II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3172 

To establish an Office of Emergency Communications, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 25, 2006 

Mrs. CLINTON (for herself and Mr. SALAZAR) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish an Office of Emergency Communications, and 

for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Federal Interoperable 

5 Communications and Safety Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 

8 (1) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart9 ment of Homeland Security; 
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1 (2) the term ‘‘Emergency Communications Pre2 paredness Center’’ or the ‘‘Center’’ means the center 

3 established under section 8(a); 

4 (3) the terms ‘‘emergency response providers’’, 

5 ‘‘local government’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the same 

6 meaning as in section 2 of the Homeland Security 

7 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101); 

8 (4) the term ‘‘emergency response support pro9 vider’’ includes Federal, State, and local govern10 mental and nongovernmental utilities, public works, 

11 transportation, and public health and related per12 sonnel, organizations, agencies, and authorities; 

13 (5) the term ‘‘interoperable emergency commu14 nications system’’ means the ability of emergency re15 sponse providers and relevant Federal, State, and 

16 local government agencies to communicate with each 

17 other as necessary, through a dedicated public safety 

18 network utilizing information technology systems 

19 and radio communications systems, and to exchange 

20 voice, data, or video with one another on demand, in 

21 real time, as necessary; 

22 (6) the term ‘‘National Emergency Communica23 tions Strategy’’ means the strategy established 

24 under section 4(a); 

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1 (7) the term ‘‘Office of Emergency Communica2 tions’’ means the office established under section 

3 3(a); 

4 (8) the term ‘‘Regional Emergency Communica5 tions Coordination Working Group’’ or ‘‘RECC 

6 Working Group’’ means a working group established 

7 under section 7(a); and 

8 (9) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

9 of Homeland Security. 

10 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the De12 partment an Office of Emergency Communications. 

13 (b) UNDER SECRETARY.—The head of the Office of 

14 Emergency Communications shall be the Under Secretary 

15 for Emergency Communications who shall— 

16 (1) be appointed by the President, by and with 

17 the advice and consent of the Senate; and 

18 (2) report directly to the Secretary. 

19 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Under Secretary for 

20 Emergency Communications shall— 

21 (1) assist the Secretary in developing and im22 plementing the program described in section 

23 7303(a)(1) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism 

24 Prevention Act of 2004 (6 U.S.C. 194(a)(1)); 

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1 (2) administer the Department’s responsibilities 

2 and authorities relating to the SAFECOM Program; 

3 (3) administer the Department’s responsibilities 

4 and authorities relating to the Integrated Wireless 

5 Network program; 

6 (4) conduct extensive, nationwide outreach and 

7 foster the development of interoperable emergency 

8 communications capabilities by State, regional, and 

9 local governments and public safety agencies; 

10 (5) provide technical assistance to State, re11 gional, and local government officials with respect to 

12 use of interoperable emergency communications ca13 pabilities; 

14 (6) promote the development of standard oper15 ating procedures with respect to use of interoperable 

16 emergency communications capabilities for incident 

17 response and facilitate the sharing of information on 

18 best practices (including from governments abroad) 

19 for achieving, maintaining, and enhancing interoper20 able emergency communications capabilities for such 

21 response; 

22 (7) coordinate the establishment of a national 

23 response capability with initial and ongoing plan24 ning, implementation, and training for the deploy25 ment of backup communications services in the 

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1 event of a catastrophic loss of local and regional 

2 emergency communications services; 

3 (8) assist the President, the National Security 

4 Council, the Homeland Security Council, the Direc5 tor of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, 

6 and the Director of the Office of Management and 

7 Budget in ensuring the operability of the tele8 communications functions and responsibilities of the 

9 Federal Government; 

10 (9) establish requirements for total and non11 proprietary interoperable emergency communications 

12 capabilities for all public safety radio and data com13 munications systems and equipment; 

14 (10) help to establish an integrated national 

15 public alert and warning system that incorporates 

16 legacy systems; and 

17 (11) review all interoperable emergency commu18 nications plans of Federal, State, and local govern19 ments, including Statewide and tactical interoper20 ability plans. 

21 (d) PERFORMANCE OF PREVIOUSLY TRANSFERRED

22 FUNCTIONS.—There is transferred to the Secretary the 

23 authority to administer, through the Under Secretary for 

24 Emergency Communications, the following: 

25 (1) The SAFECOM Program. 

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1 (2) The responsibilities of the Chief Informa2 tion Officer related to the implementation of the In3 tegrated Wireless Network. 

4 (3) The Interoperable Communications Tech5 nical Assistance Program. 

6 (e) COORDINATION.—The Under Secretary shall co7 ordinate, as appropriate, with the Director of the Office 

8 for Interoperability and Compatibility to— 

9 (1) assist the Under Secretary in developing 

10 and implementing the science and technology aspects 

11 of the program described in subparagraphs (D), (E), 

12 (F), and (G) of section 7303(a)(1) of the Intel13 ligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 

14 2004 (6 U.S.C. 194(a)(1)); 

15 (2) support the creation of national voluntary 

16 consensus standards for interoperable emergency 

17 communications; 

18 (3) establish a comprehensive research, develop19 ment, testing, and evaluation program for improving 

20 interoperable emergency communications; 

21 (4) establish requirements for total and non22 proprietary interoperable emergency communications 

23 capabilities for all public safety radio and data com24 munications systems and equipment; 

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1 (5) evaluate and validate new technology con2 cepts in real-world environments to achieve inter3 operable emergency communications capabilities; 

4 (6) encourage more efficient use of existing re5 sources, including equipment and spectrum, to 

6 achieve interoperable emergency communications ca7 pabilities; 

8 (7) test and deploy public safety communica9 tions systems that are less prone to failure, support 

10 new nonvoice services, consume less spectrum, and 

11 cost less than existing systems; 

12 (8) work with the private sector to develop solu13 tions to improve emergency communications capa14 bilities and achieve interoperable emergency commu15 nications capabilities; and 

16 (9) coordinate with the Under Secretary for 

17 Emergency Communications with respect to the 

18 SAFECOM program. 

19 (f) SUFFICIENCY OF RESOURCES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

21 the Office for Emergency Communications the re22 sources and staff necessary to carry out the respon23 sibilities under this section. 

24 (2) PLAN.—Not later than days 60 days after 

25 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

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1 shall submit to Congress a report on the resources 

2 and staff necessary to carry out the responsibilities 

3 under this Act. 

4 (3) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller Gen6 eral shall review the validity of the report sub7 mitted under paragraph (2). 

8 (B) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days 

9 after the date on which the report is submitted 

10 under paragraph (2), the Comptroller General 

11 shall submit to Congress a report containing 

12 the findings of the review under subparagraph 

13 (A). 

14 SEC. 4. NATIONAL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS STRAT15 EGY. 

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

17 completion of the baseline assessment under section 5, the 

18 Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary for Emer19 gency Communications, and in cooperation with State and 

20 local governments, Federal departments and agencies, 

21 emergency response providers, emergency response sup22 port responders, and the private sector, shall develop a 

23 National Emergency Communications Strategy to achieve 

24 interoperable emergency communications. 

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1 (b) CONTENTS.—The National Emergency Commu2 nications Strategy shall— 

3 (1) include a national interoperable emergency 

4 communication inventory that— 

5 (A) identifies for each Federal department 

6 and agency— 

7 (i) the channels and frequencies used; 

8 (ii) the nomenclature used to refer to 

9 each channel or frequency used; and 

10 (iii) the types of communications sys11 tem and equipment used; 

12 (B) identifies the interoperable emergency 

13 communication systems in use for public safety 

14 systems in the United States; and 

15 (C) provides a listing of public safety mu16 tual aid channels in operation and their ability 

17 to connect to an interoperable communications 

18 system; 

19 (2) include, in consultation with the National 

20 Institute of Standards and Technology, a process for 

21 expediting national voluntary consensus-based emer22 gency communications equipment standards for the 

23 purchase and use by public safety agencies of inter24 operable emergency communications equipment and 

25 technologies; 

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1 (3) identify the appropriate interoperable emer2 gency communications capabilities necessary for 

3 Federal, State, and local governments to operate at 

4 all threat levels; 

5 (4) address both short-term and long-term solu6 tions to achieving Federal, State, and local inter7 operable emergency communications systems, includ8 ing provision of existing and emerging technologies 

9 that facilitate operability, interoperability, coordina10 tion, and integration among existing emergency com11 munications systems; 

12 (5) identify how Federal Government depart13 ments and agencies that respond to acts of ter14 rorism, natural disasters, and other emergencies can 

15 work effectively with State and local governments, in 

16 all States, and with such other entities as are nec17 essary to implement the strategy; 

18 (6) include measures to identify and overcome 

19 all obstacles to achieving interoperable emergency 

20 communications; and 

21 (7) set goals and establish timeframes for the 

22 achievement of an emergency, command-level com23 munication system based on existing equipment 

24 across the United States and develop a timetable for 

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1 a nationwide interoperable emergency communica2 tions system. 

3 SEC. 5. ASSESSMENTS AND REPORTS. 

4 (a) BASELINE OPERABILITY AND INTEROPERABILITY

5 ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of en6 actment of this Act and not less than every 5 years there7 after, the Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary 

8 for Emergency Communications, shall conduct an assess9 ment of Federal, State, and local governments, to— 

10 (1) define the range of operable and interoper11 able emergency communications capabilities needed 

12 for specific events; 

13 (2) assess the capabilities to meet such commu14 nications needs; and 

15 (3) identify the gap between such capabilities 

16 and defined requirements. 

17 (b) PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

19 thereafter, the Secretary, acting through the Under Sec20 retary for Emergency Communications, shall submit to 

21 Congress a report on the progress of the Department in 

22 implementing and achieving the goals of this Act, includ23 ing— 

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1 (1) a description of the findings of the most re2 cent baseline assessment conducted under subsection 

3 (a); 

4 (2) a determination of the degree to which 

5 interoperable emergency communications has been 

6 achieved to date and ascertain the needs that remain 

7 for interoperability to be achieved; 

8 (3) an assessment of the ability of communities 

9 to provide and maintain interoperable emergency 

10 communications— 

11 (A) among emergency managers, emer12 gency response providers, emergency response 

13 support providers, and government officials in 

14 the event of acts of terrorism, natural disasters, 

15 or other emergencies, including Incidents of Na16 tional Significance declared by the Secretary 

17 under the National Response Plan; and 

18 (B) in the event of substantial damage to 

19 ordinary communications infrastructure or sus20 tained loss of electricity; 

21 (4) a list of best practices among communities 

22 for providing and maintaining interoperable emer23 gency communications in the event of acts of ter24 rorism, natural disasters, or other emergencies; and 

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1 (5) an evaluation of the feasibility and desir2 ability of the Department developing, on its own or 

3 in conjunction with the Department of Defense, a 

4 mobile communications capability, modeled on the 

5 Army Signal Corps, that could be deployed to sup6 port emergency communications at the site of acts of 

7 terrorism, natural disasters, or other emergencies. 

8 SEC. 6. COORDINATION OF FEDERAL EMERGENCY COMMU9 NICATIONS GRANT PROGRAMS. 

10 (a) ASSESSMENT OF GRANTS AND STANDARDS PRO11 GRAMS.—The Secretary, acting through the Under Sec12 retary for Emergency Communications, shall assess Fed13 eral grants and standards programs managed by other 

14 Federal departments and agencies to— 

15 (1) integrate and coordinate Federal grant 

16 guidelines for the use of Federal homeland security 

17 assistance relating to interoperable emergency com18 munications; 

19 (2) assess and make recommendations to en20 sure that such guidelines are consistent with the 

21 mission of the Office of Emergency Communications; 

22 and 

23 (3) assess and make recommendations to en24 sure conformity with the goals and objectives identiVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:11 Jun 01, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3172.IS S3172
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1 fied in the National Emergency Communications 

2 Strategy. 

3 (b) DENIAL OF ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

5 through the Under Secretary for Emergency Com6 munications, may prohibit any State or local govern7 ment from using Federal homeland security assist8 ance administered by the Department to achieve, 

9 maintain, or enhance interoperable emergency com10 munications capabilities, if— 

11 (A) such government has not complied 

12 with the requirement to submit a Statewide 

13 Interoperable Communications Plans under sec14 tion 7303(f) of the Intelligence Reform and 

15 Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (6 U.S.C. 

16 194(f)); and 

17 (B) not later than 3 years after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act, national voluntary 

19 consensus standards for interoperable emer20 gency communications capabilities have not 

21 been developed and promulgated. 

22 (2) STANDARDS.—If the standards described in 

23 paragraph (1)(B) have not been developed and pro24 mulgated on the date that is 3 years after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in coordinaVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:11 Jun 01, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3172.IS S3172
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1 tion with other Federal departments and agencies 

2 with responsibility for standards shall develop, pro3 mulgate, and revise national voluntary consensus 

4 standards on interoperable emergency communica5 tions not later than 4 years after the date of enact6 ment of this Act. 

7 (c) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—Not later than 60 

8 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the President 

9 shall transfer to the Under Secretary for Emergency Com10 munications the functions authorized by section 3006 of 

11 the Deficit Reduction Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–71; 

12 120 Stat. 24), including the authority to borrow under 

13 3006(b) of that Act. 

14 SEC. 7. REGIONAL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CO15 ORDINATION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting 

18 through the Under Secretary for Emergency Communica19 tions, shall submit a plan to Congress to establish Re20 gional Emergency Communications Working Groups in 

21 critical regions throughout the Nation. 

22 (b) SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS.—Each RECC 

23 Working Group shall consist of the following: 

24 (1) NON-FEDERAL.—Organizations rep25 resenting the interests of the following: 

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1 (A) State officials. 

2 (B) Local government officials. 

3 (C) State police departments. 

4 (D) Local police departments. 

5 (E) Local fire departments. 

6 (F) Public safety answering points (9–1–1 

7 services). 

8 (G) Communications equipment vendors 

9 (including broadband data service providers). 

10 (H) Hospitals. 

11 (I) Public utility services. 

12 (J) Local exchange carriers. 

13 (K) Local broadcast media. 

14 (L) Wireless carriers. 

15 (M) Satellite communications services. 

16 (N) Emergency evacuation transit services. 

17 (O) Ambulance services. 

18 (P) HAM and amateur radio operators. 

19 (Q) State emergency managers, homeland 

20 security directors, or representatives of State 

21 Administrative Agencies. 

22 (R) Local emergency managers or home23 land security directors. 

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1 (S) Other emergency response providers or 

2 emergency support providers as deemed appro3 priate. 

4 (2) FEDERAL.—Representatives from the De5 partment and other Federal departments and agen6 cies (including the E–911 Implementation Coordina7 tion Office of the National Telecommunications and 

8 Information Administration and the National High9 way Transportation Safety Administration estab10 lished under section 158 of the National Tele11 communications and Information Administration Or12 ganization Act (47 U.S.C. 942)) with responsibility 

13 for coordinating interoperable emergency commu14 nications with or providing emergency support serv15 ices to State and local governments. 

16 (c) DUTIES.—The duties of each RECC Working 

17 Group shall include— 

18 (1) assessing the survivability, sustainability, 

19 and interoperability of local emergency communica20 tions systems to meet the goals of the National 

21 Emergency Communications Strategy; 

22 (2) reporting annually to the Under Secretary 

23 for Emergency Communications on the status of its 

24 region in building a robust and sustainable inter25 operable voice and data emergency communications 

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1 network and on the progress of the region in meet2 ing the goals of the National Emergency Commu3 nications Strategy; 

4 (3) coordinating the establishment of an effec5 tive multijurisdictional, multi-agency emergency 

6 communications network for use during acts of ter7 rorism, natural disasters, and other emergencies 

8 through the expanded use of emergency management 

9 and public safety communications mutual aid agree10 ments; and 

11 (4) coordinating the establishment of Federal, 

12 State, and local support services and networks de13 signed to address the immediate and critical human 

14 needs in responding to acts of terrorism, natural dis15 asters, and other emergencies. 

16 SEC. 8. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS PREPAREDNESS 

17 CENTER. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 

19 Emergency Communications Preparedness Center. 

20 (b) OPERATION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, the Chair22 man of the Federal Communication Commission, the 

23 Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, 

24 the Attorney General, and the heads of other Fed25 eral departments and agencies (including the E–911 

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1 Implementation Coordination Office of the National 

2 Telecommunications and Information Administration 

3 and the National Highway Transportation Safety 

4 Administration established section 158 of the Na5 tional Telecommunications and Information Admin6 istration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 942)) or their 

7 designees shall jointly operate the Center in accord8 ance with the Memorandum of Understanding enti9 tled, ‘‘Emergency Communications Preparedness 

10 Center (ECPC) Charter’’. 

11 (2) CHAIR.—The Secretary shall be the Chair 

12 of the Center. 

13 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The Center shall— 

14 (1) serve as the focal point for interagency ef15 forts to address operable and interoperable commu16 nications; 

17 (2) serve as a clearinghouse for all relevant in18 formation regarding intergovernmental efforts to 

19 achieve nationwide interoperable emergency commu20 nications capabilities; 

21 (3) ensure cooperation among the relevant Fed22 eral Government departments and agencies to im23 prove effectiveness in the communication and imple24 mentation of the goals of the National Emergency 

25 Communications Strategy, including specifically by 

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1 working to avoid duplication, hindrances, and coun2 teractive efforts among the participating Federal de3 partments and agencies; 

4 (4) prepare and submit to Congress, on an an5 nual basis, a strategic assessment regarding the ef6 forts of Federal departments and agencies to imple7 ment the National Emergency Communications 

8 Strategy; and 

9 (5) perform such other functions as the Presi10 dent may assign. 

11 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to 

13 the Congress a report regarding the implementation of 

14 this section, including a description of the staffing and re15 source needs of the Center. 

16 SEC. 9. INTEGRATED NATIONAL ALERT AND WARNING SYS17 TEM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

19 Under Secretary for Emergency Communications, and in 

20 coordination with the head of any Federal department or 

21 agency that possesses or acquires alert and warning capa22 bilities, including the Departments of Commerce and De23 fense and the Federal Communications Commission, shall 

24 develop, manage, operate, and coordinate an integrated 

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1 national public alert and warning system that incorporates 

2 legacy systems. 

3 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The system developed under 

5 subsection (a) shall— 

6 (A) be operational within 3 years of the 

7 date of enactment of this Act; 

8 (B) ensure effective collaboration with 

9 State and local governments; 

10 (C) complement and provide interoper11 ability with public alert and warning systems of 

12 State and local governments; 

13 (D) ensure the interoperability of commer14 cially available equipment for radio and data 

15 communications systems; 

16 (E) carry alert and warning messages for 

17 acts of terrorism, natural disasters, and other 

18 emergencies; and 

19 (F) incorporate, to the maximum extent 

20 possible, technologies and systems that warn 

21 and support the unique needs faced by persons 

22 with disabilities or language barriers. 

23 (2) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—In developing, 

24 managing, operating, and coordinating the system 

25 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

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1 (A) conduct regular internal training and 

2 exercises on generating and disseminating pub3 lic alert and warning messages; 

4 (B) support public education and outreach 

5 to increase community awareness of the inte6 grated national alert and warning system; 

7 (C) develop public–private partnerships 

8 to— 

9 (i) leverage government and industry 

10 needs, capabilities, and resources necessary 

11 to delivery effective disaster warnings; 

12 (ii) facilitate the development, promul13 gation, and regular updating of national 

14 voluntary consensus standards for public 

15 alert and warning technologies; 

16 (iii) identify, in consultation with the 

17 Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Pro18 tection and the Assistant Secretary for 

19 Cybersecurity and Telecommunications, 

20 critical infrastructure and key resources 

21 necessary to provide accurate, survivable, 

22 and sustainable public alerts and warnings; 

23 (iv) incorporate private sector threat 

24 information sharing into alert and warning 

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1 systems of Federal, State, and local gov2 ernments; and 

3 (v) ensure continuity of operations 

4 plans are in place to minimize the disrup5 tion to communications infrastructure used 

6 for the dissemination of public alerts and 

7 warnings; 

8 (D) promulgate standard operating proce9 dures and protocols for the integrated national 

10 public alert and warning system; and 

11 (E) identify and incorporate existing, new, 

12 and emerging technologies, including the utili13 zation of both satellite and ground based alert 

14 and warning distribution networks to provide 

15 redundant, timely, and accurate public alerts 

16 and warnings. 

17 (c) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 180 

18 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec19 retary, acting through the Under Secretary for Emergency 

20 Communications, shall develop an implementation plan for 

21 this section. 

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