[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 10424]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          FEDERAL INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS AND SAFETY ACT

  Mrs. CLINTON. Despite the fact that there has been progress on the 
issue of interoperability, such as the transfer of much needed spectrum 
for first responder communications and the allocation of $1 billion for 
interoperability grants that passed last year, it is clear that 
incidents like Hurricane Katrina demonstrate that there remains more 
work to be done.
  What I am concerned about is that 5 years after 9/11, I do not 
believe that there has been the leadership role at the Federal level to 
give this issue the full attention and high profile that it demands.
  I believe we need an office at DHS that will be charged with 
continually analyzing, continually assessing, and continually thinking 
about how to coordinate not only the Federal agencies that manage and 
operate communications systems, but the local and State governments, 
who often have very different ideas of what interoperability means.
  Additionally, we also need to give that office the resources and 
authority it needs to carry out its mission.
  We have ostensibly given the leadership role of one of the most 
critical issues to emerge from 9/11 and Katrina to the SAFECOM Office 
within DHS. However, it is my understanding that this office has fewer 
than 10 full-time employees and for all intents and purposes is buried 
within the DHS bureaucracy. While I understand that this office is 
headed and staffed by dedicated professionals, how do we provide the 
Federal leadership necessary with fewer than 10 people?
  SAFECOM, according to its own Director, needs more authority in 
funding decisions and its interactions with other agencies.
  We have got to get serious about this matter, and I believe that 
legislation I have recently introduced, S. 3172, the Federal 
Interoperable Communications Act of 2006, takes us a step in that 
direction and I would like to thank Senators Salazar and Durbin for 
cosponsoring my legislation.
  My bill is not radical in how it is put together nor does it espouse 
to have the latest technology that will solve the interoperability 
problem once and for all. But it does put forth a blueprint in how the 
Federal Government can utilize all of the assets at its disposal and 
ensure that there is clear accountability and leadership on this issue 
at the Federal level.
  It creates an interoperability czar who would report directly to the 
Secretary of Homeland Security. It also puts that czar in charge of a 
central interoperability office and gives it a clear mission, outlines 
responsibilities and expectations, and allows it to get the resources 
it would need to carry out its mission.
  It requires the development of a national strategy, which would 
include an inventory that identifies the channels and frequencies used 
in every Federal agency and keeps track of what is being used by the 
State and local officials, so that when first responders from the 
Federal Government or other jurisdictions respond to an incident, they 
will know what frequencies and radios are being used.
  This strategy sets clear benchmarks to ensure that we are constantly 
evaluating our capabilities and adjusting our strategies accordingly to 
changes in threats, advancements in technology and other factors.
  My bill would also help ensure that the money that we are spending 
now on interoperability grants is being spent wisely and efficiently by 
ensuring that the grant guidelines are consistent with the goals and 
mission of the Office of Emergency Communication and that grant 
recipients have submitted a statewide interoperability plan or have 
adopted national consensus standards of how their platforms will work.
  There have been dozens of first responders, emergency support 
providers, and Federal, State, and local officials who have testified 
before Congress, where they have cited the need for consistency in 
Federal grant guidelines and clarity in the DHS mission for a national 
emergency communications plan, and my bill seeks to address those 
concerns.
  My bill also will help ensure that there is always an open line of 
communication between the State and local governments, the private 
sector, and the Interoperability Czar by creating regional working 
groups that include virtually every entity with an interest in 
communications policy that can report the specific needs and progress 
in a region.
  Finally, the bill also creates an Emergency Communications 
Preparedness Center which will be a consortium of all the Federal 
agencies that have focused on interoperable communications, namely the 
FCC, DHS, Commerce, DOD, and the Justice Department. I envision that 
this would be the Federal clearinghouse which would help ensure that 
these agencies which have access to the latest technologies and 
innovative strategies in interoperable communications can share and 
coordinate that information and technology to the benefit of the State 
and local agencies they work with.
  I also have provisions that will help facilitate the creation of a 
national and interoperable alert warning system.
  Basically, this bill boils down to providing the leadership needed at 
the top level to ensure that the technologies, best practices, and 
resources are flowing to the men and women on the ground.
  One of the key recommendations of the 9/11 Commission was to deploy 
interoperable communications for all of our Nation's first responders. 
Indeed, this is an enormous, difficult, and complicated task, which 
requires and demands the immediate and coordinated attention of our 
Federal Government. My legislation will help ensure that this critical 
issue gets the attention that it deserves.

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