WASHINGTON-A plan to use auction revenues to fund grants for first-responder interoperable communications was withdrawn Thursday, allowing the House Commerce Committee to pass the Faster and Smarter Funding for First Responders Act of 2004.
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), a consistent supporter of public-safety communications and constant critic of congressional inaction on the subject, said interoperability was a problem when he entered law enforcement 30 years ago.
“Having been involved in law enforcement for more than 30 years, they made me promises when I was a young officer back in the 1970s, and this country has done nothing about it. We continue to lose police officers because they can’t talk to each other,” said Stupak.
It was unclear exactly why Stupak decided not to press his case, because the committee was rushed to complete action on the first-responder grant bill so House Democrats could attend the swearing-in ceremony for the newest member from South Dakota.
“It is critically important that we do it. With all of the money we are spending on homeland security, the least we can do is buy radios that can talk to each other. With that and with your assurances that we will continue to address this issue, I will withdraw my amendment,” said Stupak.
Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) also withdrew an amendment that would have set aside 2 percent of the first-responder grant money for Native Americans.
“The needs of many tribes are not getting funded, because as you can imagine, the local and state governments are not in the position, or they have so many needs on their own, that they are not likely to consider in a meaningful way the needs of the tribes within their jurisdiction,” said Pallone. “In addition to saying specifically that tribes could directly access funds for homeland security from the federal government, we have a 2-percent set-aside. So 2 percent would have to go to tribes assuming they met the qualifications otherwise for homeland-security needs.”
Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, was pleased to see his bill emerge from the House Commerce Committee essentially unscathed.
First-responder communications, always a popular subject with lawmakers in an election year, got a boost in urgency when the staff of the 9/11 Commission recently said the lives of firefighters in the World Trade Center could have been saved if they had been able to communicate. Most police officers received the word to evacuate the buildings.
On that note, the Journal News of Westchester, N.Y., expressed support for legislation sponsored by Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) to implement nationwide first-responder interoperability within five years.
The Connecting the Operations of National Networks of Emergency Communications Technologies (CONNECT) for First Responders Act of 2004 was introduced last month.
“It’s time to close the communications gap that left so many New York firefighters and police without hope on Sept. 11. Interoperable equipment will protect our first responders and, in turn, enable them to better protect the public during emergencies. Congress must step up to the plate and provide the vital resources and tools our first responders need,” said Lowey.
The Connect First Responders Act would create an Office of Wireless Public Safety Interoperable Communications within the Department of Homeland Security and establish a $5 billion grant program.
Lowey is also a co-sponsor of the Homeland Emergency Response Operations Act, which would set a hard date for the return of analog TV spectrum. Some of that spectrum-24 megahertz-has been allocated for public safety with a portion dedicated to interoperable communications.
