that could utilize 
UHF and VHF but could only afford to put them in patrol cars. 
Therefore, these officers lose access to interoperable communications 
as soon as they leave their vehicles. While these kinds of solutions do 
represent some progress, they do not represent full interoperability. 
Despite the 
9/11 Commission's recommendation, challenges related to 
interoperability have simply been patched, not solved.
    The lack of interoperable communications can present several 
operational challenges whenever multiple agencies are responding to an 
incident. This is especially troubling for the MCCA, as our member 
agencies operate in major urban centers with numerous other law 
enforcement and public safety agencies. MCCA members work closely with 
these agencies to facilitate mutual aid requests and respond to 
incidents that cross-jurisdictional boundaries. Furthermore, police 
often respond jointly with our fire department and EMS colleagues to 
traffic accidents, fires, and medical emergencies. The inability to 
easily communicate with each other adds yet another layer of complexity 
to these joint responses.
    Public safety agencies would significantly benefit by moving from 
conventional to digital radio systems. Digital systems create 
efficiencies and allow more users to operate on fewer frequencies. Most 
importantly, the transition from conventional to digital systems 
provides a pathway to full interoperability. Despite this pathway, 
there are still several hurdles that need to be overcome. The current 
industry standard, P25, has produced a situation that lends itself to 
proprietary vendor solutions. Consequently, digital radio systems are 
often only interoperable if both parties use the same vendor. To 
communicate with systems developed by other vendors, agencies need to 
purchase special, expensive, technology called gateways.
    There undoubtedly is a need for public safety, industry, the 
Federal Government, and other stakeholders to work together to address 
the shortcomings in the current standards. The MCCA stands ready to 
help advance these conversations. Any updated standards must eliminate 
proprietary solutions, which inhibit interoperability. They must also 
address emerging issues such as encryption. Currently, radio systems 
that use different encryption standards are not interoperable, even 
with a gateway. If systems used commonly accepted encryption standards, 
it would help eliminate this challenge.
    Upgrading to digital radio systems requires significant resources, 
as it often necessitates a complete rebuild of the radio system. The 
costs include not only the radios themselves but also the purchase and 
installation of additional radio towers, repeaters, and other 
infrastructure. One MCCA member, located in a smaller jurisdiction, 
estimated that transitioning to a digital radio system would cost the 
agency $30 million. Most public safety agencies, especially law 
enforcement agencies, do not have this kind of funding available in 
today's budgetary environment. It will be nearly impossible to achieve 
full communications interoperability without assistance from the 
Federal Government. Congress should consider appropriating additional 
grant funding to assist State and local entities with upgrading their 
radios to digital systems.
                       communications resiliency
    Emergencies communications, such as 9-1-1 calls, is one of the 
primary methods through which members of the public let police, 
firefighters, EMS, and other first responders know they need help. As 
such, the systems used to receive and manage these communications must 
be resilient and able to withstand all manner of threats, whether they 
be natural or man-made.
    Unfortunately, just a few weeks ago, the impacts of Hurricane Ida 
made it abundantly clear that there is still work to do to harden and 
make our communications systems as resilient as possible. It was widely 
reported that the 9-1-1 center in New Orleans was off-line for 
approximately 13 hours following the hurricane.\3\ This outage was 
particularly devastating, considering the sheer number of people who 
needed assistance during this time. We commend our MCCA colleague, 
Superintendent Shaun Ferguson, and all the brave officers in the New 
Orleans Police Department for their efforts to continue to serve their 
community and aid those in need in the face of this extraordinary 
challenge.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ Todd C. Frankel, Aaron Gregg, and Drew Harwell, ``911 calls 
after Ida went unanswered in New Orleans due to `antiquated 
technology,' '' The Washington Post, August 30, 2021. https://
www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/08/30/orleans-ida-911-calls/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The outage in New Orleans was attributed to outdated technology. As 
mentioned earlier, many communities across the United States still rely 
on landline technology to deliver 9-1-1 calls, which can be especially 
susceptible to some of the consequences of natural disasters, such as 
flooding and power outages. The move to NG 9-1-1, where requests for 
assistance are delivered via IP-based technology, would help alleviate 
this issue because it would be easier to route incoming calls to 
another 9-1-1 center. The events in New Orleans are just another 
example of why it is so important to upgrade our country's 9-1-1 
systems to next generation systems as quickly as possible.
    Natural disasters are not the only threat that can test the 
resiliency of public safety communications systems. These systems must 
also contend with man-made threats, such as cyber attacks. Over the 
past decade, public safety agencies, including many MCCA members, have 
experienced increased ransomware, denial of service, and other types of 
cyber attacks. According to a compilation of publicly reported 
incidents, there have been 105 cyber attacks directed at public safety 
agencies in the last 24 months. Several of these attacks were directed 
at 9-1-1 services.\4\ It is important to note this only includes 
publicly-reported incidents, the actual number of attacks is likely 
much higher.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ Seculore Solutions, ``Cyber Attack Archive,'' accessed on 
October 5, 2021. https://www.seculore.com/resources/cyber-attack-
archive.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    As law enforcement and other public safety agencies rely more and 
more on technology systems to carry out their missions, these attacks 
can have catastrophic effects. Agencies can be especially vulnerable if 
their technology systems are outdated, or their personnel are not 
adequately trained to mitigate cyber threats. These challenges can be 
exacerbated by public safety agencies' connections with more extensive 
municipal networks, which may be less secure and provide an alternative 
vector for attacks.
    Public safety must continue to work tirelessly to mitigate cyber 
threats. One of the best defenses is to ensure that agency personnel 
are well educated and trained on good ``cyber hygiene.'' Congress can 
also take a few steps to help local governments defend themselves 
against cyber attacks. First, Congress must ensure the grant programs 
that help build local cyber capacity, such as the Homeland Security 
Grant Program, are fully funded. Congress should also continue to 
ensure agencies such as DHS's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 
Agency (CISA) have the authorities and resources needed to continue 
programs and efforts designed to help local government agencies prevent 
and respond to cyber attacks.
                           location accuracy
    When an individual places a 9-1-1 call, dispatchers can typically 
determine the caller's horizontal location (x- and y-axis) using GPS 
coordinates that provide the longitude and latitude. While this directs 
law enforcement and other first responders to a place on the ground, it 
can be difficult for the dispatcher to determine the caller's vertical 
location (z-axis). The lack of accurate vertical location data presents 
an operational challenge, especially for MCCA member agencies, which 
operate in dense metropolitan areas and frequently respond to calls for 
service at multistory buildings. In a profession where seconds matter, 
the amount of time it takes to determine if the person who needs help 
is on the 5th floor or the 50th floor can have tragic consequences.
    Progress is being made, albeit slowly, to improve location 
accuracy. In 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted 
new rules that require wireless carriers to provide either vertical or 
dispatchable location information (floor level, room number, etc.) to 
help identify a 9-1-1 caller's specific location. To comply with the 
FCC's latest order on this topic, the Sixth Report and Order, carriers 
would have needed to provide this information for 9-1-1 calls 
originating in each of the top 25 U.S. markets by April 2021. However, 
they missed this deadline, and the FCC launched enforcement 
investigations shortly thereafter.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ ``FCC Secures Life-Saving Commitments from Wireless Carriers to 
Deliver 911 Vertical Location Information Nationwide Within Seven 
Days'', Federal Communications Commission, June 3, 2021. https://
docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-372980A1.pdf. See also Page 5 of 
the FCC Settlements with the wireless carriers, available here: https:/
/www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-secures-911-vertical-location-commitments-
wireless-carriers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The FCC reached a settlement with the wireless carriers, and the 
carriers were given another year to comply with the FCC's rules. In 
addition, the carriers were required to immediately begin providing any 
available vertical location data.\6\ Unfortunately, in many instances, 
9-1-1 centers are either unable to receive this data, or the 
information is too inaccurate to use. Given the public safety benefits, 
we must continue to improve location accuracy as quickly as possible. 
As such, through its oversight efforts, Congress must ensure the FCC 
continues to work with all stakeholders to uphold the commitments and 
time lines laid out in the FCC's rules.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\ Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      communications grant funding
    Public safety communication systems are very costly to develop, 
acquire, maintain, and upgrade. Given the current strain on local 
budgets, Federal grants can provide critical resources for agencies 
looking to enhance their communications capabilities. There are 
numerous grant programs, including FEMA's Urban Area Security 
Initiative (UASI) and State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSP), 
that can be used to fund communications projects. Nevertheless, it is 
the primary focus of few, if any, of these programs. As a result, 
communications projects may need to compete with other priorities and 
projects for grant dollars. UASI and SHSP are two relevant examples 
that demonstrate how even though a grant program can be used for 
emergency communications projects, several factors may impact how much 
of the funding is used for that purpose.
    Each year, UASI and SHSP grantees are required to dedicate a 
certain percentage of funds to projects that meet the criteria outlined 
in the statute or the grant program's Notice of Funding Opportunity. 
The percentage of a recipient's award that must be dedicated to these 
obligations has continued to grow annually. For example, in fiscal year 
2020, grantees were required to commit 20 percent of their funding to 
National Priorities Areas, and in fiscal year 2021, this requirement 
rose to 30 percent. Since emergency communications do not fall into any 
of the National Priority Areas, reducing the discretionary funding 
available for projects outside of these priorities may inhibit 
agencies' ability to fund communications projects using UASI or SHSP 
grants. While National Priorities Areas can help ensure limited grant 
funding is used as effectively, they must be developed in consultation 
with key stakeholders to ensure the priorities reflect the needs of 
grantees.
    Further complicating matters is that the UASI and SHSP set aside 
that can be used for communications projects, the Law Enforcement 
Terrorism Prevention Activities (LETPA), has been weakened over the 
years. LETPA was initially a stand-alone grant program but stopped 
receiving funding in 2007. Now, it is a 25 percent carve-out for UASI 
and SHSP funds. The move from grant program to spending requirement 
reduced the available LETPA funding, thereby impacting the universe of 
LETPA-funded projects. For example, funding for a fusion center and 
Chemical, Biological, Radiation, Nuclear, and Explosive response teams 
take up nearly all of one MCCA member's LETPA set-aside every year. 
Strengthening LETPA, or restoring it to a stand-alone program, may 
increase the amount of funding available to public safety agencies for 
emergency communications projects.
                               conclusion
    Public safety communications are an integral part of law 
enforcement and other first responders' everyday operations and 
response to emergencies. While some progress has been made since the 9/
11 Commission issued its recommendation regarding public safety 
communications nearly 20 years ago, there are still challenges that 
must be overcome, especially with respect to interoperability and our 
country's 9-1-1 systems. Federal assistance will almost certainly be 
needed if we are to address these issues quickly and efficiently. The 
MCCA stands ready to work with the committee to address our members' 
public safety communications challenges.

    Mrs. Demings. The Members of the subcommittee may have 
additional questions for the witnesses, and we ask that you 
respond expeditiously in writing to these questions. Under 
committee rules, the subcommittee record shall be kept open for 
10 days.
    Without objection, the subcommittee stands adjourned. Thank 
you, all.
    [Whereupon, at 1:57 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]


 
    20 YEARS AFTER 9/11: EXAMINING EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, PART II

                              ----------                              


                       Tuesday, November 2, 2021

             U.S. House of Representatives,
                    Committee on Homeland Security,
                   Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, 
                                    Response, and Recovery,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:02 a.m., 
via Webex, Hon. Val Demings [Chairwoman of the subcommittee] 
presiding.
    Present: Representatives Demings, Jackson Lee, Payne, 
Green, Watson Coleman, Cammack, Higgins, Miller-Meeks, and 
Garbarino.
    Mrs. Demings. The Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, 
Response, and Recovery will come to order. The subcommittee is 
meeting today to receive testimony on ``20 Years After 9/11: 
Examining Emergency Communications Part II.'' Without 
objection, the Chair is authorized to declare the subcommittee 
in recess at any point.
    Good morning. Two months ago, we observed the 20-year mark 
since 9/11, the worst terrorist attack experienced on U.S. 
soil. In remembrance of that tragic day and the lives lost, the 
Committee on Homeland Security has been examining what happened 
that day and how our National security fares today.
    In October, this subcommittee held a hearing to examine the 
progress made in emergency communications since 9/11, focusing 
on challenges that emergency managers and first responders 
faced 20 years ago and have continued to face in the 2 decades 
following. During that hearing, we received testimony from a 
city emergency manager, a police chief, a country sheriff from 
a rural area, and we also heard from a fire chief who served at 
Ground Zero for 2 weeks following 9/11.
    Each witness provided valuable insight into the issues we 
have faced over the years with emergency communications, 
including interoperability, power outages, outdated 9-1-1 
systems, and issues with emergency alert systems. As a former 
chief of police and first responder, I was honored to have 
first responders share their expertise and their on-the-ground 
experiences with this subcommittee.
    Today, this subcommittee is taking the conversation we have 
started with the emergency managers and first responders and 
continuing the examination of emergency communications 
challenges with our Federal partners. We have seen vast 
improvements in the Nation's emergency communications apparatus 
through the establishment of programs such as the Integrated 
Public Alert and Warning System, IPAWS, the First Responder 
Network Authority, FirstNet, and the Emergency Communications 
Division.
    However, as technology continues to evolve, we must ensure 
that these programs and their platforms are able to evolve with 
it. Established in 2006, IPAWS allow Federal, State, 
territorial, Tribal, and local governments to provide a wide 
range of alerts to the public in the event of an emergency. 
There have been multiple updates to IPAWS, including the 2012 
modernization steps including enabling authorized Federal, 
State, territorial, Tribal, and local authorities to send 
wireless emergency alerts to mobile devices. Additionally, in 
2019, IPAWS continued to make improvements by including several 
enhancements to the system, including increased maximum 
character count in messages, added support for Spanish language 
alerts, and improved geographic accuracy.
    However, with these enhancements, there has still been 
challenges that need to be addressed. Inappropriate use of the 
system has shown to be an issue with the IPAWS system 
contributing to panic and confusion. We all remember January 
2018 Hawaii faced a false alert that stated a missile was 
headed toward the State causing chaos. Though resolved as a 
false alarm, it took nearly 40 minutes for officials to release 
a retraction statement.
    In addition to public alerts, a major component to 
emergency communications is the network used for emergency 
correspondence among different agencies. FirstNet authority 
allows first responders to communicate with one another on a 
dedicated platform. With 95 percent of its network having been 
deployed Nation-wide, FirstNet has been widely praised by first 
responders for its reliability in emergency situations.
    However, threats to the homeland by the way of natural and 
man-made disasters can still cause outages. On Christmas day of 
2020, a bomb was detonated in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, 
disrupting phone, internet, 9-1-1 call centers, and FirstNet. 
It is imperative that we continue to harden our technology and 
ensure our communications networks are resilient from all 
hazards.
    Though communications, public alerting, and resilient 
infrastructure are priorities for this subcommittee, the public 
may only experience their benefit or challenges during times of 
crisis. Today's hearing will serve as an important forum to 
continue the conversation on the current state of emergency 
communications systems and any gaps that may persist.
    I am grateful for the participation of our witnesses here 
today and I look forward to your testimony.
    [The statement of Chairwoman Demings follows:]
                  Statement of Chairwoman Val Demings
                            November 2, 2021
    Two months ago, we observed the passing of 20 years since 9/11, the 
worst terrorist attack experienced on U.S. soil. In remembrance of that 
tragic day and the lives lost, the Committee on Homeland Security has 
been examining what happened that day and how our National security 
fares today.
    In October, this subcommittee held a hearing to examine the 
progress made in emergency communications since 9/11, focusing on 
challenges that emergency managers and first responders faced 20 years 
ago and have continued to face in the 2 decades following. During that 
hearing, we received testimony from a city emergency manager, a police 
chief, a county sheriff. We also heard from a fire chief who served at 
Ground Zero for 2 weeks following 9/11. Each witness provided valuable 
insight into the issues we have faced over the years with emergency 
communications, including interoperability, power outages, outdated 9-
1-1 systems, and issues with emergency alerting. As a former chief of 
police and first responder, I was honored to have first responders 
testify before the subcommittee.
    Today, this subcommittee is taking the conversation we started with 
the emergency managers and first responders and continuing the 
examination of emergency communications challenges with our Federal 
partners. We have seen vast improvements in the Nation's emergency 
communications apparatus through the establishment of programs such as 
the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS), the First 
Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority), and the Emergency 
Communications Division. However, as technology continues to evolve, we 
must ensure that these programs and their platforms are able to evolve 
with it.
    Established in 2006, IPAWS allows Federal, State, territorial, 
Tribal, and local governments to provide a wide range of alerts to the 
public in the event of an emergency. There have been multiple updates 
to IPAWS, including the 2012 modernization steps of including enabling 
authorized Federal, State, territorial, Tribal, and local, authorities 
to send Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) to mobile devices. 
Additionally, in 2019, IPAWS continued to make improvements by 
including several enhancements to the system including increased 
character maximum character count in messages, added support for 
Spanish-language alerts, and improved geographic accuracy.
    However, with these enhancements, there are still challenges that 
need to be addressed when using IPAWS. Inappropriate use of the system 
has shown to be an issue with the IPAWS system, contributing to panic 
and confusion. In January 2018, Hawaii faced a false alert that stated 
a ballasting missile was headed toward the State, causing chaos. Though 
resolved as a false alarm, it took nearly 40 minutes for officials to 
release a retraction statement.
    In addition to public alerts, a major component to emergency 
communications is the network used for emergency correspondence among 
different agencies. FirstNet Authority allows first responders to 
communicate with one another on a dedicated platform. With 95 percent 
of its network having been deployed Nation-wide, FirstNet has been 
widely praised by first responders for its reliability in emergency 
situations. However, threats to the homeland by way of natural or man-
made disasters can still cause outages. On Christmas day 2020, a bomb 
was detonated in downtown Nashville, Tennessee disrupting phone, 
internet, 9-1-1 call centers, and FirstNet.
    It is imperative that we continue to harden our technology and 
ensure our communication networks are resilient from all hazards. 
Though communications, public alerting, and resilient infrastructure 
are priorities for this subcommittee, the public may only experience 
their benefit--or challenges--during times of crisis. Today's hearing 
will serve as an important forum to continue the conversation on the 
current state of emergency communications systems and any gaps that may 
persist.

    Mrs. Demings. The Chair now recognizes the Ranking Member 
of the subcommittee, the gentlewoman from Florida, Mrs. 
Cammack, for an opening statement.
    Mrs. Cammack. Well, thank you so much, Chairwoman Demings 
for convening this hearing today to continue our very important 
discussion about emergency communications. Last month, this 
subcommittee had the privilege of hearing from several local 
first responders about the communication challenges that they 
face every single day. Now, before I begin discussing some of 
the challenges, I would like to take a moment to highlight the 
very real human element when talking about emergency 
communications.
    Lack of communication can put our first responders' lives 
in danger. As we heard, a radio system failure has led to first 
responders losing their lives. I have said this before, but as 
the wife of a first responder, this very real scenario is truly 
unimaginable to me. I want to thank all of our witnesses here 
today for your dedication to helping improve these vital 
communication systems as your work really does help save lives.
    Now, during our previous hearing, one of the points that 
really stuck with me is how the needs of rural communities 
across the country are often overlooked. About 60 million, or 1 
in 5 Americans live in rural areas. While these rural 
communities face many of the same challenges as larger more 
urban communities, rural communities are also faced with 
additional challenges brought on by a lack of available 
resources and funding. One of the local sheriffs from my 
district, Putnam County Sheriff Gator DeLoach testified at the 
hearing that his department is still using an antiquated radio 
system based on technology developed during World War II. This 
antiquated system effectively isolates them with no ability to 
communicate with their counterparts as they frequently work 
with or rely on for assistance. This also puts our constituents 
in grave danger.
    Sheriff DeLoach went on to testify that it would cost his 
department about $7- or $8 million to update their current 
radio system. The cost of updating their current radio system 
is made even more difficult when we consider that more often 
than not, available grant funding is tailored toward larger, 
more urban communities. For example, Palatka, the seat, the 
county seat, for which Sheriff DeLoach serves, is exactly 400 
people over the threshold to be considered a low population 
area for many of the available grant programs. This means that 
Palatka must compete with larger cities like Jacksonville, 
Orlando, or Miami.
    In addition to discussing the challenges facing first 
responders in rural communities, we also heard testimony about 
the importance of strengthening our cybersecurity 
infrastructure. While I mentioned this last hearing, it is a 
statistic that I feel needs repeating. A recent survey 
conducted by SAFECOM found that over one-third, one-third of 
organizations indicated that cybersecurity incidents have had 
an impact on their ability of their emergency response 
providers' and Government officials' ability to communicate 
over the past 5 years. Now, when we are talking about 
cybersecurity, it is important to also discuss the important 
role that NextGen 
9-1-1 will play in the future. Providing faster and more 
reliable response efforts is paramount.
    In closing, I would like to recognize the significant 
progress that has been made to first responder communications 
since the initial recommendations by the 9/11 Commission. 
SAFECOM, which is managed by CISA, has been critical to 
improving interoperability and is one of the first 
organizations to bring together representatives from public 
safety associations, as well as emergency responders in the 
field. FirstNet, established in 2012 by the Middle Class Tax 
Relief and Job Creation Act, has set some very aggressive 
benchmarks for the rural deployment of a new first responder 
communication infrastructure. I look forward to discussing more 
of that today.
    Last, IPAWS provides life-saving information to individuals 
about severe weather, power outages, and law enforcement 
situations. In 2012, twice the number of State, local, 
territorial, and Tribal agencies used IPAWS to reach their 
constituents when compared to 2019. This further ensures the 
safety of all Americans.
    Finally, in my role as Ranking Member of this subcommittee, 
I remain committed to ensuring that our policies take into 
account the unique needs of our first responders, especially 
those in rural communities. I look forward to hearing from our 
witnesses today and working together to improve first responder 
communications. Thank you again, Chairwoman Demings. With that, 
I yield back.
    [The statement of Ranking Member Cammack follows:]
                Statement of Ranking Member Kat Cammack
    I would like to thank Chairwoman Demings for convening this hearing 
today to continue our very important discussion about emergency 
communications.
    Last month, this subcommittee had the privilege of hearing from 
several local first responders about the communication challenges they 
face every day. Before I begin discussing some of these challenges, I 
would like to take a moment to highlight the very real human element 
when talking about emergency communications.
    Lack of communication can put first responders' lives in danger, 
and as we heard, a radio system failure has led to first responders 
losing their lives. I've said this before, but as the wife of a first 
responder, this very real scenario is truly unimaginable to me. I want 
to thank all the witnesses here today for your dedication to helping 
improve these vital communication systems, as your work really does 
help save lives.
    During our previous hearing, one of the points that really stuck 
with me is how the needs of rural communities across the country are 
often overlooked.
    About 60 million or 1 in 5 Americans live in rural areas. While 
these rural communities face many of the same challenges as larger, 
more urban communities, rural communities are also faced with 
additional challenges brought on by lack of available resources and 
funding.
    One of the local sheriffs in my district, Sheriff DeLoach, 
testified at the hearing that his department is still using an 
antiquated radio system based on technology developed during World War 
II. This antiquated system effectively isolates them, with no ability 
to communicate with their counterparts that they frequently work with 
or rely on for assistance.
    Sheriff DeLoach went on to testify that it would cost his 
department around $7- to $8 million to update their current radio 
system.
    The cost of updating their current radio system is made even more 
difficult when we consider that more often than not, available grant 
funding is tailored toward larger communities.
    For example, Palatka, which is the county seat for where Sheriff 
DeLoach serves, is exactly 400 people over the threshold to be 
considered a low-population area for many of the available grant 
programs. This means that Palatka must compete with larger cities like 
Jacksonville, Orlando, or Miami for funding.
    In addition to discussing the challenges facing first responders in 
rural communities, we also heard testimony about the importance of 
strengthening our cybersecurity infrastructure. While I mentioned this 
last hearing, it's a statistic that I feel needs repeating.
    A recent survey conducted by SAFECOM found that, ``over a third of 
organizations indicated that cybersecurity incidents have had an impact 
on the ability of their emergency response providers and government 
officials' ability to communicate over the past 5 years.''
    When talking about cybersecurity it is also important to discuss 
the important role that NextGen 9-1-1 will play in the future. 
Providing faster and more reliable response efforts is paramount.
    In closing, I would like to recognize the significant progress that 
has been made to first responder communications since the initial 
recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission.
    SAFECOM, which is managed by CISA, has been critical to improving 
interoperability and is one of the first organizations to bring 
together representatives from public safety associations as well as 
emergency responders in the field.
    FirstNet, established in 2012 by the Middle Class Tax Relief and 
Job Creation Act, has set some very aggressive benchmarks for the rural 
deployment of new first responder communication infrastructure, and I 
look forward to discussing that more today.
    Last, IPAWS provides life-saving information to individuals about 
severe weather, power outages, and law enforcement situations. In 2020, 
twice the number of State, local, territorial, and Tribal agencies used 
IPAWS to reach their constituents when compared to 2019. This further 
ensures the safety of all Americans.
    In my role as Ranking Member of this subcommittee, I remain 
committed to ensuring that our policies take into account the unique 
needs of our first responders, especially those in rural communities. I 
look forward to hearing from our witnesses today and to working 
together to improve first responder communications.

    Mrs. Demings. I thank the Ranking Member for her statement. 
Members are also reminded that the committee will operate 
according to the guidelines laid by the Chairman and Ranking 
Member in their February 3 colloquy regarding remote 
procedures. Without objection, Members not on the subcommittee 
shall be permitted to sit and question the witnesses. 
Additional Member statements may be submitted for the record.
    [The statement of Chairman Thompson follows:]
                Statement of Chairman Bennie G. Thompson
                            November 2, 2021
    The September 11, 2001, terrorist attack revealed critical problems 
with our emergency communications systems. Over 20 years later, we have 
made great strides in our technology and capabilities, but more remains 
to be done. On October 7, first responders testified before the 
subcommittee and spoke highly of these advancements and how they have 
helped strengthen our emergency communications systems. Two of these 
advancements include the creation of the First Responder Network 
Authority (FirstNet Authority) and the Integrated Public Alert and 
Warning System (IPAWS).
    Director Chris Rodriguez of the District of Columbia Homeland 
Security and Emergency Management Agency testified that collaboration 
and dedicated bandwidth ``allowed FirstNet to perform reliably for our 
first responders at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.'' While FirstNet 
has proved to reliable for the District, there are on-going issues, 
such as interoperability, outages, and off-network challenges. For 
example, we have seen interference with wireless communications during 
large-scale natural disasters, such as wildfires or hurricanes.
    When Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana, AT&T's cell towers were down for 
nearly 2 days after the storm, which crippled communications, including 
FirstNet. As a result, first responders struggled to communicate with 
one another, which undoubtedly hurt their response efforts. The ability 
to communicate during a disaster is of the utmost importance, and we 
need to address these gaps and mitigate their impact on emergency 
communications.
    IPAWS, which FEMA administers, is designed to improve public safety 
through the rapid distribution of emergency messages to as many people 
as possible over as many communications devices as possible in the 
event of a disaster. FEMA designed IPAWS to integrate future 
technologies into the platform so it could improve as technology 
advances. I hope to hear today how IPAWS has matured and improved 
communication for communities during emergencies.
    Additionally, the Emergency Communications Division at the 
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has made 
strides in our emergency communications apparatus through the Safer 
America Through Effective Public Safety Communications (SAFECOM), which 
provides guidance and assistance to those using the Homeland Security 
Grant Program funding to buy emergency communications items. While 
technology has improved in the last 20 years, we must ensure that as 
the threat landscape evolves, there continues to be adequate focus and 
funding for communications infrastructure.
    I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today about how their 
organizations are confronting communications challenges and learning 
what the Committee on Homeland Security can do to aid them in making 
our Nation safer.

    I now welcome our panel of distinguished witnesses. Our 
first witness is Mr. Antwane Johnson, the director of the 
Integrated Public Alert and Warning Systems of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency. Mr. Johnson last testified before 
the subcommittee in 2018. Welcome back, Mr. Johnson.
    Our second witness is Mr. Billy Bob Brown, Jr., executive 
assistant director of the Emergency Cybersecurity and 
Infrastructure Security Agency. This is Mr. Brown's first 
appearance before the subcommittee. Welcome, Mr. Brown.
    Our third and final witness is Mr. Edward Parkinson, chief 
executive director of FirstNet Authority. Prior to joining 
FirstNet, Mr. Parkinson served as a professional staff member 
for 5 years on this subcommittee. Welcome back, Mr. Parkinson.
    Without objection, the witnesses' full statements will be 
inserted in the record. I now ask each witness to summarize 
their statement for 5 minutes beginning with Director Johnson.

STATEMENT OF ANTWANE JOHNSON, DIRECTOR, INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT 
    AND WARNING SYSTEM, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

    Mr. Johnson. Good morning, Chairwoman Demings, Ranking 
Member Cammack, and Members of the subcommittee. My name is 
Antwane Johnson and I am the director of the Integrated Public 
Alert and Warning System Program. I appreciate the opportunity 
to speak to you today about this program and how more than 
1,600 agencies across the country are using it to save lives. 
An effective, timely, and far-reaching public alert and warning 
system is critical to communicating threats to public safety 
and providing people with guidance during times of crisis. 
IPAWS was created to provide the President with the means to 
reach the public under all conditions and to enhance and extend 
the National infrastructure to Federal, State, local, Tribal, 
and territorial officials for public alert and warning.
    There are two main system components. First, the National 
Public Warning System supports warnings and emergency 
communications from the President or FEMA administrator in the 
event of a catastrophic or National emergency. It provides 
reach to approximately 90 percent of the U.S. population.
    Second, the IPAWS Program also operates and maintains the 
IPAWS Open Platform for Emergency Networks, also known as 
IPAWS-OPEN. That provides Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 
territorial governments with the capability to send emergency 
alerts, warnings, and information to mobile devices, radio and 
television stations, NOAA Weather Radio, digital signboards and 
over 100 other internet-connected services.
    Since the inception of IPAWS in 2011, more than 4 million 
life-saving alert messages have been processed using IPAWS-
OPEN. In June 2019, there were 1,200 local alerting authorities 
across the Nation who could alert and warn approximately 70 
percent of the public. As of October of this year, 3 Federal 
agencies, all 50 States, 2 territories, 8 Tribal governments, 
and thousands of local alerting authorities utilized IPAWS 
services. Today, more than 87 percent of the U.S. population is 
covered by a local alerting authority and 100 percent of a 
population is covered by a State-level alerting authority.
    In 2020, approximately 42,000 messages were issued each 
month by alerting authorities, of which 43 percent of wireless 
emergency alerts and 24 percent of emergency alert system 
alerts were initiated with both Spanish and English content. 
Pursuant to the PROTECT Act of 2003, the America's Missing: 
Broadcast Emergency Response Program, also known as AMBER, was 
developed in coordination with the National Center for Missing 
and Exploited Children, which is responsible for AMBER plans 
and allows authorities to immediately distribute information 
about recent child abductions. As of October of this year, 94 
children across the country have been safely returned to their 
families as a direct result of WEA information and community 
engagement.
    Our IPAWS team also works closely with the U.S. Department 
of Justice Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information 
Officers and Tribal Law Enforcement agency members, as well as 
the United States Attorney's Office for Missing and Murdered 
Indigenous Persons to assist Tribal governments with developing 
alert and warning plans. Law enforcement agencies use IPAWS to 
issue Blue Alerts. These alerts provide rapid dissemination of 
information to law enforcement agencies, media outlets, and the 
public to aid in the apprehension of violent criminals who have 
killed or seriously injured an officer in the line of duty.
    COVID-19 has also sparked a creative use by State and local 
alerting authorities. From March of last year through August of 
this year, 656 COVID-19-related alerts were sent by IPAWS. For 
example, Manatee County Public Safety Department used IPAWS for 
the first time to inform the public about local COVID-19 
restrictions and the Navajo Nation was the first Tribal nation 
to send a COVID-19 alert through IPAWS.
    IPAWS was used before, during, and after most severe 
weather events and 49 WEAs have been sent for wildfires in 
western States this year. Prior to Hurricane Ida's landfall, 
the National Weather Service, State and local, Tribal and 
territorial alerting authorities issued a series of timely WEA 
and EAS messages advising the public to take protective 
measures. After the storm passed, IPAWS remained a lifeline to 
New Orleans' residents helping them to find shelter and 
resources to aid during the recovery process.
    To help our partners improve their ability to utilize IPAWS 
services, we conduct regular outreach by webinars, social 
media, and conducted our first National conference in 
September. We also revamped our on-line independent work-study 
courses offered through the Emergency Management Institute.
    We will continue to promote adoption and use of IPAWS by 
emergency management and public safety officials. I thank you 
for your interest in the program and we look forward to 
collaborating with the subcommittee on ways to improve. I am 
happy to take any questions the subcommittee may have.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Johnson follows:]
                 Prepared Statement of Antwane Johnson
                            November 2, 2021
                              introduction
    Good morning Chairwoman Demings, Ranking Member Cammack, and 
Members of the subcommittee. My name is Antwane Johnson, and I am the 
director of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) 
Program within National Continuity Programs (NCP), Office of Resilience 
at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). I appreciate the 
opportunity to speak to you today about this program, and how more than 
1,600 agencies across the country are using it to save lives.
                             what is ipaws?
    An effective, timely, and far-reaching public alert and warning 
system is critical to communicating threats to public safety and 
providing people with guidance during times of crisis.
    Executive Order 13407 and The IPAWS Modernization Act of 2015 
define FEMA's responsibility to provide a public alert and warning 
system. Section 706 of the Communications Act of 1934 requires 
Presidential access to commercial communications during ``a state of 
public peril or disaster or other National emergency.'' The Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Section 202 
directs FEMA to provide technical assistance to State and local 
governments to ensure that timely and effective disaster warning is 
provided. The National Defense Authorization Acts of 2020 and 2021 
included additional IPAWS requirements significantly increasing the 
role of the FEMA administrator for dissemination of National alerts, 
previously only authorized to be sent by the President. In accordance 
with these statutes, IPAWS was created to enhance and extend a National 
infrastructure and capability to Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 
territorial (FSLTT) officials for public alert and warning.
    IPAWS is a National system for local alerting. There are two main 
system components:
    (1) The IPAWS Program Office maintains the National Public Warning 
        System to support warnings and emergency communications from 
        the President or FEMA administrator in the event of a 
        catastrophic or National emergency. The President and/or FEMA 
        administrator can warn the American people by a broadcast from 
        private-sector radio stations that partner with FEMA. These 
        stations, called FEMA Primary Entry Point (PEP) radio stations, 
        receive all-hazards resiliency improvements at radio 
        transmitter sites and provide reach to approximately 90 percent 
        of the U.S. population. Activation of the National Public 
        Warning System (PEPs) triggers the activation of all other 
        radio and television providers that participate in the 
        Emergency Alert System (EAS) in accordance with Federal 
        Communications Commission regulations.
    (2) The IPAWS Program also operates and maintains the IPAWS Open 
        Platform for Emergency Networks, or ``IPAWS-OPEN'', that 
        provides FSLTT governments the capability to send emergency 
        alerts, warnings, and information to people in the geographic 
        area of their jurisdiction via Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) 
        to mobile devices, EAS messages on radio and television, NOAA 
        Weather Radio broadcasts, and a growing number of voluntary 
        information providers connected by the internet. More than 
        1,600 agencies are able to use the IPAWS-OPEN capabilities to 
        provide emergency information in response to threats to public 
        safety such as those issued this year by multiple States and 
        local alerting authorities for Hurricanes Henri and Ida, as 
        well as the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency, and 
        the mass demonstrations and civil disturbances in major cities 
        last year. Changes to the Federal Communications Commission's 
        (FCC) regulations, as directed by The National Defense 
        Authorization Act for 2021 Section 9201, Reliable Emergency 
        Alert Distribution Improvement (READI Act), recently authorized 
        the FEMA administrator to use WEA for National emergencies. The 
        broadened use of WEA ensures warnings related to situations of, 
        nation-state attacks, natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and 
        other man-made disasters can be sent from a Federal authority 
        to warn people and provide protective action guidance.
                             ipaws adoption
    Since the inception of IPAWS in 2011, more than 4 million life-
saving alert messages have been processed using IPAWS-OPEN. It is 
important to note that in June 2019, there were 1,200 local alerting 
authorities across the Nation who were authorized to utilize IPAWS 
services to alert and warn approximately 70 percent of the public 
within the United States. Realizing that all emergencies start locally, 
in that same year (2019) FEMA initiated the IPAWS ``Close the Gap'' 
campaign to increase the number of local alerting authorities. As a 
result of this initiative and stakeholder outreach, as of October 2021 
3 Federal agencies, all 50 States, 2 territories, 8 Tribal governments 
and thousands of local alerting authorities utilize IPAWS services. 
Today more than 80 percent of the U.S. population is covered by a local 
alerting authority who has been authorized and trained to utilize 
IPAWS, and 100 percent of the population is covered by a State-level 
alerting authority.
    In 2020, twice the number of agencies used IPAWS to send alerts as 
in 2019, resulting in a 182 percent increase in the number of alerts to 
the public by local alerting authorities in response to COVID-19, civil 
unrest, wildfires, AMBER alerts, and several other public safety 
threats. In 2020, 43 percent of WEAs and 24 percent of EAS alerts sent 
via IPAWS were initiated with both Spanish and English message content, 
meaning that devices set with Spanish as the primary language choice 
would display the alert in Spanish. IPAWS works to expand its reach in 
accessible communications capabilities and services. IPAWS uses the 
Common Alerting Protocol, or CAP, which allows alerts sent through the 
system to transport rich multi-media attachments and links. By sending 
CAP-compliant messages through IPAWS, private industry partners are 
able to develop content or compatible devices that can facilitate 
receipt of emergency alerts by individuals with disabilities. The IPAWS 
Program Management Office (PMO) is diligently working toward 
integrating additional, accessible technologies and encouraging 
industry innovation to meet the needs of all people.
                ipaws alerts, warnings and notifications
IPAWS Use for AMBER Alerts
    In 2003, President George W. Bush signed the Prosecutorial Remedies 
and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today (PROTECT) Act 
of 2003 (Public Law 108-21). This Act established the National 
coordination of State and local America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency 
Response (AMBER) programs. The National Center for Missing & Exploited 
Children (NCMEC) is responsible for AMBER plans, which allows 
broadcasters and transportation authorities to immediately distribute 
information about recent child abductions to the public and enables the 
entire community to assist in the search for and safe recovery of 
children.
    The AMBER Alert program is a voluntary partnership among law 
enforcement agencies, broadcasters, transportation agencies, and the 
wireless industry to activate an urgent WEA. For example, on October 6, 
2021 a 1-year-old boy was in the back seat of a car that was stolen 
from a grocery store parking lot in East Nashville, TN, while his 
parents were inside the store. The car was later abandoned with the 
child still in the back seat. A State-wide AMBER alert was issued via 
WEA, and a citizen recognized the vehicle from the information 
contained in the WEA message and notified law enforcement. The child 
was recovered safely.
    As of October 2021, 94 children across the country have been safely 
returned to their families as a direct result of WEA information and 
community engagement.
    Our IPAWS team works closely with the U.S. Department of Justice 
Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information officers and 
Tribal Law Enforcement agency members as well as the United States 
Attorney's Office for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons to assist 
Tribal governments with developing alert and warning plans. Currently, 
the Cocopah Tribe, Navajo Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and 
the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation have access to 
IPAWS and can send geo-targeted Amber Alerts.
IPAWS Use for Other Emergencies
    Public Safety Officials have expanded their use of IPAWS to include 
both public safety notifications and imminent threat alerts and 
warnings. This allows public safety officials to increase their reach 
to the public. Some examples include public safety notifications 
regarding 9-1-1 outages; boil water notices with respect to 
contamination; stay-at-home orders and COVID vaccination sites; missing 
and endangered persons, particularly for young adults that do not meet 
AMBER alert criteria; and missing and endangered elderly (commonly 
known as Silver Alert) and individuals with disabilities (commonly 
referred to as a Golden Alert).
    Law enforcement agencies use IPAWS to issue Blue Alerts. These 
alerts provide rapid dissemination of information to law enforcement 
agencies, media outlets, and the public to aid in apprehension of 
violent criminals who have killed or seriously injured an officer in 
the line of duty. These alerts may also be issued when a suspect is 
considered a credible threat to law enforcement, or an officer is 
missing in the line of duty. As an example, the Texas Division of 
Emergency Management issued a Blue Alert via WEA after an officer was 
killed in the line of duty and authorities in Tampa, Florida issued a 
Blue Alert via WEA after a 26-year-old police officer was shot in the 
head in Daytona Beach. As a result, both suspects were quickly 
apprehended by law enforcement.
IPAWS Use During COVID-19, Wildfires, and Recent Disasters
    COVID-19 sparked creative uses of IPAWS by State and local alerting 
authorities who leveraged IPAWS-OPEN capabilities to alert the public 
to rapid increases in COVID-19 infections, mandates, and vaccine 
information. IPAWS-OPEN usage from March 2020 through August 2021 
included a total of 656 COVID-19-related alerts sent between WEA and 
EAS. The Manatee County Public Safety Department used IPAWS for the 
first time to inform the public about local COVID-19 restrictions and 
the Navajo Nation was the first Tribal nation to send a COVID-19 alert 
through IPAWS. As an example, Governors in Maryland, Virginia, and 
Michigan used IPAWS to issue mandates and amplify guidance issued by 
the White House COVID-19 task force and the CDC, directing people to 
stay at home.
    IPAWS was used before, during, and after the most severe weather on 
the West Coast. As of October 2021, there have been 49 WEAs sent for 
wildfires in 2021, and the unprecedented heat wave and severe drought 
on the West Coast has also prompted the need for alerts. Counties in 
California, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Texas, and Utah sent fire warnings 
and follow-up evacuations where warranted. In August 2021, the city of 
Portland, Oregon, and Multnomah County sent WEAs in both English and 
Spanish informing people of severe heat and the need to stay cool and 
check on other people. These have increased recognition of the need to 
ensure protective actions are taken before an event turns life-
threatening.
    Prior to Hurricane Ida at the end of August 2021, State, local, 
Tribal, and territorial alerting authorities issued a series of timely 
WEA and EAS alerts advising the public to take protective measures. The 
New Orleans Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness as 
well as local Alerting Authorities sent more than 200 alerts that aided 
the safe evacuation, shelter, and support of residents. The Louisiana 
Governor's Office issued IPAWS alerts on behalf of counties that were 
unable to issue an alert. After the storm passed and hundreds of 
thousands of people were without power, IPAWS remained a lifeline to 
New Orleans residents, helping them find shelter and resources to aid 
during the recovery process.
    The 77 National Primary Warning System (NPWS) PEP stations continue 
to serve as a critical communications lifeline for news and updates 
before, during, and after powerful storms such as Hurricane Ida, which 
left the New Orleans area with no power or television and spotty cell 
service. New Orleans radio station WWL is known among locals as the 
``hurricane station'' through its use of the PEP station there, 
equipped with FEMA-owned back-up equipment and generators. Nineteen 
station employees provided around-the-clock coverage to provide updates 
and support for the New Orleans community.
    As of October 2021, State and local authorities, and the National 
Weather Service (NWS) have sent nearly 800 WEAs during the 2021 
hurricane season. For the two most significant storms impacting the 
United States in the 2021 season, Henri and Ida, State and local 
authorities and the NWS sent nearly 400 emergency messages through 
IPAWS.
      ipaws in recent national defense authorization acts (ndaas)
    Public Law 116-92 (NDAA fiscal year 2020) was signed into law in 
December 2019 and included Section 1756, Integrated Public Alert and 
Warning System. This provision included 33 new and additional 
requirements for the IPAWS program that support users and the 
development of tools to warn and educate the public about emergency 
alerting and protective action guidance to take when they receive an 
alert. FEMA is reviewing the NDAA requirements and prioritizing 
resources as appropriate.
    The National Defense Authorization Act for 2021 Section 9201, 
Reliable Emergency Alert Distribution Improvement (READI Act) directed 
the FCC to adopt regulations to ensure that mobile devices cannot opt 
out of receiving WEA alerts from the FEMA administrator, encourage 
chief executives of States to form State Emergency Communications 
Committees (SECCs), establish a State EAS plan checklist for SECCs, 
amend requirements for SECCs, ensure SECCs meet, review, and update 
their EAS plans annually, enable the FEMA administrator, State, local, 
Tribal, and territorial governments to report false EAS and WEA alerts, 
and provide for repeating EAS alerts for emergency warnings issued by 
the President, the FEMA administrator, and any other entity determined 
appropriate by the Commission, in consultation with the FEMA 
administrator. FEMA commends the FCC for quickly acting to change the 
WEA alert category ``Presidential'' to ``National'' and authorizing the 
FEMA administrator's use of the National Emergency Message category to 
send a WEA Nation-wide should we experience an imminent threat of 
National consequence.
             the ipaws technical support services facility
    In response to the National Advisory Council's Recommendation and 
NDAA 2020 direction to improve the IPAWS lab, the IPAWS PMO 
significantly increased the capabilities of the lab and stood up the 
IPAWS Technical Support Services Facility in October 2020.
    The new 24/7 Technical Support Services consist of a contract staff 
of 18 subject-matter experts, providing around-the-clock support 
services to all FSLTT emergency management agencies in their use of 
IPAWS. The facility provides alerting authorities with test and 
evaluation, operational assessments, IPAWS demonstrations, and expert 
technical support. The facility also provides an interactive and closed 
IPAWS testing environment and allows users the opportunity to practice 
and train to increase familiarity and confidence using IPAWS.
    The facility has supported 268 calls from Federal, State, Tribal, 
and territorial agencies between January-October 2021 as well as calls 
from the public who have questions about alerts in their area.
                   ipaws-open and npws modernization
    FEMA continues sustaining and enhancing IPAWS systems and 
infrastructure, including IPAWS-OPEN modernization and migration to a 
cloud infrastructure environment, as well as modernization of NPWS 
legacy PEP stations.
    In April 2021, FEMA transitioned IPAWS-OPEN from Department of 
Homeland Security data centers into Amazon Web Services GovCloud 
environment to increase system availability and reliability of greater 
than 99.9 percent. This improvement in services provides reasonable 
assurances that IPAWS-OPEN services experiences no more than 56 minutes 
of system down time, (inclusive of maintenance) for the year and the 
successful processing of approximately 42,000 messages per month.
    FEMA has completed modernization of 13 of the original group of PEP 
stations since 2019, increasing the percentage of the U.S. population 
covered by a FEMA connected radio station with High Altitude 
Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) protection to 51 percent. On October 15, 
2021, WBZ radio station in Boston, MA became the 13th station 
modernized station to receive the full complement of resilient 
transmitter, generation, and fuel-system capabilities and EMP 
protections. In May 2021, IPAWS PEP equipment underwent EMP testing at 
the Department of Defense's test range at the Patuxent Naval Air 
Station. The IPAWS PEP equipment underwent 36 full power pulses, double 
the 16 planned pulses without failure or degradation of system 
capabilities. This addresses the mandate that our critical 
infrastructure systems be mission ready and capable of operating 
before, during, and after an EMP event.
                         stakeholder engagement
    As of October 2021, FEMA has conducted 23 IPAWS webinars this year 
with average attendance of 151 live participants and 12,611 downloads 
of webinar content and issued 35 social media posts with more than 
41,000 views and nearly 1,300 connections.
    The program also revamped its on-line independent study courses 
offered through the FEMA Emergency Management Institute. As of mid-
year, 717 people completed the required IS-247 ``IPAWS for Alert 
Originators'' course on-line and 227 people completed the IS-250 on-
line course ``IPAWS for Alerting Authorities.'' This training provides 
skills to draft authenticated, effective, and accessible warning 
messages, and best practices in effective use of the Common Alerting 
Protocol. It is mandatory for establishing new Alerting Authorities.
    The program also distributes a ``Monthly Tip'' to all Alerting 
Authorities and Vendors. These Tips, sent via email to more than 6,000 
stakeholders, provide guidance and insight related to using IPAWS.
    We hosted the first-ever virtual IPAWS Users Conference on 
September 15. This 6-hour event targeted current IPAWS Alerting 
Authorities and Vendors and over 500 people registered.
                   ipaws program goals and challenges
    The IPAWS program office has been engaging vendors of IPAWS-
compatible software to encourage better integration of IPAWS screens 
for consistency and creation of effective public alert and warning 
messages.
    We will continue to promote adoption and use of IPAWS by emergency 
management and public safety officials. Through the IPAWS Stakeholder 
Engagement and Customer Support teams, the program office works with 
State, local, Tribal, and territorial officials to promote use of the 
system. We also provide information and support on various Federal 
grant programs that may provide funding for alerting authorities to 
purchase alerting software that interfaces with IPAWS.
    IPAWS will also continue to make local and State emergency managers 
aware of the IPAWS Technical Support Services Facility.
    In accordance with new WEA rules established by the FCC in 2021, 
FEMA is working with wireless carriers and alerting software vendors to 
enhance WEA capabilities to support the enhanced role of the FEMA 
administrator and the Commission's future actions to address 
enhancements to the Emergency Alert System.
                               conclusion
    Every day I am grateful for the opportunity to work with a program 
dedicated to helping alert and provide guidance to people during times 
of crisis. Thank you for your interest in the program and we look 
forward to collaborating with this subcommittee on ways to improve. I 
am happy to take any questions you have at this time.

    Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much, Mr. Johnson, for your 
opening statement. I now recognize Director Brown to summarize 
his statement for 5 minutes.

    STATEMENT OF BILLY BOB BROWN, JR., EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT 
     DIRECTOR, EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, CYBERSECURITY AND 
                 INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY AGENCY

    Mr. Brown. Thank you, Chairwoman Demings, Ranking Member 
Cammack, and Members of the subcommittee. It is a pleasure to 
be with you here today to discuss the Department of Homeland 
Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or 
CISA's, efforts in enhancing the Nation's interoperable 
emergency communications capabilities. But it is not just CISA. 
It is a partnership.
    SAFECOM is a partnership of more than 35 public safety 
associations and emergency responders. It established our 
guiding principle that interoperability is not just about 
technology, but about people working together. According to 
SAFECOM, 20 percent of the interoperability challenge is 
related to technology. Eighty percent is related to people.
    The 21st Century Emergency Communications Act of 2006 
established a Nation-wide focus on interoperability as a 
response to communications challenges experienced during both 
September 11 and Hurricane Katrina. Great strides have been 
made in improving public safety communications and information 
management technologies since that time.
    Digital land mobile radio and broadband technologies are 
accelerating dissemination of critical information, while Next 
Generation 9-1-1 will enable public safety entities to provide 
optimal service to their communities and when requested, to 
neighboring communities in need of additional resources or 
assistance. However, the threat landscape has also evolved with 
newer challenges posed by more frequent and extreme weather 
events, cyber attacks, and the global pandemic.
    CISA is positioned to help our stakeholders and partners 
reduce risk by focusing on three areas. First, 
interoperability, second, collaborative planning, and third, 
expanding the priority service capability.
    First, we promote interoperability and resilience by 
providing the tools and resources for stakeholders to operate 
in the next generation environment and cyber ecosystem, 
including direct assistance to jurisdictions across the United 
States improving awareness of Next Gen 9-1-1 capabilities.
    Second, we continue to bolster our existing partnerships 
and are building bridges to emergency communications 
stakeholders across critical infrastructure sectors to reduce 
risk to the National critical functions. CISA in partnership 
with SAFECOM and the National Council of State-wide 
Interoperability Coordinators provides resources to the 
District, States, territories, and Tribal nations to develop 
State-wide communications interoperability plans. These plans 
advocate sustainment and investment funding from State and 
local governments.
    Finally, we are partnering with industry and research 
organizations to make priority data, video, and information 
services available to all National security and emergency 
preparedness stakeholders through a constellation of carrier 
partners. CISA ensures that interoperable priority service 
requirements are satisfied by cooperating network service 
providers as they evolve to Next Generation networks. Promoting 
the awareness of these services and the use thereof, is key 
because when sharing information, every second counts.
    I am encouraged by the progress made since 9/11, and am 
proud of the contributions made by our community of 
stakeholders. But I am also aware of the fiscal and 
technological challenges that remain, as well as the scarcity 
of resources.
    Additionally, unchecked competitiveness and siloed thinking 
is another threat that our adversaries exploit. They seek to 
divide and conquer. Our partnerships, CISA's technical 
expertise, and your leadership ensure the safety of our 
communities and first responders. Together we can wisely 
integrate Next Generation capabilities and maintain a steadfast 
focus on the people who are using these capabilities to protect 
the homeland. Thank you and I look forward to your questions.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Brown follows:]
               Prepared Statement of Billy Bob Brown, Jr.
                            November 2, 2021
    Thank you, Chairwoman Demings, Ranking Member Cammack, and esteemed 
Members of the subcommittee. It is a pleasure to be here with you today 
to discuss the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity and 
Infrastructure Security Agency's (CISA) efforts in enhancing the 
Nation's interoperable emergency communications capabilities.
    Since DHS last appeared before this subcommittee in 2017, the 
communication and information management technologies used by the 
Nation's public safety community has evolved and advanced dramatically, 
including video, data, internet protocol (IP), and broadband 
communications. The risk landscape has also become more challenging 
with more frequent and extreme weather events, cyber attacks, and the 
severe impacts of a global pandemic. As Members heard during the 
October 7 hearing: The threats also come in the form of aging 
infrastructure (for Land Mobile Radio [LMR] systems, 9-1-1 centers, 
etc.) and a lack of dedicated funding for personnel, equipment, and 
other communications resources.
    The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018 
established CISA to protect the Nation's critical infrastructure from 
physical and cyber threats. At the nexus of physical and cyber threats 
lie emergency communications. Our division--previously known as the 
Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) and now as the CISA Emergency 
Communications Division (ECD)--was created by Congress in response to 
the communications challenges experienced during Hurricane Katrina in 
2005 and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. We believe the 
best defense against threats to operable and interoperable emergency 
communications is integrated, collaborative planning for strong 
governance, standard operating procedures, training & exercises, and 
technology solutions. In other words, solutions for effective 
interoperable emergency communications is more about people, 
partnerships, and practices, and to a lesser extent about the 
technology. CISA is positioned to assist our stakeholders and partners 
in addressing current and future threats to interoperable 
communications even as technologies evolve.
                 the state of emergency communications
Working at the National Level
    Leading from a stakeholder-driven approach is at the heart of 
CISA's mission. We engage the people who are doing this work every day 
to build guidance for the Nation's National security and public safety 
communications community, a community which includes organizations at 
all levels of Government and across all disciplines.
    CISA is the executive agent of SAFECOM, a public safety advisory 
board which aims to improve multi-jurisdictional and intergovernmental 
communications interoperability. SAFECOM works with CISA and key 
emergency response stakeholders and all public safety disciplines to 
improve communications interoperability for all emergency response 
providers across Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial 
governments, and international borders. CISA also works closely with 
the National Council of State-wide Interoperability Coordinators 
(NCSWIC), comprised of State leaders from the 56 States and 
territories. SAFECOM and NCSWIC develop and release guidance documents, 
tools, and resources and facilitate the implementation of these tools 
to support the public safety community and improve communications 
resilience and interoperability. Additionally, CISA maintains a close 
relationship with Federal partners that make up the Emergency 
Communications Preparedness Center (ECPC), which includes 14 Federal 
departments and agencies, and with the First Responder Network 
Authority (FirstNet Authority).
    These partnerships, resources, and efforts over the decades were 
critical in mitigating and stemming the communications impacts brought 
on by the global pandemic (e.g., tele-health, tele-medicine, alternate 
care facilities, the need for additional bandwidth for research and 
operations).
National Planning
    Title XVIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended, 
requires that CISA develop a National Emergency Communications Plan 
(NECP). The purpose of the NECP is to implement a whole-of-Nation 
approach to achieving emergency communications interoperability. The 
NECP's goals and initiatives are informed by the SAFECOM Nation-wide 
Survey (SNS), which is a Nation-wide effort to obtain actionable and 
critical data to inform the Nation's emergency communication policies, 
programs, and funding. Additionally, SNS results are used to complete 
the Nation-wide Communications Baseline Assessment (NCBA), a 
Congressionally-mandated assessment of Federal, State, local, Tribal, 
and territorial governments, focusing on analyzing the current state of 
emergency communications capabilities, identifying Nation-wide gaps, 
and measuring the evolution of emergency communications since the last 
assessment. CISA's last released the updated NECP in September 2019.
    In 2018, CISA, through the SNS, surveyed thousands of local public 
safety organizations about their emergency communications. While the 
majority of agencies reported their emergency, communications 
capabilities had improved over the past 5 years, the survey also 
indicated:
   Approximately half of the public safety organizations 
        reported their LMR systems are more than 10 years old.
   76 percent of public safety organizations have no or 
        insufficient funding for capital investments in emergency 
        communications network systems.
   Less than one-quarter of all the agencies reported having 
        sufficient cybersecurity funding.
   Seven percent of the agencies are sharing biometric data 
        with other organizations, while over 50 percent are sharing GIS 
        data.
State-wide and Tribal Planning
    Through the Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance 
Program (ICTAP), CISA provides all States and territories with direct 
support in the form of State-wide planning workshops and technical 
assistance (TA) training, tools, and resources. Since 2008, more than 
2,550 TAs have been delivered to all States and territories. As the 
technology used by public safety has evolved, so have the offerings. 
For example, the Communications Unit (COMU) program, which outlines the 
functions, positions, training, and certifications required to support 
interoperable incident communications, has been updated. It now 
includes an Information Technology Service Unit Leader position and 
course to assist incident command in managing the confluence of voice, 
video, and data communications and information, cybersecurity, and 
application management for incident planning and response. To date, 
more than 17,000 personnel have been trained to fill COMU positions.
    State-wide Communication Interoperability Plans (SCIPs) play the 
crucial role of enabling States and territories to align and prioritize 
their communications needs and advocate for funding to their local and 
State governments. SCIPs are generated via State-wide planning 
workshops. This process of meeting and planning to create alignment 
allows for the development of key relationships before an incident 
occurs.
    In 2001, there were no State-wide plans for interoperable 
communications. Twenty years later, every State and territory has a 
SCIP that is regularly updated to address needs involving governance, 
training, technology planning, funding sustainability, and 
cybersecurity. CISA is committed to helping States regularly improve 
these plans.
Communications Resiliency
    CISA administers services that enable the end-to-end movement of 
information with priority when networks are congested or degraded. The 
Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS) provides 
priority for landline communications by leveraging commercial networks. 
The Wireless Priority Service (WPS) is a model public-private 
partnership: CISA administers contracts with all major National and 
regional commercial carriers to provide prioritized access for users in 
and across wireless networks. Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) 
is the third CISA-administered service, enabling prioritized 
provisioning and restoration of priority services for organizations 
that have a National security mission. While CISA manages these 
priority services programs, the Federal Communications Commission's 
rules govern some aspects of TSP and WPS. The Commission has proposed 
to update its rules to reflect today's marketplace and governance 
framework and to authorize the prioritization of next-generation 
services and technologies. CISA supports many of the proposed rule 
changes.
    We are in the final stages of Phase 1--Next Generation Network 
Priority Services (NGN-PS), which will provide prioritized access for 
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Phase 2 focuses on the movement of 
data, video, and information services (DV&IS) with priority, which is 
mission-critical in the face of evolving threats and response 
capabilities.
    Working with our industry partners, we are proud to offer these 
services at no cost to our stakeholders. These services provide 
resilience in ways that all local, State, Tribal, territorial, and 
Federal users can use, and have proved critical in maintaining 
communications at the State, local, Tribal, and territorial (SLTT) 
level during natural disasters. There is no patchwork of ``have and 
have nots'' when it comes to the affordability of resilient 
communications.
Field Coordination
    Since OEC was established in 2007, we have adapted to better serve 
our stakeholders. We went from having a centralized to a regionalized 
posture to meet stakeholders in the field. This effort started in 2010 
with the establishment of the Regional Coordination Program. CISA now 
has 16 full-time experts in the field. CISA Emergency Communications 
Coordinators (ECCs) serve as key partners in coordinating 
communications and communications restoration before, during, and in 
response to natural disasters, pandemic response and large, planned 
events (e.g., Super Bowls, Presidential inaugurations). These 
coordinators build trusted relationships with and across the public 
safety community and Government partners to establish strong 
governance, plan for technology insertion, and identify sustainable 
funding sources.
    CISA has deployed ECCs to support emergency communications 
coordination and power restoration during numerous natural disasters 
(e.g., hurricanes, wildfires, pandemic) and incidents (e.g., State 
cybersecurity incidents) over the years. The ECCs work directly with 
the NSWIC to provide on-site support to States and jurisdictions and 
situational awareness to CISA leadership. CISA staff members also 
provide Emergency Support Function No. 2 (ESF-2) desk support at the 
National Response Coordination Center to ensure Federal communications 
needs are supported. Emergency activations and provisioning of priority 
telecommunications (i.e., GETS, WPS, TSP) are also provided to mitigate 
network congestion for Federal partners, SLTT public safety officials, 
major hospitals, critical infrastructure manufacturers, and wireless & 
wireline service providers.
   supporting interoperable emergency communications into the future
    As stated in our last statement to the subcommittee in 2017, the 
emergency communications ecosystem previously consisted of a citizen 
calling a PSAP for help, a call operator radioing the information to 
fire or police, and public safety officials and responders speaking to 
each other on LMR. However, new technologies have drastically changed 
the emergency communications ecosystem, not only transforming how 
citizens talk to each other, but also how public safety works together 
and engages with citizens. These new technologies bring increased 
capability but will require continued and increased support to our 
partners through training, technical assistance, and best practices as 
LMR remains a critical communications tool, along with these new 
capabilities for public safety.
    CISA counters the evolving threats to emergency communications by 
focusing its initiatives in three priority areas:
    1. Emergency Communications Interoperability: Promoting 
        operability, resilience, and interoperability by providing the 
        tools and resources for stakeholders to operate in the next 
        generation environment and cyber ecosystem.
    2. Integrated, collaborative communications planning: Bolstering 
        and building teams and communities of practice with public 
        safety stakeholders and communicators across all parts of the 
        Federal and SLTT (FSLTT) and critical infrastructure sectors.
    3. Priority services adoption: Partnering with industry and 
        research organizations to make priority DV&IS available to all 
        stakeholders with national security missions.
Emergency Communications Interoperability
    Integrating LMR and Broadband Communications.--Although LMR remains 
essential in emergency communications, the benefits and opportunities 
broadband offers to public safety are undeniable. Citizens will be able 
to send a picture of a suspicious package or videos of an event as it 
is happening to PSAPs that can then share those files with first 
responders. This capability accelerates the provision of critical 
information to determine how to respond and what resources will be 
needed. These advancements are tied to the progress toward implementing 
the newest tool in the emergency communications toolbox. LMR will 
continue to be a primary method of communication for first responders 
as broadband continues to greatly improve interoperable communications 
across the country.
    Public Safety Transition to Next Generation-911 (NG-911).--The 
transition to NG-911 is an effort to move PSAPs across the country from 
the analog systems used since before 9/11 to a digital or IP-based 9-1-
1 system. CISA will provide direct assistance to jurisdictions across 
the United States to implement NG 9-1-1 capabilities and ensure 
cybersecurity interconnectivity and interoperability amongst those 
systems using common standards Nation-wide. Among the benefits of 
Nation-wide interoperability are the ability to respond to 9-1-1 
requests faster and with greater accuracy, greater situational 
awareness, greater resilience, and with more consistent quality. It 
will enable first responders, emergency management, and other public 
safety entities to provide optimal service not only to their own 
communities, but also to neighboring communities in need of additional 
resources or assistance. Furthermore, interconnectivity and 
interoperability among 9-1-1 systems positions the Nation to obtain 
better awareness of community needs, identify trends, and evaluate how 
effectively U.S. residents and visitors are served.
    Cybersecurity in Emergency Communications.--The technologies that 
have made the Nation's emergency communication more efficient have also 
exposed it to the risks and vulnerabilities inherent in information 
technology and operational technology. As emergency communications 
transitions from voice-only to DV&IS, emergency communicators must 
defend against attacks from adversaries seeking to interfere and 
profit. To do so, CISA is improving its cybersecurity capabilities to 
counter threats, mitigate critical vulnerabilities, and manage 
incidents, as well as help organizations build resilience, design 
technology securely, and manage risk before cyber incidents occur. 
Specifically, CISA is working to:
   Share cybersecurity information, analyze cybersecurity 
        threats and vulnerabilities, and issue guidance and best 
        practices to detect and prevent cyber intrusions into emergency 
        communications networks, including Next Generation 9-1-1.
   Adapt governance models to incorporate cybersecurity 
        planning and intrusion prevention.
   Customize cyber-focused Technical Assistance for Public 
        Safety Emergency Communications Centers, 9-1-1 Systems and LMR 
        functions to mitigate ransomware/Telephony Denial of Service 
        (TDoS) attacks on public safety networks, and systems that 
        affect 9-1-1 and emergency communications.
   Shape cybersecurity initiatives (secure mobile, etc.) that 
        include Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) for Federal voice 
        networks and CISA-hosted interoperability grant programs for 
        both voice and DV&IS capabilities.
   Refine interoperability and NG 9-1-1 risk profiles; and
   Customize assessment tools into a user-friendly software 
        assessment for CISA COMU specialists and Cybersecurity Advisors 
        (CSAs).
Integrated, collaborative communications planning
    Advancing Interoperability in Federal Agencies, Tribal, and 
International Communities (One DHS, ECPC, Tribal Engagement).--To 
ensure both horizontal and vertical emergency communications 
interoperability, CISA's support must continue to extend beyond its 
current SLTT stakeholders and proactively engage in interoperability 
advancement activities for Federal Agencies, Tribal Nations, and 
International communities. CISA will proactively engage in technical 
advisement, standards promotion, and advocacy activities to guide 
interoperability planning for these stakeholder groups. CISA seeks to:
   Extend outreach and technical assistance for rural 
        communities and other underserved public safety entities.
   Build cybersecurity expertise in public safety emergency 
        communications.
    Bolster and Build communities for emergency communications 
interoperability planning.--Integrated, collaborative communications 
planning is the center of gravity in CISA's work with the public safety 
community. We will continue to bolster our relationships with partners 
at all FSLTT levels. At the same time, this model of trusted 
partnerships sets the example of what CISA ultimately aims to achieve 
across all 16 critical infrastructure (CI) sectors. The focus will be 
on building teams and communities of practice that can offer lessons 
learned and resources to others in the community so that everyone 
benefits from working together. To that effect, CISA seeks to:
   Engage CI Sectors by extending emergency communications 
        interoperability assistance and outreach to some of the 4,000 
        critical infrastructure sector entities with ties to National 
        security and emergency preparedness.
   Champion local/regional-level relationship-building with 
        stakeholders.
Priority services adoption
    Priority Services Awareness and Adoption and Priority Services Next 
Generation Phase II.--CISA ensures that priority communications 
requirements are satisfied as service providers evolve to next 
generation networks that employ emerging technologies. Promoting the 
awareness of these services and the use thereof is as important as the 
technological investment in evolving these services.
    Priority Services Awareness and Adoption.--Engage in strategic 
communications and outreach activities with stakeholders to increase 
awareness, enrollment, and usage of services.
    NGN-PS Phase 2.--NGN-PS is a multi-phase, technology insertion that 
will ultimately deliver priority for voice and data communication 
services. The Phase 2 DV&IS Program moves beyond Phase 1 (voice) and 
will provide priority for DV&IS over the IP networks. Phase 2 will 
acquire DV&IS priority capabilities through several major service 
providers, including cellular and cable networks. Additionally, Phase 2 
includes proofs of concept for critical components necessary to achieve 
cybersecurity assurance for priority across multiple networks, provides 
end-to-end priority, and develops requirements for priority over Wi-Fi.
                               conclusion
    Thank you, Chairwoman Demings, Ranking Member Cammack, and Members 
of this subcommittee for the opportunity to provide this overview and 
update with you today. The Nation's public safety agencies protect the 
homeland, and they rely on resilient, interoperable communication 
systems to carry out their mission and protect our Nation. While we 
have made tremendous strides in building interoperable emergency 
communications capabilities through close coordination with the 
National security and public safety community, the work must continue 
and evolve. As the technologies continue to advance, so does the threat 
landscape. CISA has and will continue to serve as a trusted partner to 
help public safety officials defend against threats and build their 
capabilities for the future. With your continued support, we know we 
can help our partners and stakeholders prepare for the future of 
emergency communications and wisely integrate next generation 
capabilities while always maintaining a focus on the people who are 
using these capabilities as they protect the homeland. We are stronger 
together. I look forward to our discussion this morning, and I am 
pleased to answer any questions you may have.

    Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much, Director Brown, for your 
testimony. I now recognize Mr. Parkinson to summarize his 
statement for 5 minutes.

 STATEMENT OF EDWARD PARKINSON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, FIRST 
 RESPONDER NETWORK AUTHORITY, NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND 
                   INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION

    Mr. Parkinson. Thank you very much, ma'am, and good morning 
to yourself, Ranking Member Cammack, and all subcommittee 
Members. I appreciate the opportunity to being here today to 
provide an update on the status of the First Responder Network 
Authority and the progress that we have made along with our 
contracting partner to deploy the Nation-wide interoperable 
public safety broadband network. My name is Edward Parkinson 
and I am the CEO of the Authority and again, thank you very 
much, ma'am, for the shout-out to my alumni status in front of 
this subcommittee. I know there are some--it is strange being 
on this side of the camera having been on behind the dais, 
especially when Mr. Johnson and Billy Bob's predecessors were 
there. So, it is good to see a lot of familiar faces.
    I will submit my opening statement for the record, of 
course. But really just the initial idea of the First Responder 
Network Authority and was rooted in the 9/11 Commission Report. 
With this recommendation, public safety tirelessly advocated in 
front of the committee, in front of the whole of Congress, and 
ultimately a bipartisan agreement, bicameral agreement was 
reached to allocate dedicated spectrum to public safety. The 
result was the creation of FirstNet.
    Since we were created, the FirstNet Authority has been 
focused on the Congressionally-mandated mission to deploy 
public safety's network. This isn't our network. This isn't the 
Authority's network. This is public safety's. FirstNet is 
trusted by over 18,5000 agencies. Over 2.8 million public 
safety connections are now leveraging FirstNet. All of these 
numbers were zero just at the beginning of 2018.
    We know that behind those numbers are our Nation's heroes 
running toward danger 24/7, 365. There are paramedics using GPS 
to find the fastest route to a stroke victim's home. 
Firefighters, such as Representative Cammack's spouse, 
utilizing first responders and FirstNet's deployable trucks to 
connect to the network as they battle wildfires out west and, 
indeed, hurricane response and many other disasters around the 
country. There are law enforcement officers at county fairs and 
marathons receiving text messages with a photo of a missing 
child and being able to now deliver that to their peers to 
hopefully find those children safe. We have got numerous 
examples of that taking place.
    FirstNet was also successfully leveraged to support D.C. 
first responders during the Capitol riots on January 6. It is 
proven that dedicated spectrum works. This type of dedicated 
service did not exist prior to FirstNet. We at the Authority 
engage extensively with public safety to understand their 
needs, to inform future investments into the network. In fiscal 
year 2020, my team conducted over 1,200 engagements with public 
safety in every single State, territory, and the District of 
Columbia with all public safety disciplines. We are lucky to 
have a board, including Representative Billy Bob Brown, who 
represents the Secretary of Homeland Security, as well as 
private and public safety experts. Our Public Safety Advisory 
Committee, PSAC, our new chair, in fact, Chris Lombard 
testified at the first of these two hearings just a few weeks 
ago. Based on public safety's feedback, the Authority's first 
set of network investments expanded our fleet of deployable 
assets, which are used by first responders at zero additional 
cost. We began upgrading our core for initial 5G capabilities. 
These investments reflect our dual focus on better service and 
providing 5G capabilities on the network, which is visible 
today in numerous markets.
    Now, there are two issues I would like to particularly 
highlight for the committee. The first is the renewal of the 
First Responder Network Authority's Band 14 spectrum license. 
The second is the reauthorization of our program. The Bank 14 
spectrum license is crucial to providing dedicated 
communications for first responders. Our enabling statute back 
in 2012, only instructed the FCC to initial--to license an 
initial 10-year license. The statute requires that we, the 
Authority, apply for and the FCC to decide on next year whether 
or not to renew this license. This spectrum issue is linked to 
reauthorization. Next February, the GAO, as required by the 
Act, will present their recommendations to Congress regarding 
the FirstNet's 15-year sunset provision, which is slated to go 
into effect in 2027. I look forward to working with the FCC on 
license, as well as this committee and all of Congress on the 
details of the GAO recommendations and our spectrum renewal.
    I ask the subcommittee to continue to support the Authority 
and, indeed, entire program as we enter the next phase of this 
program to innovate and invest in public safety's network. The 
support of Congress is crucial to FirstNet and in turn, public 
safety's success. This is not, as I mentioned before, our 
system, this is public safety's. The public safety community 
fought long and hard for the creation of FirstNet and it is up 
to us to continue to strive to achieve their vision. Thank you 
very much for the time. I look forward to the questions as 
well.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Parkinson follows:]
                 Prepared Statement of Edward Parkinson
                            November 2, 2021
    Chairwoman Demings, Ranking Member Cammack, and all subcommittee 
Members, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to appear here 
today to provide an update on the First Responder Network Authority 
(FirstNet Authority) and the deployment of the Nation-wide, 
interoperable public safety broadband network (NPSBN, Network, or 
FirstNet). My name is Edward Parkinson, and I am the executive director 
of the FirstNet Authority. I am also a proud alumnus of the House 
Homeland Security Committee. Having worked for 5 years as a 
professional staff member for the committee, I have a great 
appreciation for the important work the committee does every day.
    I'd also like to recognize my colleagues on the panel, executive 
assistant director Billy Bob Brown, Jr. with the Cybersecurity and 
Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Emergency Communications 
Division, and (acting) deputy assistant administrator, Antwane Johnson, 
with the Department of Homeland Security's Integrated Public Alert and 
Warning System (IPAWS). I appreciate the work that CISA and IPAWS have 
done to improve emergency communications in the United States, and 
personally appreciate Executive Assistant Director Brown for his work 
as the Department of Homeland Security's designee to the FirstNet 
Authority Board.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ See FirstNet Authority, FirstNet Authority Board: https://
firstnet.gov/about/leadership/billy-bob-brown-jr.
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    Today's hearing aims to examine emergency communications 20 years 
after September 11, 2001. While many challenges certainly remain, I 
believe that the FirstNet Authority has enhanced the Nation's emergency 
communications, and thus has made Americans safer and more secure.
 9/11 commission report and public safety's need for dedicated spectrum
    FirstNet was derived from the tragedy of 9/11--the initial idea for 
a Nation-wide public safety ``communications'' network is rooted in the 
recommendations of the 
9/11 Commission Report.\2\ In their July 2004 report, the 9/11 
Commission recommended that Congress support the allocation of 
dedicated radio spectrum for public safety:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\ The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National 
Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (``9/11 
Commission Report''), available at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/
GPO-911REPORT/.

``Recommendation: Congress should support pending legislation which 
provides for the expedited and increased assignment of radio spectrum 
for public safety purposes . . . .''\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ See 9/11 Commission Report at 397.

    With this recommendation and the support from first responders and 
the public safety community across the country, the FirstNet Authority 
was eventually established by Congress, with this very committee taking 
a lead in the development of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job 
Creation Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-96) (Spectrum Act).\4\ Public safety 
is forever indebted to Congress for the bipartisan support that this 
legislation enjoyed in fulfilling the 9/11 Commission Report's 
recommendation and allocating 20 MHz of dedicated spectrum to public 
safety.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ See S. Rep No. 112-260, at 3 (2012), available at https://
www.congress.gov/112/crpt/srpt260/CRPT-112srpt260.pdf.
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   firstnet today and into the future: an operational and expanding 
            network increasingly relied on by public safety
    Since the passage of the Spectrum Act, the FirstNet Authority has 
been solely focused on our Congressionally-mandated mission of 
deploying public safety's Nation-wide, interoperable broadband network.
    The initial phase of the program called on the Authority to consult 
with all 56 States, territories, and the District of Columbia, to 
ensure that public safety's voice was heard and reflected in the 
development of the NPSBN. Subsequently, millions of data points, 
encompassing multiple public safety disciplines, were included in the 
request for proposal. After an open and competitive process, AT&T was 
awarded the contract to build, operate, and maintain the network. In 
2017, every Governor--from American Samoa to Maine--chose to adopt the 
FirstNet model for deployment of the NPSBN.
    With over 2.8 million Network connections and more than 18,500 
agencies utilizing the network, there are first responders trusting 
FirstNet with their lives, every day in your districts, and across the 
country, and that is a responsibility that we take very seriously. It 
has taken years of consultation, developing trust with public safety 
partners across various, diverse backgrounds, to reach where we are 
today. Unlike other communications solutions, the FirstNet Authority is 
in a unique position where we work solely in the interest of all of 
public safety--including Federal, State, local, and Tribal--and for the 
communities that strive to keep each and every person in this country 
safe. As the challenges that the public safety community faces evolve, 
we at the FirstNet Authority will strive to provide the communication 
tools required by public safety to protect the American public.
    Following the infusion of $7 billion from the Spectrum Act, the 
FirstNet Authority is a financially self-sustaining program and not 
reliant on appropriated funding from Congress. Through the FirstNet 
contract, AT&T makes annual payments for access to the FirstNet 
Authority's licensed Band 14 spectrum--the license for which must be 
renewed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) next year to 
allow the FirstNet program to continue--which funds our operating costs 
and additional investments in the Network for public safety.
    Through our forward-looking technology Roadmap \5\ and investment 
program, the organization's focus continues to be consulting with 
public safety to prioritize Network investments for the greatest 
impact. Based on public safety's feedback, the FirstNet Authority's 
first set of Network investments expanded the fleet of deployable 
assets dedicated to FirstNet users and began upgrading the FirstNet 
Core for initial 5G capabilities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ SeeFirstResponderNetworkAuthorityRoadmap, https://firstnet.gov/
system/tdf/FirstNet_- Roadmap.pdf?file=1&type=node&id=1055.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Next February, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), as 
required by the Spectrum Act, will present their recommendations to 
Congress regarding FirstNet's 15-year sunset provision, which is slated 
to go into effect in 2027. I look forward to working with this 
committee, and indeed all of Congress on the details of GAO's 
recommendations.
               looking back: learning from public safety
    Looking back at that fateful day, now more than 20 years ago, there 
are numerous stories of public safety officials lacking the basic 
communication tools required to support mission success. All of us in 
the community know the stories of public safety officials writing notes 
on pieces of paper and running them around Ground Zero because all 
communications capabilities were down. I'm sure that many of us here 
today can recall instances where commercial systems were saturated due 
to high demand. I think back to when I was a Congressional staffer for 
this very committee back in August 2011 when the earthquake in Virginia 
caused the House offices to shake and for the buildings to be 
evacuated. Communicating with our loved ones was almost impossible on 
that day given that the commercial networks were overwhelmed by the 
demand.
    While many of us on Capitol Hill lived that moment for the first 
time in 2011, public safety had been experiencing such scenarios since 
before September 11, 2001. This committee, and indeed the whole of 
Congress, knew that the time had come that something needed to be done, 
and FirstNet was that solution.
    As such, public safety asked for a network specifically built for 
their mission, utilizing dedicated Nation-wide spectrumas recommended 
in the 9/11 Commission's report, and Congress heard that call with the 
creation of FirstNet.
    As the FirstNet Authority planned for the Network, we consulted 
public safety in all 50 States, 5 U.S. territories, the District of 
Columbia, and across Indian country, as well as leveraged the expertise 
and experiences of our Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC),\6\ to 
ensure the Network reflected public safety's broadband communications 
needs. Public safety told us the network needed to be affordable, 
reliable, interoperable, and custom-built for them. The network 
solution needed to be designed to work in dense urban areas, where 
challenges come in the form of urban canyons, in-building coverage dead 
zones, and subway tunnels; and likewise, the network needed to provide 
coverage in rural parts of our country, where previously the business 
case did not exist for the commercial providers to build mobile 
broadband networks. That input was instrumental in creating the network 
we have today and will continue to inform the network of tomorrow.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\ Under the 2012 Act, the FirstNet Authority was required to 
``establish a standing public safety advisory committee.'' 2012 Act  
6205(a)(1) (47 U.S.C. 1425(a)(1)), Pub. L. No. 112-96, 126 Stat. 156 
(2012). The FirstNet Authority established the PSAC in February 2013 
consisting of members representing all disciplines of public safety as 
well as State, territorial, Tribal, and local governments. The PSAC 
also has at-large members and Federal members.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The mission of the PSAC is to assist the FirstNet Authority in 
carrying out its statutory duties and responsibilities.
                      a truly nation-wide network
    One of the challenges in designing a Nation-wide network for public 
safety has been finding solutions that meet the many unique needs of 
first responders across the country. To address that challenge, in 
2017, the FirstNet Authority worked with AT&T, our Nation's Governors, 
the State Points of Contact, and public safety leadership in the States 
to design individualized FirstNet State plans to build out the Network 
and meet public safety's needs. These State plans detailed the initial 
5-year Network deployment for each State, with expanded coverage and 
capacity in rural, suburban, and urban areas. While Governors had a 
choice to ``opt-out'' and build their own State networks, all Governors 
across all 56 States and territories ultimately decided to ``opt-in'' 
to the FirstNet build.
    By March 2018, the FirstNet Authority and AT&T officially began the 
Nation-wide Network deployment and offering public safety services, 
such as priority and preemption, to FirstNet subscribers. AT&T remains 
ahead of schedule on the Nation-wide deployment and is anticipated to 
have almost completed the initial 5-year network buildout (originally 
slated for 2023) by the time the FirstNet Authority seeks renewal of 
its FCC license in late 2022. Since the Network is operational and 
serving thousands of public safety users today, we believe that it is 
clearly in the public interest to renew the FirstNet Authority's FCC 
license so that the FirstNet Authority can fulfill its mission 
throughout the life of the 25-year agreement with AT&T.
    Today, we are over 3 years into the deployment of FirstNet's 
dedicated Band 14 on both new and existing towers, and already we have 
seen the Network make a major difference in the lives of first 
responders and the communities they serve.
  network performance during january 6, 2021: why dedicated spectrum 
                                matters
    Earlier this year, the FirstNet network was stress-tested by an 
event where priority and preemption and a dedicated network proved 
critical to local first responders right here in the District. As Dr. 
Chris Rodriguez--Director of Washington, DC's Homeland Security and 
Emergency Management Agency--testified before this subcommittee last 
month, Washington's local first responders utilized the FirstNet 
service and dedicated FirstNet deployable units in response to the 
January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol building.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\ See: https://homeland.house.gov/imo/media/doc/2021-10-7-EPRR-
HRG-Testimony-Rodriguez.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    During the response, multiple public safety agencies used FirstNet 
service so that first responders could communicate. Where commercial 
network calls failed and texts and videos could not be sent or received 
due to congestion caused by a surge in traffic, FirstNet worked. As 
reported by PC Magazine:

``As mobs stormed the U.S. Capitol, plenty of people nearby reported 
their phones having no signal or non-functional connections . . . The 
cops' phones all keep working because they're on a special part of the 
AT&T network called FirstNet, which gives priority to first 
responders.''\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\ See: https://www.pcmag.com/opinions/why-cell-networks-cut-out-
at-the-us-capitol-riot.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
              supporting public safety during the pandemic
    Upon the deployment of FirstNet and the availability of its 
services, public safety has relied on the network to serve its 
broadband communications needs. Notably, we have seen an increase in 
the use of FirstNet during the pandemic--a sign that the network is 
helping public safety carry out its mission in the face of COVID-19. 
Health care workers and responders are using FirstNet services at 
COVID-19 testing centers, field hospitals, and vaccination distribution 
sites across the country. We are seeing an increase in the use of data 
to confront the pandemic at nearly double the rate of consumer data 
traffic.
    First responders are taking advantage of FirstNet for telehealth as 
well as adapting the use of the network in creative ways to fit the 
needs of their specific operations. For example, hotspots and 
smartphones powered by FirstNet are enabling 9-1-1 telecommunicators to 
take calls and dispatch operations from their homes and remote 
locations. This enables agencies to allow for social distancing among 
their staff, keeping these front-line essential workers safe so they 
can continue to serve the community.
    Throughout the pandemic, the city of Alexandria, Virginia's, 
emergency communications center (ECC) has relied on FirstNet to support 
remote operations. Using hotspots and smartphones powered by FirstNet, 
Alexandria dispatchers are able to take calls from their homes and 
remain in contact with staff on-site. The FirstNet Push-to-Talk (PTT) 
solution, enabling FirstNet phones to act as two-way radios, ensures 
that telecommunicators working from home are as connected and ready to 
respond as if they were still back at the call center. Palm Beach 
County, Florida, 
9-1-1 call centers also have depended on FirstNet to enable remote 
dispatching and call-taking. Similarly, the Oglala Sioux Tribe's 
Department of Public Safety relies on FirstNet to keep their police 
officers connected to ECC dispatch when they are responding to an 
incident. FirstNet supports applications that enable dispatchers to 
transmit mission-critical information to responders and remain in touch 
with them as they respond to an incident.
    In addition to supporting remote call-taking and mobile 
communications, FirstNet can act as a secondary network for ECCs in 
case of a primary network failure. These applications will only grow in 
their importance as ECCs transition to Next Generation 9-1-1, in which 
data needs to be able to travel in and out of an ECC in a quick and 
seamless manner.
    FirstNet also has improved interoperability on the Network through 
supporting mutual-aid efforts, including situations where ambulances 
are called in to assist from outside a hard-hit region. Paramedics 
using FirstNet devices and enhanced PTT capabilities can seamlessly 
communicate and work together with neighboring agencies. As we do for 
all major emergency operations, the FirstNet Authority will continue to 
gather public safety use cases and best practices from the response to 
COVID-19 so that agencies and practitioners can learn from each other 
and further understand how the Network can support their communications 
needs.
    In the midst of a pandemic, responders must address and prepare for 
other emergencies. FirstNet has been there to assist with its dedicated 
fleet of deployable assets to augment coverage and capacity, including 
during the tornadoes in the southeastern United States, wildfires 
across California and the West, and during hurricane season along the 
East Coast and in the Gulf. Prior to major storms, AT&T's FirstNet 
Response Operations Group (ROG), a team of former first responders who 
manage FirstNet's response in these types of disasters, staged 
deployable units and back-up generators outside the path of the storm. 
Immediately following storm systems, the ROG team coordinated with 
State emergency operations centers, local agencies, and Federal 
Emergency Management Agency Urban Search and Rescue teams to deploy 
Satellite Cell on Light Trucks (SatCOLTs), and generators to impacted 
areas to support public safety communications efforts on the ground.
                   firstnet investment and innovation
    The FirstNet Authority will continue to deliver for public safety 
and drive innovation. Since the signing of the 25-year contract with 
AT&T in March 2017, we have made substantial progress in build-out, 
innovation, and investments back into the Network for public safety.
    Here are recent innovations and investments to support our Nation's 
first responders:
   Z-Axis.--One of the key capabilities that public safety 
        requested during the planning phase of FirstNet was the ability 
        to determine the vertical location of personnel within a 
        building, also known as Z-axis. Knowing what floor of a 
        building a firefighter is on is critical information to have 
        during an emergency. This technological challenge that public 
        safety identified for FirstNet, and that we worked with AT&T on 
        to deliver a solution, is now a reality. The FirstNet Authority 
        is proud to say that this service is now available and being 
        rolled out on the Network in markets across the country.
   FirstNet PTT.--The FirstNet Authority has been working with 
        global standards bodies for years to ensure public safety 
        achieves a PTT solution that supports mission-critical services 
        capabilities. FirstNet was the first to market with a Nation-
        wide, mission-critical, standards-based PTT solution. Earlier 
        this year, the network began launching solutions for LTE 
        interoperability with Land-Mobile Radio (LMR) systems. FirstNet 
        now gives public safety agencies using traditional two-way 
        radios access to communicate seamlessly with smartphone users 
        on FirstNet PTT. These gateways act as a technological bridge 
        between LMR technology and 4G LTE smart phones.
   5G Investments for Public Safety.--The FirstNet Authority 
        recently took the first step to begin evolving the FirstNet 
        Core to prepare for 5G technology--ensuring that FirstNet 
        continues to evolve with industry technology enhancements. AT&T 
        has been upgrading FirstNet's Core infrastructure to enable the 
        higher speeds and greater capabilities of 5G technology for 
        FirstNet subscribers so that first responders have access to 
        the latest in technology innovations. This initial investment 
        to support 5G technology is already in the hands of first 
        responders today, with deployments across the country occurring 
        as I speak. All of this is in concert with our statutory 
        responsibility to consider new and evolving technologies--
        preparing us for a future where the internet of things and full 
        5G will help improve public safety operations.
   FirstNet Deployable Program.--The FirstNet Authority 
        recently also took steps to expand the fleet of dedicated 
        FirstNet deployables to enhance network coverage and capacity 
        for public safety during emergencies and events.\9\ As of June 
        2021, the FirstNet fleet has 100+ deployables located at sites 
        around the country and U.S. territories that can be sent to 
        emergencies in a matter of hours. The FirstNet-dedicated fleet 
        includes:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\ See FirstNet Authority, FirstNet Authority Board Approves 
Network Investments for 5G, On-Demand Coverage (rel. June 2020), 
https://firstnet.gov/newsroom/press-releases/firstnet-authority-board-
approves-network-investments-5g-
demand_coverage#::text=The%20Board%20ap- 
proved%20%24218%20million%20for%20the%20FirstNet,safety%20turned%20to%20
the%20- FirstNet%20deployables%20for%20additional.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     More than 90 ground-based SatCOLTs and Compact 
            RapidDeployables (CRDs)--SatCOLTs are vehicles with mobile 
            cell sites that connect via satellite and do not rely on 
            commercial power supply, while CRDs are smaller trailer 
            hitch-mounted portable cell sites that can be brought into 
            an area to provide emergency or enhanced coverage.
     Three Command and Communications Vehicles for emergency 
            deployments, planned events, and training exercises with a 
            space for two communications personnel with multiple 
            monitors, televisions, and charging stations, as well as a 
            large exterior screen and speakers for briefings. These 
            vehicles provide connectivity via LTE (Band 14) and/or Wi-
            Fi and are able to leverage a variety of backhaul options 
            to connect to the NPSBN. These are also equipped with a 
            generator that can run for multiple days before refueling 
            and includes a lavatory, microwave, mini refrigerator, and 
            sleeping bunk.
     Three airborne Flying Cell on Wings--tethered drones with 
            larger propellers, increased payload capacity, and 
            specialized LTE radios and power systems. Flying Cell on 
            Wings can withstand light rain and wind speeds up to 25 
            miles per hour and reach heights of up to 400 feet, making 
            them ideal for wildfires, mountain rescues, and other 
            missions where terrain previously made it difficult to 
            maintain connectivity.
     One aerostat--a 55-foot blimp that gives wide-scale 
            portable connectivity over an extended period of time. The 
            aerostat can stay in air for up to 2 weeks and reach 
            heights up to 1,000 feet, making it ideal for large 
            disaster areas like a hurricane's aftermath when sustained 
            connectivity over a broad geographic area is required for 
            response and recovery.
   High-Powered User Equipment (HPUE).--FCC rules allow for 
        higher-powered devices to access FirstNet on our dedicated Band 
        14 spectrum. To leverage this, AT&T recently launched a 
        solution called MegaRange technology.\10\ Providing first 
        responders with HPUE can extend the range of coverage where 
        Band 14 spectrum has been deployed significantly. This can be 
        particularly beneficial for public safety users in rural or 
        maritime areas to extend the capabilities of the network.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \10\ See: https://about.att.com/newsroom/2021/fn_megarange.html.
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    The FirstNet Authority's Roadmap drives all of these efforts, by 
ensuring that the voice of public safety is heard and sets a path 
forward for advancing the capabilities of their network to meet the 
evolving needs of first responders. The Authority looks forward to 
continuing to brief the committee on our most recent network 
advancements and our future plans.
                               conclusion
    In Chairwoman Demings' opening statement in the subcommittee's 
October 7, 2021, hearing with emergency managers and first responders 
on this very topic, she--along with other Members--cited the many 
challenges that still face the emergency communications space. In 
particular, she noted her first-hand experience as a law enforcement 
practitioner in the field, serving as Orlando Police Department's 
Captain of the division stationed at the Orlando International Airport 
during 9/11. The FirstNet Authority will continue to work with you, 
Madam Chair, and other leaders in Congress to identify challenges in 
emergency communications that persist and address them head-on.
    The FirstNet Authority will continue to work with public safety 
stakeholders, AT&T, and our Federal, State, local, and Tribal 
government partners to build the best network for public safety, and we 
are proud of the progress we have made to date. Feedback from our 
public safety stakeholders, on successes and areas for improvement, is 
critical to our program. Indeed, FirstNet's robust consultation and 
feedback from public safety has helped us get to where we are today.
    We are proud to serve America's first responders in all 50 States, 
5 territories, and the District of Columbia. It is amazing to see 
public safety in rural, suburban, and urban communities across the 
country--including Tribal lands--integrating FirstNet into their daily 
and emergency operations. FirstNet's dedicated connection is making a 
difference and helping them keep safe and protect the citizens they 
serve. I ask that this subcommittee continue to support the FirstNet 
Authority--particularly with our spectrum license renewal and 
reauthorization approaching--as we enter the next phase of this 
program, to innovate and invest in public safety's network. The support 
of Congress is critical to FirstNet's and, in turn, public safety's 
success. This is not the FirstNet Authority's network; it is public 
safety's network. The public safety community fought long and hard for 
the creation of the NPSBN, and it is up to us to continue to strive to 
achieve their vision.
    Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.

    Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much, Mr. Parkinson, for your 
testimony. I thank all of our witnesses. I will remind the 
subcommittee that we will each have 5 minutes to question the 
panel. I will now recognize myself for questions.
    This question is actually for all of our witnesses, but 
Director Brown, I just want to repeat something that you said 
that I really think sets the stage for this hearing. You said 
when it comes to sharing of information, every second counts. 
Certainly, as a former first responder, I clearly understand 
the importance of that statement and the importance of 
information to men and women, those boots on the ground. Last 
month, as we have already talked about, we had first responders 
and emergency managers here to talk about some of the 
challenges that we face every day. I think no one better 
understands those challenges than those first responders, 
emergency managers at the local level. So, Director Brown, I 
will start with you, how are you supporting and incorporating 
feedback from emergency managers and first responders on a 
local level? The question is for all witnesses, but Director 
Brown, we will start with you.
    Mr. Brown. Thank you for the question. As you are aware, 
the ability to ensure that we are able to seamlessly move and 
develop our communications to support responders, it does not 
happen on the spot during the heat of battle. You know, it 
really starts early and it is in those forums where we are 
bringing communicators together to develop effective planning 
that we are able to receive that kind of feedback and sharing 
of best practices.
    Just this past week, I was in Austin, Texas working with 
local communicators from the Southwest Border States, Arizona, 
California, Texas, New Mexico, not only State officials, but 
also local emergency management officials discussing the 
effective use of communications planning and the importance of 
best practices are shared amongst the communicators to ensure 
that we have the most efficient way of designing communication 
structures to support incident management.
    Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much for that. Mr. Parkinson.
    Mr. Parkinson. Thanks for the question, ma'am. One of the 
things that we have done at the First Responder Network 
Authority is develop a number of tools for outreach into the 
community. So, we have a dedicated team, our public safety 
engagement group, and what they do is they are positioned 
throughout the country from really Maine to Hawaii. They were 
broken up regionally so that these folks are drawn from the 
public safety community and can engage directly with them. They 
are drawn from various disciplines, law enforcement, fire, EMS, 
9-1-1, emergency managers. We have that dedicated resource 
because we need that unvarnished voice of public safety to 
provide direct input into the Authority so that we know what 
and why we need to make strategic investments into things such 
as expanding our deployable fleet and 5G and engagements.
    Another tool we have is in our FirstNet.gov website. There 
is a tool there where folks are able to provide, again, direct 
feedback to the authority. We have a 24/7 open line. We have 
these opportunities throughout COVID, we were able to do 
webinars around the country. You have heard me mention the over 
1,200 engagements with public safety. That is what we were able 
to do without being in person. We have a new stakeholder 
engagement division which is designed to hold larger groups. 
Again, once we are in a post-COVID environment, we are really 
enthusiastic about the kind of feedback that those kind of 
forums will be able to hold.
    We have been able to evolve this. You know, our program was 
basically founded on consultation with the States back in 2014-
2015. We have learned from those consultations. We have learned 
how to really tweak them, change them, and evolve them. So, we 
feel very comfortable about the level of engagement we have 
with public safety knowing that without it, our program would 
not be able to survive.
    Mrs. Demings. Thank you very much. Mr. Johnson.
    Mr. Johnson. Thank you, Chairwoman Demings. As with Mr. 
Parkinson there, we also stood up a stakeholder engagement 
branch within the IPAWS program office to conduct continuous 
outreach with our State and local governments, first 
responders, and others. In fact, we have a tremendous 
engagement with the National Emergency Management Association, 
as well as with the International Association of Emergency 
Managers. We just recently returned from the IAM conference 
with there was tremendous engagement with first responders 
there, as well as the International Association of Chiefs of 
Police. So, we try and cover the broad spectrum of first 
responders to include fire, police, and others who serve our 
communities. In addition to that, we maintain monthly webinars 
where we can engage with first responders and emergency 
managers to gather their feedback on what is working and what 
is not. Certainly, with that information, we can make the 
necessary adjustments to serve the broader needs of the 
community.
    Mrs. Demings. Thank you all so very much. The Chair now 
recognizes the Ranking Member of the subcommittee, the 
gentlewoman from the State of Florida, Mrs. Cammack, for 5 
minutes.
    Mrs. Cammack. Well, thank you Congresswoman Demings, 
Chairwoman Demings. My first question is going to be for Mr. 
Johnson. In 2019, IPAWS added a new Blue Alert event code to 
allow alert originators to issue an alert whenever a law 
enforcement officer is injured, killed, missing in connection 
to any official duties, and/or there are any imminent or 
credible threat of death or serious injury to law enforcement 
officers. So, this is a two-parter. Do all of the States, have 
they--do they have Blue Alert plans in place and they are able 
to issue these Blue Alerts? To your knowledge, has the 
utilization of a Blue Alert led to a successful apprehension of 
a suspect?
    Mr. Johnson. Ranking Member Cammack, great question. We 
worked with the Department of Justice, the Community Policing 
Office, to establish the Blue Alerts that are being sent in 
response to a police officer either being injured or who is 
missing in the line of duty. We are aware that there is a 
pretty aggressive outreach campaign within the Department of 
Justice to assist States with developing their Blue Alert 
plans. I have seen that Blue Alerts have been issued, for 
example, in the State of Texas, where a suspect actually 
injured a law enforcement officer and a State-wide Blue Alert 
was issued. That suspect was apprehended within a matter of 
hours, not days. Once that Blue Alert was issued to the public 
and then public, you know, public engagement in the process 
assisted law enforcement with identifying the suspect and 
reporting on his whereabouts.
    We have seen that take place in a number of States across 
the country where Blue Alerts are being used very effectively. 
I believe down in Florida there may have been one or two. I can 
get back to you on that where the Blue Alert--where Blue Alerts 
have been issued in response to law enforcement activity and 
the perpetrator still being on the loose.
    Mrs. Cammack. It might have cut out a little bit in the 
beginning. I wasn't sure if I heard you. Do every State--do all 
the States have a Blue Alert in place or are we still doing the 
outreach trying to get every State on-board?
    Mr. Johnson. So, the Department of Justice's COPS office or 
Community Policing Office is responsible for working with State 
police and others to establish their Blue Alert plans. At last 
report, I think over 40 States had Blue Alert plans that were 
being exercised. But I would have to go back and check with the 
COPS office to see exactly where that stands today.
    Mrs. Cammack. Thank you, Mr. Johnson. If you could follow 
up with my team in writing of what the current status is and 
how we can help expedite that to make sure that every State has 
this Blue Alert in place, that would be really helpful.
    The next question for you, Mr. Johnson, is one of the 
recommendations from the National Advisory Council on 
Modernizing the Nation's Public Alert and Warning Systems was 
to encourage the use of public media broadcast capabilities to 
expand alerts and warnings and interoperable communication 
capabilities to fill the gaps in rural and underserved areas. 
Specifically, what has FEMA done and what steps has FEMA taken 
to address this recommendation?
    Mr. Johnson. Ranking Member Cammack, thank you so much for 
the question. I seem to have drawn a blank. But with regards to 
public broadcasting and the ability to reach people regardless 
of where they are, what they might be doing, or who they are, 
has been one of the primary goals of the IPAWS program office 
in FEMA to ensure that No. 1, we can create this type of 
ubiquitous alerting environment where we can leverage all of 
the Nation's technology to reach people to inform them of 
threats to their safety. We have been engaged with public 
broadcasters, as you are aware. Public broadcasters and 
broadcast capabilities tend to be extremely resilient and 
survivable during disasters. In fact, during Hurricane Irma and 
Leah in Puerto Rico and St. Thomas, we saw that our 
broadcasters remained on air while most of the other 
communications methods were, you know, extremely devastated and 
remained in an outage-type state for several weeks.
    We continue to work with public broadcasters to ensure that 
we cannot--that we leverage their services in member stations, 
as well as the rest of the broadcast community. In fact, we are 
connected into over 20,000 broadcasters across the country who 
leverage our services to communicate any, you know, public 
safety information or warnings to the general public. The same 
applies to the wireless industry and 65 wireless carriers we 
are connected into for wireless emergency alerts. And NOAA's 
Weather Radio, we are leveraging those capabilities. There are 
1,000 transmitters across the country to also provide 
additional reach. So, we are using just about every platform 
that is possible in the country to serve as dissemination 
channels to reach people where they are.
    Mrs. Cammack. OK. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Johnson. Mr. 
Brown, I actually have a couple questions for you. I know my 
time----
    Mrs. Demings. The gentlewoman's time has expired. Maybe we 
will have time for a second round. The Chair now recognizes the 
gentlewoman from Texas, Ms. Jackson Lee, for 5 minutes. If you 
can turn your camera on? Ms. Jackson Lee. We will move on to 
the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Payne, for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Payne. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for this 
timely hearing. My question is for Mr. Johnson and Director 
Brown. My bill, H.R. 615, the DHS Interoperable Communications 
Act, which is now law, requires that the Department submit to 
this committee a strategy for achieving and maintaining 
interoperable communications among DHS components. To both you 
gentlemen, how are you taking what came out of these reports 
and then incorporating it into your work?
    Mr. Johnson. Thank you, Congressman Payne. On the FEMA 
side, we made some, I think, fairly aggressive steps to provide 
for interoperability of the Nation's alert and warning 
capabilities. In fact, back in 2010, we adopted the common 
alert protocol that was developed by the organization for 
structured information systems. Within that particular 
standard, we identified the IPAWS USA profile that would define 
what an alert and warning would consist of. So, on the front 
end, where State and local governments are using alerting 
authorities to push information throughout IPAWS out to 
multiple dissemination channels, that standard allows for 
interoperability or the ability of disparate types of alerting 
tools to partner and leverage IPAWS services.
    The same applies on the back end with disseminating 
information to the public. The public now, or the broadcast 
industry, the wireless industry, as well as our other 
technology providers, can subscribe to that one standard and 
ensure that one message is disseminated over multiple 
platforms. It also provides an opportunity for innovation by 
our technology providers with their knowing that there is a 
common standard that can be adopted or utilized to develop 
their technologies from further reach of alert and warning to 
the community.
    Mr. Payne. Thank you.
    Mr. Brown. Thank you for the question. As Director Johnson 
mentioned, FEMA and CISA are in partnership along with other 
components in the Department to ensure that we are working 
together collaboratively to ensure that communications 
interoperability is improved. One of those initiatives includes 
the effective development of a training curriculum for 
communications unit leaders and communications technicians to 
ensure that effective planning occurs between components within 
the Department to achieve interoperable communications. That is 
one of the initiatives that we are undertaking. Additional 
initiatives include the participation in a forum that we call 
One DHS and a forum that we call the Joint Wireless Program 
office to discuss the challenges of interoperable planning and 
use of tactical communications amongst the components within 
the Department. That in effect, is also a representative of 
setting the example across the Federal space with the other 
departments and agencies that the wisdom of the bill that you 
sponsored and was enacted, you know, allows for the Department 
to create an example of how one Federal agency can create 
interoperability amongst its varied parts. The Emergency 
Communications Preparedness Center, which the 21st Century 
Emergency Communication Act of 2006 established, is a forum 
that we share the progress made by that One DHS as an example 
to the other departments to emulate.
    Mr. Payne. Thank you. Mr. Johnson, also, in January 2018, 
Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency sent out an erroneous 
incoming ballistic missile alert as we have discussed here. 
What lessons has the agency learned from this incident and how 
are you supporting and incorporating feedback from States?
    Mr. Johnson. Thank you for the question, Congressman Payne. 
The unfortunate incident that took place on January 13 at 
approximately 8:07 in the morning was really unfortunate and 
created a great deal of panic for the people of Hawaii. We have 
learned a number of lessons from that unfortunate event and 
have taken several steps to ensure that that does not happen 
again. As an example, we have revamped our training that is 
offered through the Emergency Management Institute for both 
operators of our alert and warning systems, as well as 
emergency management leadership. We have established monthly 
proficiency demonstrations requiring all alerting authorities 
to demonstrate proficiency in the use of their internal systems 
with IPAWS. And to do that in a safe environment leveraging our 
technical support services facility that provides 24/7 support 
to our alerting authority should they have any issue with 
drafting an alert, questions on whether the system should be 
used for in response to a particular event, or with any other 
challenges that they may have.
    We have worked with private-sector application developers 
to improve the tools that they are using by alerting 
authorities. In fact, we have sent several letters to them 
recommending improvements to their products. However, one of 
the challenges that we have with these companies is that FEMA 
does not actually have a contractual relationship with these 
companies. So, our recommendations are just recommendations to 
these companies. But I can tell you that when we issue these 
letters with recommendations from FEMA, most of the software 
vendors who are providing these tools to State and local 
governments tend to pay attention and they are aggressively 
adopting those recommendations.
    But in addition to that, we conduct weekly or monthly 
webinars. We provide tips on use of the system should there be 
any question on, you know, emerging themes that we are seeing 
from across the community. We will take one additional step by 
issuing tips on the use of the system or whatever the issue may 
be to the broader community to ensure that they are aware of 
those things.
    Mr. Payne. Thank you.
    Mr. Johnson. Then our working groups provide for continuous 
engagement and feedback from the community as well.
    Mr. Payne. Thank you very much, Madam Chair, I will yield 
the balance of my time. Thank you.
    Mrs. Demings. The gentleman's time has expired. The Chair 
now recognizes the gentleman from Louisiana, Mr. Higgins, for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Chairwoman and Ranking Member and 
thank you for holding today's hearing. I very much appreciate 
our witnesses for being here today. Effective emergency 
communications are critical to States that are subject to 
impact by a natural disaster like hurricanes response and 
recovery. It just cannot happen without effective 
communications that have been stabilized and policies and 
procedures that are in place to position our first responders 
to use that technology that we are talking about today. In 
2020, after back-to-back hurricanes, southwest Louisiana faced 
many challenges with communications. So, the technology we are 
discussing today that is used to restore internet and cell 
connections can certainly be an asset to communities that are 
vulnerable, as well as an important tool for first responders 
that are tasked with actually responding and helping a 
community to recover. So, Mr. Parkinson, interestingly, it is 
my understanding there was a FirstNet public safety blimp 
operating in my district in Cameron, Louisiana following the 
hurricanes in 2020. Can you please describe to the committee 
what the purpose of the blimp was and how it aids and in 
recovery and first responders' ability to do the job and help 
impacted communities. Talk to us about the blimp.
    Mr. Parkinson. Yes, sir. So, I have got an image here just 
of the blimp there you have it. That is the FirstNet One blimp.
    Mr. Higgins. Right, that is it.
    Mr. Parkinson. That is the one, yep. That was flown outside 
in Cameron Parrish, Louisiana following the disaster of 
Hurricane Laura, sir. What it is designed to do is to be 
tethered and go up to about 1,000 feet and, in essence, it acts 
as a floating cell phone tower. It is able to radiate coverage 
over many tens and tens of miles. So, in a situation where 
Cameron Parrish, which as you know, was completely devastated 
by Hurricane Laura, from infrastructure to, you know, 
communications capabilities, to utilities, we were in a 
position with FirstNet to take the FirstNet One blimp and 
launch it for the first time and provide communications 
capabilities. You know, this FirstNet One blimp is but one of 
over 100 assets that we have in our deployable fleet. These 
include CRDs, these are compact rapid deployables. You can 
throw these on the back of a pickup truck. We also have more 
deployables that are slightly larger formed factors in the 
shape of trucks. So, what we try to do at first is build into 
the program a state of resiliency that allows for different 
form factors that provide different solution sets so that as we 
see different scenarios play out from the ground for public 
safety, we have a communications and recovery capability that 
can meet the needs of public safety in the FirstNet----
    Mr. Higgins. How is that--how is it integrated with local 
law enforcement? How do first responders interact with the 
technology, a new technology you are describing?
    Mr. Parkinson. Yes, sir. So, any first responder network 
authority subscriber can call out these assets at zero 
additional cost. So, if you are paying $45 a month to recall 
out for one of these blimps or for one the deployables, it does 
not add another penny to one's--to an agency bill or anything 
like that. That is unique to FirstNet.
    So, sir, as you are using your FirstNet device, you have 
access to these type of solutions sets. So, in the event of 
hurricane recovery, disaster wildfire recovery out west, just 
as another example, this provides additional coverage in areas 
where the network maybe temporarily down, for example.
    Mr. Higgins. That is fascinating. Madam Chair, it is 
incredibly important this information that we are bringing to 
the table today. I thank you again and the Ranking Member. I am 
sure my time has expired and I yield.
    Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much, Mr. Higgins. You had 
another minute but thank you for yielding. The Chair now 
recognizes the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Green, for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Green. Thank you, Madam Chair. To my friend, Mr. 
Higgins, I will gladly accept that time that you did not use, 
sir. Good to see you dear brother Higgins. Always enjoy your 
comments. Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I am very 
fortunate. I have been blessed to represent a district wherein 
the ballot is printed in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and 
Chinese. We live in a polyglot society across the length and 
breadth of this country. Linguistics are exceedingly important 
when we have these natural disasters. I am concerned about how 
people who don't speak English, they are not proficient with 
English, how do they receive proper communications with 
reference to resources and other concerns that they may have? 
So, I will direct to my question to Mr. Johnson, Director 
Johnson, and Director Brown. Can you share with me some 
intelligence on how persons who are not English proficient but 
we know they are here and we know that they will need help as 
well. How do the receive the communications necessary to be 
better informed when a disaster strikes?
    Mr. Johnson. Thank you, Congressman Green. A very good 
question in terms of communication and, you know, the 
acknowledgment of the broad demographics within our communities 
and people who don't have an understanding of the English 
language. Certainly, we here at FEMA are charged with ensuring 
that all Americans who reside here have access to alerts and 
warnings to include those with access and functional needs as 
well as those without an understanding of the English language. 
We have done several things to ensure the broad dissemination 
of alerts and warnings. One, as I mentioned, we adopted the 
common alerting protocol and within that determined the IPAWS 
USA profile within the standard. That allows for multiple 
information blocks with the opportunity to enter multiple 
languages into a single message.
    The challenge that we have on the front end is that many of 
our alerting officials at the State and local level don't 
possess the language capability to craft those messages in the 
languages that are spoken in those communities. Currently, 
today we support English and Spanish as you mentioned. But 
there a multitude, as you mentioned, of other languages that 
are spoken in these communities.
    The other half of the equation is to downstream 
dissemination technologies that are used that don't necessarily 
support languages outside of English and Spanish currently. 
Now, we are working with the State of Minnesota who has an 
initiative entitled, ECHO Minnesota where they are actually 
through broadcast radio transmitting languages in English, 
Spanish, Hmong, Somali, and Hmong and there is a broader 
initiative to put those type services through APIs and the web 
to allow others within the emergency management community to 
draw upon those services and those type technologies.
    But first we have to have the skill sets on the front end 
to craft the messages and then the downstream dissemination 
technologies have to be able to support those things as well. 
So, like we have here at FEMA allow for multiple languages 
within our house.
    Mr. Green. Well, thank you very much. Let me just share an 
additional thought with you and I will be as terse as possible. 
I was in Mexico. I was on a bus and the driver stood up and 
said something in Spanish. I speak very little Spanish. After 
the driver said this, everybody rushed off the bus. They ran 
over to a line and they stood in line. So, later on as I am 
trying to get and I am the last person, I said what is going 
on? The driver explained to me that this bus was out of service 
because it needed repairs and that the next bus would not hold 
as many passengers as the bus I was on. So, last in line, I 
don't make the bus that is going to get me where I need to go. 
It is really a challenge when you don't understand the language 
and something important is going on. So, my follow-up question 
to you is, what kind of time line do we have? Have we 
established a time line to perfect not only the technology, but 
the personnel necessary to do this? In my district, we speak 
over 80 different languages. Can you help me, please?
    Mr. Johnson. So, thank you, sir. Within FEMA, it is a 
continuous engagement to broaden our capabilities to ensure 
that everyone in this country has equal access to alert warning 
information, certainly where there is some threat to their 
safety. We have made those accommodations in IPAWS to allow for 
multiple languages. In fact, we have not been able to test in 
an environment where we have exceeded the capability of IPAWS 
through the common alerting protocol to support up to, you 
know, 100 to 200 languages. The challenge that we have is on 
the front end with just States and locals having those language 
capabilities within their organizations. Then second with the 
technology if we were to develop a technology that would 
provide for language, on-the-fly language translation, there is 
a huge distrust of technology to make those on-the-fly 
translations on the part of the emergency management and public 
safety community.
    But I can tell you that we are going to continue to 
aggressively pursue that. We will work with NEMA and IAM and 
others to protype these technologies and to develop trust and 
confidence in these technologies when they are called upon. We 
will continue to keep that at the forefront of our agenda in 
terms of equal access to information that is being made 
available----
    Mr. Green. Thank you.
    Mr. Johnson [continuing]. Regarding threats to public 
safety.
    Mr. Green. Thank you, much. Madam Chair, for edification 
purposes, can you share with me how much time I have left?
    Mrs. Demings. The gentleman's time has expired. If we have 
time, we will do a second round of questions.
    Mr. Green. Thank you, Madam Chair. I greatly appreciate 
your indulgence. Thank you.
    Mrs. Demings. The Chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Iowa, Mrs. Miller-Meeks, for 5 minutes. Mrs. Miller-Meeks, I 
believe you are still muted.
    Mrs. Miller-Meeks. I need to unmute. It just didn't 
recognize my finger touch. So, thank you so much and thank you 
for, Madam Chair, for having this important hearing. You know, 
Iowa is no stranger to natural disasters especially those that 
knock out communications. In August 2020, a powerful derecho 
swept across the midwestern United States and it caused severe 
damage and serious damage in Iowa. In response to requests from 
public safety, the FirstNet response operations group deployed 
portable generators and portable cell sites to boost FirstNet 
connectivity where coverage was disrupted due to infrastructure 
damage and loss of commercial power. Since the derecho, AT&T 
has made significant investments in permanent power at lower 
sites in Iowa. In addition to deploying new permanent 
infrastructure, the dedicated fleet of FirstNet portable 
network assets are available 24/7 at the request of FirstNet 
subscribed agencies and at no cost to public safety. The 
FirstNet deployable assets make sure first responders have 
connectivity when and where they need it both during and after 
planned large events and during times of emergency. The fleet 
of 100-plus dedicated deployable assets includes ground-based 
assets such as satellite cells on light trucks. The FirstNet 
satellite cells on light trucks provide similar capabilities 
and connectivity as a cell tower. The portable assets link to 
the FirstNet via the satellite and don't rely on commercial 
power availability.
    The FirstNet deployable fleet also contains ground-breaking 
use of aerial cell sites. Flying COWS, Cells on Wings, and 
FirstNet One and industry first blimp, I think you had showed 
us, Mr. Parkinson. There are several examples. We have used 
this during the 2021 RAGBRAI. For those that don't know, that 
is the Registers' Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. It goes 
across the entire State with 8 overnight stops. It has also 
been deployed by the University of Iowa and the university 
public safety for large events such as the University of Iowa 
Hawkeye games when typical service may be disrupted or 
congested.
    So, although I have no financial interest in any of the 
entities that I mentioned, Mr. Parkinson, last month this 
subcommittee heard from Christopher Rodriguez, the director of 
D.C.'s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency on 
rapidly deployable cellular infrastructure requested through 
FirstNet to support the demands of large events and incidents. 
What different types of deployable assets are currently being 
used by FirstNet and why are they such an important resource in 
emergency management?
    Mr. Parkinson. Thank you for the question, ma'am. If I 
could get a shoutout to the RAGBRAI race. My sister has done it 
3 times and, you know, it is a great ride. She has tried to 
bring me in and so far I have resisted. She is the athlete in 
the family.
    You know, one of the most important things we have had 
especially as we saw around what Director Rodriguez mentioned a 
few weeks ago before this very testimony, was the fact that at 
areas such as the National Capitol Mall, we do need more 
permanent capacity around the Capitol and down really the 
Pennsylvania Avenue canyon. You know, there are so many events 
that take place if you think of the 4th of July annual 
celebrations. We often see very, very large protests down in 
those areas. Obviously, the Capitol riots on January 6 is 
another example. So, there is a need absolutely for more 
permanent capacity in and around those areas. So, that is one 
area that we at the FirstNet Authority has been coordinating 
with many of our Federal agencies who have offices down that 
portion of the Washington, DC area. I would certainly welcome 
the opportunity to get more support from Congress in those 
efforts. So, another important part of it.
    Your question though related to deployables, you mentioned 
most of them. We also have a small fleet of Cell on Wings. 
These are drones that can fly and create some sort of a mesh 
network around a certain geographic area. We are always 
exploring in the space of innovation, trying to identify new 
capabilities for public safety.
    Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Yes, I think what is fascinating about 
it is that with the assets you have be they permanent or they 
deployable, they function in rural areas or in urban areas. So, 
it really expands our connectivity, which is especially 
valuable in emergency situations. I think that answers part of 
the questions that Representative Higgins had which is our 
coordination and our first responder group coordinates both 
with local, so, local law enforcement, local emergency 
management. So, local, county, State, and then National level. 
So, there is a coordination in Iowa among all those groups and 
they are all brought to the table both at the local level and 
the State level and then with our Federal partners. So, 
hopefully that will answer some of Representative Higgins 
question. It has worked very well and has been invaluable in 
the State of Iowa, especially as I said, during the derecho, 
which took down a lot of our infrastructure. So, thank you very 
much for that and, Madam Chair, I will yield back my time.
    Mrs. Demings. The gentlewoman yields back. The Chair now 
recognizes the gentlewoman from New Jersey, Mrs. Watson 
Coleman, for 5 minutes.
    Mrs. Watson Coleman. Thank you very much, Madam Chairwoman 
and thank you to our witnesses for this very important 
information. I have a general question for all 3, but I have a 
very specific question for Mr. Parkinson and then I need to get 
out of the way.
    I understand that FirstNet was the only wireless network 
that worked reliably for first responders during the January 6 
riots thanks to the FirstNet dedicated Band 14 spectrum, as 
well as a portable telecom infrastructure deployable units 
brought in for the inauguration. In evaluating how we further 
strengthen our preparedness for emergency events on the 
National Mall and Capitol Complex, as we are all aware of the 
various threats that come our way, do you feel there is a need 
for more permanent infrastructure on the National Mall and what 
are the challenges to deploying both permanent and temporary 
infrastructure on the Mall and around the U.S. Capitol?
    Mr. Parkinson. One hundred percent, ma'am, this is 
something that we absolutely need. It is something that is 
without it, there is a constant threat that public safety would 
not able to have the communications capabilities that they 
need. So, I certainly would expand on my previous answer in 
terms of we need that type of dedicated coverage. We need that 
kind of dedicated capacity and physical need. So, it is working 
with the respective agencies that have office space, as well as 
Federal agencies and the teams who look after the National Mall 
to get that. So, 100 percent.
    Mrs. Watson Coleman. Are there any infrastructure needs in 
addition? If so, are there any impediments to having it 
available?
    Mr. Parkinson. Yes, ma'am. So, more fiber is always a good 
thing, especially as we are gravitating toward 5G ecosystem. 
So, as we need greater capacity, as we need better 
technologies, additional fiber certainly would be a welcome 
asset to be deployed in and around the Mall and the Capitol. 
How we can work that, how it can be coordinated, we are 
certainly ready to have those conversations. We started having 
those coordination conversations with other Federal agencies in 
around the D.C. area. So, we are happy to provide additional 
updates to you as those go so that if there are any areas that 
you may be able to assist with, I would certainly welcome that.
    Mrs. Watson Coleman. Greatly appreciate that. For all of 
the witnesses, really quickly, I am trying to understand all 
the agencies that are involved in this issue. I am trying to 
understand all the requirements of people with regard to 
cybersecurity. I am really sensitive to these issues of 
redundancies. So, what I would like to know from each of you is 
the answer to two questions. No. 1 is who are your primary 
stakeholders? No. 2, if you are only internal, how does your 
information get externalized? Just for context, we in New 
Jersey, we were having a tornado warning, which is kind-of 
unusual, and I am talking to my granddaughter on Facebook and 
she lives 3\1/2\ miles away. She says, hold up mom-mom, we have 
got a tornado watch going on. She was getting constant updates 
in her TV. My TV was right in front of me. My phone was right 
next to me and I got none, 3\1/2\ miles away and I can't quite 
understand what happened. So, if you all could just kind-of 
tell me your stakeholders and how this all works so that there 
are people aren't tripping over one another.
    Mr. Parkinson. I will just go very quickly on my----
    Mrs. Watson Coleman. I am not being left out.
    Mr. Parkinson. Yes, ma'am. So, on the FirstNet side, by 
statute, we can only really focus on public safety. That is, we 
can't offer commercial services. That is up to our partner. We 
focus on really dedicated men and women in public safety space. 
We have a very robust engagement program to not only push 
information out but to receive information.
    Mrs. Watson Coleman. OK. So, that is really talking to the 
first responders on various levels. All right. Mr. Brown and 
Mr. Johnson.
    Mr. Brown. Sure, just to thank you for the question. To 
consider the number of Federal organizations that are in the 
space for cybersecurity, you know, I do like to think about it 
as a term of concentric and supporting authorities. So, 
certainly as we work with the FBI, we work with Department of 
Energy, we work with Department of Health and Human Services 
and others, that we coordinate the collaboration. Certainly as 
the National Defense Authorization Act of last year required 
the establishment of a joint cyber defense collective, you 
know, the intent is to work seamlessly together using the 
authorities that each organization has to ensure that 
cybersecurity and the availability of supporting our 
stakeholders, which are all the public safety, which are all of 
the emergency and management community and as I indicated in my 
opening statement, the National Security and Emergency 
Preparedness community.
    Mrs. Watson Coleman. Thank you, Mr. Brown. Mr. Johnson.
    Mr. Johnson. Thank you, Congresswoman. Since the issue of 
cyber has already been adequately addressed, let me just speak 
specifically to that tornado warning that was received in your 
area. The National Weather Service utilizes IPAWS services to 
push severe weather warnings through IPAWS to your mobile 
devices and over the emergency alert systems to include their 
own infrastructure through NOAA Weather Radio. We have made 
improvements in the system to allow for very targeted areas to 
be defined that those warnings are relevant for. It could be 
the case that while your granddaughter received the message or 
the warning on her TV and on her mobile device, that you may 
have been outside of the alerted area that was defined by the 
National Weather Service. The Weather Service looks at all of 
the criteria that is associated with that event and then has to 
make a determination on what areas are most threatened by the 
event and then they will provide immediate notification to 
those areas. As conditions change, of course, the National 
Weather Service will provide updates and if your area was, you 
know, imminently threatened by that event, then, of course, 
they would have updated that information and in all likelihood 
you would have received the same information.
    Mrs. Watson Coleman. That would have interrupted anything I 
was watching on TV, right? That notice.
    Mr. Johnson. It should have, yes. You should have gotten 
the severe weather warning.
    Mrs. Watson Coleman. Thank you, Madam Chair, can you tell 
me how much time I have left?
    Mrs. Demings. The gentlewoman's time has expired. We may 
have time for additional questions. At this time, the Chair 
recognizes the gentleman from New York, Mr. Garbarino, for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Garbarino. Thank you, Chairwoman, and thank you to the 
Ranking Member for having this hearing. As the Ranking Member 
of the Cybersecurity Subcommittee, I know that cyber risks are 
some of the greatest threats to our Nation's communications 
infrastructure. This threat is magnified even more when it 
comes to the impact it can have on first responders and 
American lives. Mr. Parkinson, how are FirstNet and AT&T 
working to ensure cybersecurity protections are baked into the 
public safety broadband network?
    Mr. Parkinson. Congressman, one of the things we knew when 
we were developing the request for proposals back in 2015, was 
that cybersecurity was something that we would have to bake 
into the program from the ground level up. When you think about 
cybersecurity in the 21st Century, FirstNet's really the 
country's only network that thought about cybersecurity from 
its infancy. A lot of the other commercial networks that are 
out there had to integrate cybersecurity into their systems. We 
built it from step one. So, if you look into our RFP, Section 
J10, solely focuses on cybersecurity. It provides the 
requirements that we requested that our proposals looked at 
when considering cybersecurity. We have a 24/7 knock-and-sock. 
This is our program that looks just at cybersecurity. This is 
manned 24/7, 365 by our contractor AT&T. It is something that 
we take extremely seriously from Day 1.
    We also integrate very, very closely from a contractual 
oversight inspector where there are many, many requirements 
that our team looks at from cyber risk perspectives. So, we 
understand the capabilities and the threat to the ecosystem and 
provide those type of solutions to prevent those from 
occurring. So, when you look then at the end-user, we are going 
to have to really be very cognizant of this in a 5G ecosystem 
as the network gets pushed to the edge and such as device 
security becomes another important part of that. I know that 
our partner is looking at that and trying to come up with 
additional solution sets.
    So, again, from our inception to where we are thinking 
about in the future, cybersecurity is the forefront of 
everything we do at FirstNet.
    Mr. Garbarino. OK. How does FirstNet interface with CISA to 
meet, you know, you are working with AT&T and your are contract 
partners, how do you work with CISA?
    Mr. Parkinson. Yes, I would say this even if Mr. Brown 
wasn't here today, but we are fortunate enough to have Billy 
Bob, Mr. Brown, as the DHS representative on the FirstNet 
board. So, he and I have actually known each other since I was 
a staffer on Capitol Hill. We have got a terrific working 
relationship with his team. This is something that even his 
predecessors had and we look forward to such a very, very close 
working relationship with the CISA team going forward. So, as I 
say, from the board level through, we have a very, very strong 
working relationship not only with CISA, but with many, many 
other Federal partners.
    Mr. Garbarino. Great. Mr. Brown, I was actually going to 
ask you next. Do you think--how do you see the relationship 
between CISA and FirstNet? Do you think they are, you know, 
things are going well? Or do you think there is room for 
expanded coordination, you know, to make sure that everything 
works smoothly and our first responders are protected?
    Mr. Brown. Thank you for the question. But as my right 
honorable friend, Mr. Parkinson, said that, you know, we have a 
very close and collaborative relationship between the FirstNet 
Authority, the FirstNet's contracted partner, AT&T, that built 
FirstNet, and CISA to ensure that we have a collaborative view 
on cybersecurity across all of the network service providers.
    Mr. Garbarino. Great. I appreciate the answers, gentleman, 
and, Madam Chair, I yield back.
    Mrs. Demings. Mr. Garbarino yields back. The Chair now 
recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas, Ms. Jackson Lee, for 5 
minutes.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Thank you, Madam Chair, for allowing us to 
have this very important hearing and to the Ranking Member as 
well. I am reminded of the 9/11 terrorist attacks because I was 
in this building on that day and, in essence, we fled for our 
lives. We are quite sensitive to the fact that the tragedy of 
9/11 evidenced the failures and frailties of that time frame. 
Having commemorated the 20th commemoration of 9/11 in New York, 
it was a stark reminder of the numbers of first responders that 
we lost that day. An enormous toll on firefighters, who were 
part of the inability to communicate. I think we will never, 
never cease to remember certainly that day, but that stain that 
caused such an enormous loss of life. I think we can say that 
we have made strides, but I do believe that there is more we 
can do. These hearings are particularly helpful to us.
    Madam Chair, I indicated to you that and hoped that we 
would discuss H.R. 3060, which is the FEMA Modernization Act 
that I believe can be very much a part of the work that we are 
doing in this important committee, creating an Office of 
Disaster Response, an Office of Disaster Recovery ombudsman, 
establishment of a National Disaster Medical Triage, and at 
some point asking the FEMA director to give a report on the 
level of technology even in the situation where FEMA is engaged 
in various disaster responses.
    I do think that FEMA itself when they are on the ground, 
leadership is on the ground, needs to have the ability to 
communicate with first responders because everyone is in a 
recovery mode. So, I want to raise a question to Mr. Johnson, 
then a question to our representative from FEMA. Mr. Johnson, 
in your testimony, you stated that in 2020, twice the number of 
agencies used IPAWS to send alerts as in 2019, resulting in an 
182 percent increase in the number of alerts to the public by 
local alerting and authorities. Do you think that was effective 
and as I ask you that question, let me just put into the system 
number of kind-of alert programs we have. IPAWS, Integrated 
Public Alert and Warning System, First Responder, FirstNet, and 
then Emergency Communications Division, and CISA. And the 
question--and SAFECOM. Are all of these acronyms, are they all 
working? But in any event, do you have any basis of that?
    I want to follow up with a question to Mr. Brown and Mr. 
Parkinson on the idea of coordinating with these different 
agencies. Mr. Johnson.
    Mr. Johnson. Thank you, Congresswoman Jackson. Yes, as 
stated in my testimony, we did see twice the number of State 
and local alerting authorities who utilized IPAWS services to 
amplify information that was coming from the COVID task force 
as well as the CDC and their local governments with regards to 
protective actions that could be taken by the general public in 
response to COVID-19. We saw State and local governments who 
were issuing other type of protective action information 
related to the pandemic. As well as identifying where 
vaccination locations could be found or with other information 
associated with curfews and things like that.
    Interestingly enough, we saw some extremely interesting use 
of the system by a number of States who were using the system 
to issue a wireless emergency alert to mobile devices with a 
clickable link in there that would take them--take the person 
to a website that would allow the State to screen for 
activities that, you know, a person entering into the State----
    Ms. Jackson Lee. If my time runs may I just--sorry, if my 
time runs out, would you welcome a protocol of technically and 
technologies capabilities with dealing with all of the subsets 
of these communication systems in times of disaster? Would that 
be helpful?
    Mr. Johnson. Absolutely, yes, ma'am.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. So, enhanced communication and technology 
would be helpful to you. Let me quickly--thank you so very 
much. Let me quickly go to Ed Parkinson. You said more was 
needed to be installed to improve communications for wireless 
technology. What is the basis of that need for improvement? Is 
it realistic to run more fiber or are there other technology 
fixes? Mr. Parkinson.
    Mr. Parkinson. I would say that is a start, ma'am. What you 
see when we have events like the 4th of July celebrations, 
there are these super COWS on wheels, the massive vehicles that 
are prepositioned prior to these events taking place. As more 
and more people leverage more and more technologies, as we 
migrate toward 5G, the pressure on networks both FirstNet and 
commercial is going to ever grow. So, we will need additional 
capacity in and around the Mall and the Capitol. So, yes, 
ma'am, something we certainly need.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Thank you. Mr. Brown.
    Mr. Brown. Thank you.
    Mrs. Demings. The gentlewoman's time has expired. 
Hopefully, we will----
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Mrs. Demings [continuing]. Have time for an additional 
round. I believe that completes all of the Members in the first 
round. If there are other Members who wish to participate in a 
second round, I ask that you please turn your cameras on at 
this time. Ms. Jackson Lee, I am assuming that you are going to 
participate in the second round. OK, all right. All right.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. I muted, yes. Thank you.
    Mrs. Demings. OK. Thank you. Then we will begin the second 
round of questioning. I will recognize myself. This question is 
directed to Director Brown. You know, one of the biggest 
emergency communications concerns is the outdated 9-1-1 
infrastructure. Of course, we know to enhance the 9-1-1 system, 
our Nation is moving forward with the roll-out of Next 
Generation 9-1-1 with capabilities that rely heavily on the 
internet to accept and process a range of information including 
texts, images, video, and voice calls. We talked about some of 
the cybersecurity concerns with FirstNet, but Director Brown, 
what are the cybersecurity concerns with uploading the Next 
Generation 9-1-1 system onto one mainframe and what is the 
ECD's plan to prepare for any, God forbid, cyber attacks?
    Mr. Brown. Thank you for the question. As we consider 
broadly across the Nation, the public safety answering points, 
there are roughly 6,000 State and local public safety answering 
points across the Nation, but that is not the complete picture. 
There are another, that we know of, 1,500 public safety 
answering points, although they are called by a different name 
that exist on Federal reservations. Whether those are part of 
the Parks Service, part of the Department of Defense's military 
installations, part of the labs, installations that the 
Department of Energy has, the Federal footprint also has these 
call centers or whatever they may be called that operate 
current 9-1-1 services that will need to migrate to Next Gen 9-
1-1 as well in order continue to provide services to citizens 
that may in harm's way or in danger on that installation 
property.
    One of the challenges that we have been discussing and 
working with our 9-1-1 partners across the Nation is the idea 
that we understand that the provision of text, videos, or 
images to the call centers provides the possibility of the 
introduction of malware. The last time we met with the 
committee, we explained as we have worked with partners across 
the Nation, the criticality of the emergency communications 
ecosystem that includes a notification from citizens of 
challenges, includes Government-to-Government responder 
coordination, includes alerts and warnings notification from 
Government to citizen, and also includes that citizen-to-
citizen communication and transfer of information, which 
includes non-profit organizations or disaster recovery 
organizations and critical infrastructure as well as sharing 
insights to provide for disaster response. If malware is 
introduced from the beginning in an image, in a video, in a 
text, to a 9-1-1 center, it has the possibility and potential 
of providing that malware to those interconnected Government 
systems.
    Here at CISA, we have been discussing this issue sharing 
and beginning a process of sharing the concerns of 
cybersecurity public safety answering points across the Nation. 
We certainly in the past year, have had several discussions 
with more than 15 States about the challenges presented by 
cybersecurity including ransomware as we prepare for the Next 
Gen 9-1-1 introduction.
    Mrs. Demings. Mr. Brown, thank you so very much for that 
very thorough answer. How can we as Members of Congress assist 
in your efforts to make sure that we are able to protect the 
public but also make sure that we protect our systems as well?
    Mr. Brown. Thank you for that follow-up. The continued 
leadership that the committee is providing, the continued 
support for the initiatives that the CISA is making to try and 
address the challenges in 9-1-1 are a part of the equation as 
all of the components across the Government. We know that FCC 
has some play. NTIA has some play. Department of 
Transportation's National 9-1-1 Program Office has some play. 
All of us working together as supported by the committee are 
how we will ensure that first responders and citizens across 
the Nation are able to take advantage of the Next Gen 9-1-1 
capabilities.
    Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much, Mr. Brown. I want to check 
to see if the Ranking Member Mrs. Cammack, is with us? OK. I 
see Mrs. Watson Coleman from New Jersey, are you? OK. I will 
call on the gentlewoman from Texas, Ms. Jackson Lee, for her 
follow-up questions.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Again, I 
am really interested in, among other things, is a reform of 
FEMA during its work on disasters giving a more pointed focus 
on handling disaster circumstances that befalls many of us. In 
fact, now, disasters are not relegated to hurricanes, 
Chairwoman. They are tornadoes. They are fires. They are 
flooding in places where one had not seen it before such as the 
terrible flooding that occurred in the East Coast just a few 
months ago.
    So, let me go back to that question. Let me frame one 
question dealing with a question of my colleague on January 6. 
I didn't see any accelerating utilization of technology. It 
looked as if there was difficulty in our first responders 
Capitol police, being able to reach out and to communicate. 
What do you feel is the Achilles heel when you have 
circumstances of danger like that when you cannot communicate? 
Would you want to take that question, Mr. Brown?
    Mr. Brown. Thank you. The challenge as you articulated, is 
that the more time that it takes to understand the incident, 
determine what resources are needed, and then effectively 
marshal those resources, you know, that is what, you know, as I 
mentioned in the opening statement, that, you know, every 
second counts. You know, that really is, as we recognize, you 
know, it could be the difference between life and death and 
certainly as a destruction of property is involved being able 
to have communications for emergency response officials to 
provide that assistance to the public once they are notified of 
that is critical. Having redundant systems, having, you know, a 
constellation of partners that are working together to ensure 
that First Responder National Security and Emergency 
Preparedness personnel are able to seamlessly receive that 
information interoperably is the critical component of the 
equation.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. In the course of your work with CISA, it 
looks like you did a survey, I understand, in just a while ago 
in your statement, you acknowledge that you did a survey and 
approximately half of the public safety communications, I mean, 
organizations reported their LMR systems are more than 10 years 
old. Seventy-six percent of public safety organizations have no 
or insufficient funding for capital investments. How does that 
impact, for example, a crisis of terrorism and/or a crisis of a 
disaster, which we see happens across the Nation, this 
antiquated equipment? Mr. Brown.
    Mr. Brown. Thank you for the question and noting the 
SAFECOM Nation-wide survey. As you well know, one of the 
challenges that we face in continuing to understand the 
evolving difficulties facing first responders across the Nation 
is our ability to actually ask questions, you know, the 
Paperwork Reduction Act presents challenges sometimes. You 
know, as we are preparing to do our next SAFECOM Nation-wide 
survey, you know, we have had to start now because it will take 
us 2 years to try to get through the process to ask a simple, 
ask some simple questions to understand, you know, the 
evolution of challenges and requirements. But as we look at, 
you know, how the responders are able to actually provide, you 
know, support on the ground, you know, it is really that 
forward planning, that development of relationships, and 
establishment of collaborative cooperation amongst responders 
from many different jurisdictions, many different agencies, 
many different disciplines that----
    Ms. Jackson Lee. That need updated technology, which is it 
looks like the gist of your report. Is that correct?
    Mr. Brown. Yes, ma'am.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. They need updated technology. So, that is 
something that we should focus on in the Federal Government in 
collaborating with our local partners.
    Mr. Brown. And as we have seen across the Nation at the 
local level recognizing their fiscal challenges.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Mr. Parkinson, you mentioned, as a follow-
up to my earlier question, 5G communications is being sold as a 
solution to faster better communications. Is this the case? Why 
is 5G communications causing communications challenges for 
first responders? I guess, I would add, Mr. Parkinson, does 
everybody have it?
    Mr. Parkinson. No, ma'am. So, in the commercial network 
right now that are out there, 5G we are still in its infancy. 
If you think about every generational upgrade, it takes about 
10 years. So, we are only about 2 years tops to the phase now 
within 5G. I wouldn't say it is a challenge right now. What I 
would say is because we are at the infancy of 5G, the 
community, the public safety community, as well as the 
commercial world is still trying to figure out what exactly 5G 
capability is going to hear and bring. We are very aware of 
what we see in marketing and so on, but in terms of the public 
safety community, how is public safety going to integrate 5G? I 
think of things at the enterprise level. So, as a law 
enforcement officer returns to her station, she is able then to 
hopefully in a 5G ecosystem, in a smart police station in the 
future, automatically download all of the images, data, and so 
on, that she has been able to capture out in the field before 
she gets back to her workstation. When you think of the lower 
latency and the ability to say have livestream 5K video--4K 
video--I beg your pardon--from a camera on that individual and 
that officer streamed back to the incident commander. There are 
all type of capabilities that we can envisage in a 5G 
ecosystem. But until we get to where 5G is holistically 
adopted, not only in the public safety space, but at the 
commercial space, the real benefits of 5G will not be realized. 
I still think we are some time away from that. It is coming. It 
is coming fast, but we are not quite there yet.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. The Federal Government have a role to 
play?
    Mrs. Demings. The gentlewoman's time has expired.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much. The Chair now recognizes 
the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Green, for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Green. Thank you very much, Madam Chair, especially for 
this second round because it is extremely important. I am going 
to lay a proper predicate for my question. Outside of my 
Congressional office window, I can see an overpass. Under that 
overpass, there are people. This is their home. This is where 
they wake up in the morning. This is where they go to work. 
They solicit from the public passing by. Here is my concern. 
When there is a natural emergency or natural disaster, in law 
we call these things, Acts of God, when these things occur, how 
do we make sure that these people get the necessary information 
to protect themselves to make sure that they can get the 
resources that they need? What is FEMA doing to help us with 
this? Again, Director Johnson, I will go to you. I don't mean 
to appear to be picking on you, but you seem to be a good 
source of information. Can you share some intelligence with us, 
please?
    Mr. Johnson. Thank you, Congressman Green. One of the 
things that, you know, if you look at FEMA's ready.gov website, 
there is a lot of information on the site regarding, you know, 
the types of actions that every person in this country can take 
to be better prepared for some of the threats or disasters that 
they may encounter in their communities.
    Mr. Green. If I politely intercede for a second.
    Mr. Johnson. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Green. My suspicion is, and, listen, I am not trying to 
be cute if I say this. But my suspicion is that they are 
probably not going to access that website given their status 
and their station in life.
    Mr. Johnson. Right, thank you, sir. So, one of the, I 
think, the beauties with our alert and warning capabilities is 
the opportunity to receive disaster or alert and warning 
information over a broadcast radio. Broadcast radio has proven 
to be extremely resilient over the years. It is extremely 
affordable in that it is free. And has served as a vital 
communications lifeline during disasters. That is one of the 
basic or fundamental investments that we are making in 
partnership with broadcasters across the country is to ensure 
that that broadcast capability remains viable for the future 
and that it remain free for the consumer of that information.
    A lot of folks think that, you know, as you mentioned, 
these folks are not going to have potentially access to the 
internet or other services and information that we post on 
websites, not even some of the social media tools that we 
utilize at the State and local level to communicate 
information. Which is why we invest in broadcasters that common 
denominator across the Nation that provides extremely broad 
coverage and that is free to every consumer within the country. 
That is one way----
    Mr. Green. May I politely----
    Mr. Johnson [continuing]. Through those common platforms. 
Yes, sir.
    Mr. Green. If I may I would like to politely intercede 
again. What about this as a possibility? A layperson who knows 
little of what he speaks, but what about simply having a truck 
sound equipment? We know where they are, literally. That 
Houston, I could map it out for you where people are. There are 
some places where communities have developed. Could we not 
simply use that sort of sound equipment to let them know that 
perhaps they can go to this National Broadcasting System that 
you are talking about or maybe they should check other sources, 
but something as simple as that probably could alert them so 
that they can then apply additional intelligence. What are your 
thoughts?
    Mr. Johnson. Right. So, I think--thank you very much, sir, 
for the question. I think if you look across the country in 
many communities, for example, where there are nuclear power 
plants, there are emergency planning zones that have been 
established where the use of sirens become very important, you 
know, should there be some type of mishap at a nuclear 
facility. I have seen or observed that across the country in 
many communities are utilizing sirens to get that initial 
broadcasting information out to local populations. But I think 
it is going to require a concerted effort on the part of State 
and local governments, our cities and municipalities, along 
with the Federal Government to solve some of those challenges.
    Mr. Green. I thank you. I would like to be a part of the 
solution. So, if there is any way that we can work together, I 
really do care about the folk outside my window living under 
the bridge. If I can work with you, I would appreciate it. 
Thank you again, Madam Chair. A excellent hearing. Greatly 
appreciate your calling this to our attention. Thank you.
    Mrs. Demings. Thank you so much. The gentleman yields back. 
With that, I want to thank the witnesses for their valuable 
testimony and the Members for their questions. The Chair 
reminds Members that the committee record shall be kept open 
for 10 days. Without objection, the subcommittee stands 
adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 11:36 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]



                            A P P E N D I X

                              ----------                              

       Questions From Chairwoman Val Demings for Antwane Johnson
    Question 1. FEMA has invested in Primary Entry Point (PEP) 
stations, which consist of mostly AM stations, that connect to the 
National Public Warning System. Cars are typically built with radios 
that have helped millions receive alerts when internet services are 
down. Have you seen a trend of newer cars or designs eliminating car 
tuners? If yes, how is IPAWS working to ensure that there are no 
emergency communications gaps created by the elimination of car tuners?
    Answer. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Integrated 
Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) is 100 percent dependent on 
private-sector technologies and participation for delivery of alerts 
and warnings to people. We are aware of automobile manufacturers 
trending toward eliminating AM tuners in new model electric car 
offerings and providing AM tuners as an option in other automobiles. If 
this trend indicates that AM radio will no longer serve as a viable and 
sustainable long-term method for providing emergency alerts and 
information to the population in the future, FEMA will seek industry, 
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology 
Directorate (S&T), and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 
input on sustainable private-sector communications infrastructure to 
meet our requirement for a National alerting system capable of 
delivering emergency alerts and information across the spectrum of 
National hazard scenarios.
    Question 2. In 2017, a spokeswoman for Sonoma County, California, 
stated ``officials chose not to send out a WEA because it would target 
too large a geographic area, evacuating residents who weren't in danger 
and causing gridlock on the roads.''\1\ What is being done to ensure 
geographic accuracy for emergency alerts, and how does IPAWS collect 
feedback after an alert is sent?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Andone, Dakin, ``Californians Say They Didn't Receive Emergency 
Wildfire Alerts,'' CNN. October 2017. https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/13/
us/california-fires-emergency-alerts/index.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Answer. FEMA IPAWS does not have technical capability to collect 
information about where an alert was delivered after it is sent. The 
IPAWS office continues to work with private-sector alerting 
participants and the FCC to improve the geographic relevance of 
emergency alerts. In April 2018, the FCC adopted rules to improve the 
accuracy with which Participating Commercial Mobile Service (CMS) 
Providers transmit Alert Messages to the specified target area. The 
rules require CMS Providers to deliver a message to 100 percent of the 
Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) enabled devices within a specified 
geographic area, with no more than 1/10th of a mile (or 528 feet) 
overreach. The IPAWS office participated in the Alliance for 
Telecommunications Industry Solutions standards group to develop 
changes to the wireless interface specifications to support the 2018 
FCC rule changes. In December 2019, FEMA fielded IPAWS Open Platform 
for Emergency Networks (IPAWS OPEN) WEA 3.0 functionality supporting 
enhanced geotargeting capabilities. IPAWS OPEN WEA 3.0 includes 
delivery of location data for an alert to WEA 3.0 capable phones with 
location services enabled to determine whether the device should 
display and alert based on their location relative to the targeted 
alert area specified by an alerting authority. The wireless industry 
began deploying WEA 3.0 for enhanced geotargeting in early 2020. The 
Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) Wireless 
Association (industry organization that represents many of the CMSPs) 
estimates that 34 percent of consumer phones support enhanced 
geotargeting in 2021 and that the majority of phones in circulation by 
the end of 2022 will support the enhanced WEA 3.0 geotargeting 
capability.
    Question 3. An increasing amount of people are streaming content on 
their televisions instead of using cable or watching local broadcasting 
networks. How are you working with streaming platforms to ensure that 
their users can receive emergency alerts?
    Answer. FEMA IPAWS stands ready to deliver messages to streaming 
media platforms and any other distribution platform that conforms to 
the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP). CAP is an international standard 
developed by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured 
Information Systems and was adopted by FEMA in 2009. IPAWS is designed 
to provide alert information in a standard CAP form that is easily 
transported and consumed by internet-based applications. Additionally, 
FEMA participates in the on-going FCC proceeding and Notice of Inquiry 
(PS Docket Nos. 15-91 and 15-94) to explore the feasibility of 
including streaming services in the Emergency Alert System regulations. 
The IPAWS office has engaged with various streaming providers and is 
diligently seeking a streaming provider willing to voluntarily monitor 
and consume alerts from the IPAWS feeds and present alerts to their 
customers.
    Question 4. In 2018, in Paradise, California, some neighborhoods 
were never told to evacuate as a fire swept in and devastated a 
community, and according to several reports, local leadership did not 
use the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system. What are you doing to 
ensure that communities are aware of IPAWS?
    What type of trainings are local emergency managers receiving to 
know when it is an appropriate time to send out an IPAWS alert?
    Answer. Agencies using the IPAWS are required to complete IPAWS 
Independent Study course IS-247, IPAWS for Alert Originators. 
Additionally, the IPAWS office continuously engages emergency 
management and public safety practitioners to increase awareness and 
understanding of how IPAWS works and provides guidance and tips for how 
to effectively alert and warn the public. Engagement includes a monthly 
webinar series, frequent IPAWS Tip and Advisory emails to more than 
6,000 recipients, website updates, strategic event attendance at 
National, State, and private-sector emergency management conferences, 
social media engagement, and maintains a digital library of alerting 
guidance.
    The IPAWS Technical Support Services Facility (TSSF, formerly known 
as the IPAWS Lab) is a closed environment that allows State, local, 
Tribal, and territorial alerting authorities to safely test, train, and 
exercise IPAWS alert dissemination capabilities. Alerting authorities 
can practice and see how alerts sent via IPAWS interact and present as 
Emergency Alert System activations on radio and television, Wireless 
Emergency Alerts on cellular phones, Non-Weather Emergency Messages on 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radios, 
and other services and devices that interact with the IPAWS All-Hazards 
Information Feed.
    The IPAWS TSSF enables public safety officials to gain confidence 
using IPAWS in this practice and training environment without 
disseminating messages to the public. Additional purposes of the IPAWS 
TSSF include alert and warning, functional assessments, alert 
dissemination validation, training, procedural, and process evaluation, 
and functional requirement validation.
    The IPAWS Modernization Act of 2015 (Pub. L. 114-143) tasked FEMA 
with establishing an IPAWS subcommittee to the National Advisory 
Committee (NAC) to address ``Modernizing the Nation's Public Alert and 
Warning System. In response to the February 15, 2019 NAC report, 
recommendation 2 (FEMA should develop simple alert and warning 
jurisdictional and multijurisdictional plan templates and tools to 
provide guidance and best practices for emergency alerting.), the FEMA 
IPAWS Office collaborated with DHS S&T to release the IPAWS Program 
Planning Toolkit (IPAWS Program Planning Toolkit/FEMA.gov) and began an 
outreach campaign to encourage its use. The toolkit provides a free, 
interactive, web-based interface that helps alerting authorities create 
a comprehensive all-hazards alerting plan inclusive of staff planning, 
standard operating procedures, tests, and exercises. The toolkit also 
contains an alert messaging template creator to help authorities 
prepare custom alert message drafts for anticipated threats in their 
area.
    Question 5. In February 2020, GAO issued a report (GAO-20-294) 
stating that some State and local public safety agencies cannot access 
IPAWS and others have low confidence using it. One of the 
recommendations made by GAO was for IPAWS to establish procedures ``to 
prioritize pending IPAWS applications and to follow up with applicants 
to address these applications.'' According to GAO's website, this 
recommendation is still open.
    When do you think this recommendation will be resolved?
    Answer. Changes to internal FEMA processes for approving 
applications allowed the FEMA IPAWS office to clear the backlog of 
pending applications in September 2019. We continue to improve 
application processing and are in the final stages of implementing an 
automated application processing system that will further streamline 
the process and provide application status tracking. The automated 
application processing tool is currently undergoing system 
accreditation and is expected to be available in the third quarter of 
fiscal year 2022.
     Questions From Ranking Member Val Demings for Antwane Johnson
    Question 1. On August 21 of this year, FEMA conducted a Nation-wide 
test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts 
(WEA). What were some of FEMA's take-aways from this test?
    Answer. The 2021 test of the National Public Warning System and 
Wireless Emergency Alerts demonstrated the technical means to rapidly 
disseminate a message via multiple modes of communication in a quick 
and efficient manner when seconds matter. The August 2021 test was the 
sixth Nation-wide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) (radio and 
television) and the second test of WEA distribution Nation-wide. The 
August 2021 WEA test was the first test in which the new opt-in WEA 
test category was used to send a National message that would only be 
received by phones where wireless customers opted in to receive 
``test'' messages.
    FEMA used the National Public Warning System Primary Entry Point 
(PEP) radio stations to initiate the 2021 EAS test by broadcasting a 
National Periodic Test message. Radio and television providers 
``listen'' to a PEP station or to another station that is listening to 
a PEP station in accordance with FCC-approved State EAS plans. All 
radio and television providers that are part of the Emergency Alert 
System are required to demonstrate monitoring and rebroadcast of a 
National test message in accordance with FCC rules.
    Final analysis and results of the 2021 test are pending. Based on 
preliminary reporting, we anticipate a 5 percent improvement over 2019 
EAS test results.
    Result summary of previous IPAWS Nation-wide alert tests:
   2011--EAS via PEP
     84.6 percent of reporting EAS stations received and 
            broadcast the test message
   2016--EAS via IPAWS-OPEN
     94.9 percent of reporting EAS stations received test 
            message
     86.8 percent of reporting EAS stations broadcast test 
            message
   2017--EAS via IPAWS-OPEN
     95.8 percent of reporting EAS stations received test 
            message
     92.1 percent of reporting EAS stations broadcast test 
            message
   2018--EAS and WEA via IPAWS-OPEN
     95.9 percent of reporting EAS stations received test 
            message
     90.9 percent of reporting EAS stations broadcast test 
            message
     75 percent* of people in the United States, received the 
            WEA ``Presidential'' test message
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    * Based on independent publicly posted survey results.
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   2019--EAS via PEP
     84.3 percent of reporting EAS stations received test 
            message
     81.5 percent of reporting EAS stations broadcast test 
            message
   2020--did not test due to National COVID response 
        activities.
    Question 2. FEMA recently established a 24/7 IPAWS Help Desk, to 
provide real-time assistance to alerting authorities who are 
experiencing issues with IPAWS. What type of usage has the 24/7 Help 
Desk had so far? Has FEMA received any feedback from alerting 
authorities about the Help Desk?
    Answer. The IPAWS Modernization Act of 2015 (Pub. L. 114-143) 
tasked FEMA with establishing an IPAWS subcommittee to the NAC to 
address ``Modernizing the Nation's Public Alert and Warning System.'' 
In response to the February 15, 2019 NAC report, recommendation 2 (FEMA 
should develop simple alert and warning jurisdictional and 
multijurisdictional plan templates and tools to provide guidance and 
best practices for emergency alerting) and recommendation 5 (Establish 
24/7 FEMA IPAWS Help Desk to support AOs in the use of the system), 
FEMA launched the 24/7/365 TSSF in March 2021. The IPAWS TSSF has 
supported on average 30-50 Alerting Authority engagements per month. 
These engagements vary in complexity but typically include technical 
assistance to successfully issue live alerts, monthly proficiency 
demonstrations, drill and exercise guidance, IPAWS overview and 
instruction webinars, and response to general questions regarding alert 
and warning practices and procedures. Feedback from Alerting 
Authorities regarding the support provided by the 24/7/365 technical 
support services facility has been outstanding. Besides numerous 
accolades and acknowledgements, the IPAWS technical support services 
team is regularly requested to provide IPAWS subject-matter expertise 
to FEMA regional training initiatives, FEMA National Integration Center 
Technical Assistance webinars, FEMA National Exercise Division, and 
other industry-related events highly attended by public safety alerting 
authorities. These efforts increase awareness of the IPAWS Technical 
Support Services Facility and the capabilities readily available. Of 
particular note has been the IPAWS TSSF technical support to the State 
of Texas and issuing a State-wide Blue alert on behalf of the Texas 
Department of Emergency Management in response to a Law Enforcement 
Officer being injured in the line of duty and the assailant being at 
large. Additionally, the IPAWS TSSF assisted numerous counties in 
resolving technical issues that led to the successful amplification of 
COVID-19 Task Force and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention 
guidance via WEA messages to communities and communicating local 
jurisdictional protective actions.
      Question From Honorable Val Demings for Billy Bob Brown, Jr.
    Question. CISA has not updated the 2015 Communications Sector-
Specific Plan, even though DHS guidance recommends such plans to be 
updated every 4 years. Does the 2015 plan provide adequate guidance to 
protect the communications sector from new and emerging threats?
    Is CISA planning to release an updated plan? If yes, please provide 
the time line. If no, please explain.
    Answer. The Communications Sector's approach to risk management 
outlined in the 2015 Communications Sector-Specific Plan addresses how 
public/private partners collaborate to identify and mitigate new and 
emerging risks. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency 
(CISA) works extensively with public/private partners to identify new 
and emerging risks and publish guidance to address those risks, as 
outlined in the plan. These public/private partnerships include, but 
are not limited to, the National Security Telecommunications Advisory 
Committee, the Enduring Security Framework, and the Information and 
Communications Technology (ICT) Supply Chain Risk Management Task 
Force.
    CISA will update the Communications Sector-Specific Plan upon 
completion of the refreshed National Plan, which is expected next year. 
The refreshed National Plan will incorporate key provisions of the 
Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act that codified and 
clarified Communications Sector Risk Management Agency (SRMA) roles and 
responsibilities. It will also be informed by the Communication Sector 
Coordinating Council's report, ``Moving Security Forward (March 
2021),'' that provides a comprehensive overview of its strategic 
approach on maintaining reliable and resilient communications in the 
wake of cyber threats and impacts from the pandemic.
    CISA's update of the Communications Sector-Specific Plan will 
reflect these updates and incorporate concepts and ideas from several 
products and initiatives completed since the previous Communications 
Sector-Specific Plan was developed, including a July 2021 
Communications SRMA Fact Sheet and a Communications Sector Profile.
    In addition, a cornerstone of CISA's efforts to strengthen and 
enhance emergency communications capabilities Nation-wide is the 
National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP), developed in partnership 
with Federal, State, local, territorial, Tribal, and private-sector 
stakeholders. Subchapter XIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as 
amended, requires CISA to develop and periodically update the NECP. 
Updated in 2019, the NECP identifies current gaps to achieve 
interoperable emergency communications and promotes innovation and 
integration of new technologies while considering associated risk. In 
particular, the 2019 NECP update incorporates a new goal related to 
cybersecurity, noting that as cyber threats and vulnerabilities grow in 
complexity and sophistication, it is critical that public safety 
organizations take proactive measures to manage their cybersecurity 
risks. For additional details on cybersecurity support, please visit 
the NECP Spotlight on Ensuring Interoperable Encrypted Communications.
     Questions From Honorable Kat Cammack for Billy Bob Brown, Jr.
    Question 1. As we all are aware, with increased technologies to 
improve first responder communication systems comes increased cyber 
vulnerabilities. We heard from our witnesses in our October hearing 
regarding steps they're taking or have taken to increase their 
cybersecurity posture. One witness testified that even for a rural 
county, they have a very robust response to cyber threats; however, 
their office has had no engagement with CISA. How is CISA engaging with 
the smaller, more rural first responder community?
    Answer. Managing risks associated with advances in technology 
requires not only having an understanding of new threat vectors such as 
cybersecurity challenges to internet protocol-based technology, but 
also knowledge of the interface risks posed with older technologies 
still used in parts of the Nation. Newer technologies make the Nation's 
emergency communication more efficient but also expose them to the 
risks and vulnerabilities inherent in information technology and 
operational technology. CISA proactively engages with stakeholders 
across the Nation including smaller, more rural communities to address 
current and future threats even as technologies evolve. Small, rural 
communities receive no-cost technical assistance through CISA, when 
requested, to support interoperability planning, governance, and 
training and exercises on a variety of topics including cyber-focused 
services to rural first responder organizations. Below are a few 
additional examples of cyber-focused services that CISA provides to 
rural communities:
   Congress authorized CISA to establish the Rural Emergency 
        Medical Communications Demonstration Project, a $2 million 
        competitive grant program, with awards in 2016, 2018, and 2020. 
        The grants were awarded to the University of Mississippi 
        Medical Center, which proposed to use existing communications 
        infrastructure, improve operational effectiveness, and provide 
        communications training to enable improved rural medical 
        services through its First Hands Program and First Voice 
        Program, as well as other enhancements. In addition to vast 
        notable accomplishments from expansive training to improving 
        first responder access to information while in the field, the 
        effort was recognized for saving at least 8 lives as a result 
        of the training and resources provided. For more information, 
        please visit the NECP Spotlight on Enhancing Rural Emergency 
        Communications Capabilities.
   Through the Interoperable Communications Technical 
        Assistance Program, CISA provides all States and territories 
        with direct support in the form of State-wide planning 
        workshops and technical assistance (TA) training, tools, and 
        resources. Since 2008, more than 2,550 TAs have been delivered 
        to all States and territories. In addition to specific, 
        tailored assistance, CISA provides support to develop and 
        implement State-wide Communication Interoperability Plans that 
        enable States and territories to align and prioritize their 
        communications needs and advocate for funding to their local 
        and State governments.
     CISA offers customized cyber-focused TA for Public Safety 
            Emergency Communications Centers, 9-1-1 Systems and Land 
            Mobile Radio functions to mitigate ransomware/Telephony 
            Denial of Service attacks on public safety networks, and 
            systems that affect 9-1-1 and emergency communications.
     The CISA Ransomware Infographic is available to all 
            stakeholders and has been delivered to rural counties in 
            States such as Missouri and Kansas to help educate staff on 
            cyber threats to public safety communications and serve as 
            foundational assessments for cyber planning and resiliency.
     Communities who would like to learn more about CISA's 
            services, should contact their State-wide Interoperable 
            Coordinator or regional CISA Emergency Communications 
            Coordinator.
   To meet evolving Information and Communications Technology 
        needs, CISA's Communications Unit (COMU) program, which 
        outlines the functions, positions, training, and certifications 
        required to support interoperable incident communications, 
        includes an Information Technology Service Unit Leader position 
        and course to assist incident command in managing the 
        confluence of voice, video, and data communications and 
        information, cybersecurity, and application management for 
        incident planning and response. To date, more than 17,000 
        personnel have been trained to fill COMU positions.
   Through the Tribal Emergency Communications Program, CISA 
        supports Native American and Alaska Native tribes through 
        consultative engagement, outreach, advocacy, technical 
        assistance, and inter- and intra-agency coordination to ensure 
        strengthened public safety operable and interoperable 
        communications. CISA works individually with Tribal communities 
        to assess and document how their customs, public safety 
        communications capabilities, challenges, infrastructure, and 
        current governance structures impact decision making, 
        management, and resource allocation. Additional information is 
        located here:
     CISA Tribal Emergency Communications Resources Fact Sheet
     CISA Tribal Emergency Communications Program Infographic-
            2021
     CISA Tribal Emergency Communications Program Brochure
     NECP Spotlight: Working with Tribes to Achieve 
            Interoperability.
   CISA also maintains a robust regional security advisor cadre 
        that focuses on physical, emergency communications and 
        cybersecurity critical infrastructure. CISA's Regional security 
        advisors conduct outreach, deliver security assessments, and 
        offer technical assistance upon request.

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