I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2537

To develop and coordinate a national emergency warning system. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 19, 2003

Mrs. MALONEY (for herself, Mr. FROST, and Mr. MCINTYRE) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To develop and coordinate a national emergency warning 

system.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Emergency Warning 

5 Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) Effective public warnings save lives, prevent 

2 economic losses, reduce uncertainty and fear, and 

3 quicken recovery. 

4 (2) Effective public warnings empower citizens 

5 to take appropriate actions when they are at risk 

6 from natural hazards, technological accidents, and 

7 acts of terrorism. 

8 (3) Over ninety percent of public warnings 

9 issued are related to weather events and natural dis10 asters. 

11 (4) The Secretary of Commerce, acting through 

12 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra13 tion’s National Weather Service, is the sole official 

14 voice of the United States for issuing warnings dur15 ing life-threatening weather situations. 

16 (5) The Secretary of Transportation, through 

17 the Research and Special Programs Administration 

18 of the Department of Transportation, is charged 

19 with—

20 (A) protecting the public from the risks to 

21 life and property related to the transportation 

22 of hazardous materials (including chemicals and 

23 spent nuclear materials) by air, water, rail, and 

24 highway; 
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1 (B) assuring safety from the risks of pipe2 line transport; 

3 (C) providing civil sector preparedness and 

4 first-responder training for the Nation’s trans5 portation emergencies; and 

6 (D) coordinating the restoration of essen7 tial transportation systems after emergencies. 

8 (6) Other Federal civilian agencies, including 

9 the Transportation Security Administration, the 

10 United States Coast Guard, and the Federal Emer11 gency Management Agency are tasked with gath12 ering, coordinating, and disseminating information 

13 and assistance relating to threats to security on the 

14 land, on the sea, and in the air. 

15 (7) The National Telecommunications Informa16 tion Administration and the Federal Communica17 tions Commission possess expertise concerning new 

18 technologies to improve the speed and breadth of 

19 communications to the general public concerning 

20 threats from weather, natural disasters, acts of ter21 rorism, and other threats. 

22 (8) Metropolitan and State authorities, in part23 nership with the National Weather Service and other 

24 Federal agencies, have the primary responsibility for 

25 providing emergency warnings and rely on national 
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1 procedures, standards, and systems for delivering 

2 such warnings. 

3 (9) The current patchwork of warning mecha4 nisms often fails—

5 (A) to provide all necessary information re6 garding threats and appropriate responses; and 

7 (B) to reach all those at risk, particularly 

8 those in isolated places. 

9 (10) National procedures, standards, and sys10 tems for public warnings, including technology pro11 tocols for the delivery of such warnings, will signifi12 cantly improve the effectiveness of public warnings 

13 at saving lives, reducing injuries, and reducing the 

14 costs of disasters and terrorist acts to the American 

15 people. 

16 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

17 The purpose of this Act is to ensure that an effective 

18 public warning system exists to alert Americans to specific 

19 risks from natural disasters, man-made disasters, and 

20 other hazardous events, including chemical and biological 

21 threats and other acts of terrorism. 

22 SEC. 4. DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL ALL-HAZARD WARN23 ING SYSTEM. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce 
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1 and the Secretary of Homeland Security, working in co2 ordination with appropriate Federal agencies, shall estab3 lish comprehensive national standards and systems for 

4 providing effective public warnings. 

5 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF EMERGENCY WARNING NET6 WORK.—In carrying out subsection (a) the Secretary of 

7 Commerce, in coordination with the Secretary of Home8 land Security, the Secretary of Transportation, the Sec9 retary of Defense, representatives of other Federal depart10 ments and agencies, representatives of State and local gov11 ernments, representatives of the private sector, media, and 

12 academia involved in the collection, issuance, dissemina13 tion, and distribution of public warnings, as well as other 

14 interested public and private entities, shall—

15 (1) develop and implement benchmarks for as16 sessing current all-hazard warning capabilities, in17 cluding such capabilities of the National Oceanic 

18 and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather 

19 Service, the United States Geological Survey’s Na20 tional Earthquake Information Center, and the De21 partment of Transportation’s Office of Pipeline 

22 Safety; 

23 (2) conduct research and pilot programs on 

24 ways to determine and improve the effectiveness of 

25 all-hazard warnings; 
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1 (3) develop specifications for a national back2 bone, modeled after the National Oceanic and At3 mospheric Administration’s National Weather Radio, 

4 to be used to collect all-hazard warnings from des5 ignated authorities and route them to appropriate 

6 dissemination systems; 

7 (4) work with the Assistant Secretary of Com8 merce for Communications and Information to use 

9 the full range of communications technologies to 

10 provide warnings, including, as appropriate—

11 (A) traditional telephones, including special 

12 alert rings to warn individuals in their homes or 

13 businesses; 

14 (B) wireless technology, including cellular 

15 telephones and pagers; and 

16 (C) the Internet, including electronic mail; 

17 (5) work with the Federal Communications 

18 Commission to provide warnings to the public 

19 through automatic alert televisions and radios; 

20 (6) educate the public about all-hazard warn21 ings; and 

22 (7) engage in other necessary or appropriate ac23 tivities to carry out the purpose of this Act. 
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1 (c) TERMINOLOGY, PROTOCOLS, AND TERRORISM

2 WARNINGS.—In carrying out subsection (a) the Secretary 

3 of Homeland Security shall—

4 (1) develop and recommend standards and 

5 guidelines for universal all-hazard warning termi6 nology and protocols in coordination with the Sec7 retary of Commerce, the Secretary of Transpor8 tation, the Secretary of Defense, representatives of 

9 other Federal departments and agencies, representa10 tives of State and local governments, representatives 

11 of the private sector, media, and academia involved 

12 in the collection, issuance, dissemination, and dis13 tribution of public warnings, as well as other inter14 ested public and private entities; and 

15 (2) issue warnings related to acts of terrorism 

16 and other public safety threats within its jurisdiction 

17 via the public warning system developed in accord18 ance with the standards and systems established 

19 under subsection (a). 

20 (d) EFFECT ON INTELLIGENCE SOURCES.—The Sec21 retary of Commerce and the Secretary of Homeland Secu22 rity shall coordinate their respective and joint activities 

23 under this section with the Director of Central Intelligence 

24 to ensure that the procedures, standards, and systems es-
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1 tablished under this Act do not adversely affect the protec2 tion of sources and methods. 

3 (e) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of Com4 merce and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall sub5 mit a joint report to the Congress on the status of public 

6 warning capability in the United States not later than 6 

7 months after the date of enactment of this Act and every 

8 6 months thereafter. 

9 (f) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—The Secretary of Com10 merce and the Secretary of Homeland Security may utilize 

11 1 or more advisory committees in carrying out their re12 spective and joint responsibilities under this Act. 

13 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) ALL-HAZARD.—The term ‘‘all-hazard’’ 

16 means an emergency or disaster resulting from—

17 (A) a natural disaster; 

18 (B) an accident; or 

19 (C) an intentional or negligent act. 

20 (2) EFFECTIVE PUBLIC WARNING.—The term 

21 ‘‘effective public warning’’ means practical, com22 prehensible, and timely information given to all indi23 viduals threatened by an all-hazard event sufficient 

24 to enable them to act to protect their safety and 

25 well-being in a timely manner. 
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1 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated for the pur3 pose of carrying out the provisions of this Act—

4 (1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and 

5 (2) such sums as may be necessary for each of 

6 the fiscal years 2005 through 2008.

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