[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 126 (Thursday, August 2, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1693-E1694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 1, IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 9/11 
                         COMMISSION ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. JOE BARTON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 27, 2007

  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about the emergency 
communications provisions in the H.R. 1 Conference Report.
  September 11th and Hurricane Katrina were high-profile reminders that 
our first responders across the Nation cannot communicate with each 
other during an emergency.
  Ensuring interoperable communications among 50,000 different public 
safety systems is no easy task. While the Department of Homeland 
Security has attempted to address this problem over the years, the 
agency spent $3 billion without achieving any measurable improvements. 
Meanwhile, the Energy and Commerce Committee, recognizing that this 
issue requires strong federal leadership, ushered through the passage 
of the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 last 
Congress. That legislation not only cleared 24 MHz of spectrum for 
nationwide, interoperable public safety communications, it also 
provided $1 billion in grants for interoperable solutions, $156 million 
for a national alert and tsunami warning system, and $43.5 million for 
advanced 911 services.
  The Energy and Commerce Committee also secured last Congress the 
creation of the Office of Emergency Communications so that there would 
be an entity of expertise within the Department of Homeland Security 
whose sole

[[Page E1694]]

focus and responsibility is solving the interoperability problem.
  The legislation before us now has many shortcomings, including in the 
interoperability provisions, as I indicated in my conference statement. 
It is not a complete failure; however, as Title III at least 
establishes a targeted grant program specifically designed to achieve 
interoperability. It also places the experts in the Office of Emergency 
Communications in charge to try to ensure that the money will be spent 
wisely.
  However, it is not surprising that this legislation is lacking. H.R. 
1 was written behind closed doors. It skipped Committee and went 
straight to the Floor, where no amendments were allowed. I am deeply 
disappointed by this process, and the legislation itself.

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