WASHINGTON—A House panel approved legislation giving first-responder communications, telecommunications and cybersecurity higher organizational stature in the Department of Homeland Security, changes that are part of a broader bill designed to improve problems in national emergency responsiveness that were exposed in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The measure, passed 28-0 by the House Committee on Homeland Security, creates a DHS assistant secretary for emergency communications. The position will be responsible for helping establish and maintain interoperable communications capabilities at the federal, state and local levels. A DHS office of interoperability and compatibility would support the creation of national voluntary consensus standards for interoperable emergency communications, establish a comprehensive research and development program, and work with the private sector to help law enforcement, firefighters, medics and other first responders from different jurisdictions communicate with each other during emergencies.
Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), largely responsible for key public safety wireless provisions in the bill, withdrew an amendment that sought $5 billion to help fund the purchase of equipment for interoperable emergency communications. Asked later why she pulled the amendment, Lowey said her amendment did not have the votes to pass, but she wanted to make a point about financial resources needed to enhance public safety wireless interoperability.
“Since 9/11 we’ve made very little progress [on interoperability],” said Lowey during the bill’s markup. “We’ll never know have many lives might have been saved” if first responders had interoperable communications after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
While 9/11 highlighted the lackluster state of first responder communications interoperability, the problem has existed for decades.
A budget bill passed by Congress late last year earmarked $1 billion for interoperability funding, but the cost of fixing the hole in emergency communications is projected to cost many billions of dollars.
“If we don’t deal with it [interoperability], we will not be able to field effective disaster response,” said Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), a House Homeland Security Committee member and ranking minority member of the House Intelligence Committee.
The legislation also creates an assistant secretary for cybersecurity and telecommunications at DHS.
