I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2331 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

Act to support efforts by local or regional television or radio broadcasters 

to provide essential public information programming in the event of 

a major disaster, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 15, 2007 

Mr. MELANCON (for himself and Mr. PICKERING) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to support efforts by local or regional television or radio broadcasters to provide essential 

public information programming in the event of a major 

disaster, 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 ‘‘First Response Broad5 casters Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

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1 (1) in the periods before, during, and after 

2 major disasters that occurred not long before the 

3 date of enactment of this Act (including Hurricane 

4 Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and the terrorist attacks of 

5 September 11, 2001), local media organizations (in6 cluding newspapers, public and private broadcasters, 

7 and online publications) provided a valuable public 

8 service by transmitting and publishing disaster-re9 lated information, guidance, and assistance; 

10 (2) local broadcasters, public and private, pro11 vided a particularly valuable public service by trans12 mitting evacuation instructions, warnings of impend13 ing threats, timely response status updates, and 

14 other essential information related to such major 

15 disasters to listeners and viewers to whom other 

16 forms of media were often unavailable or inacces17 sible; 

18 (3) an inability to access a disaster area may 

19 impede the ability of local media organizations to 

20 provide such public services; 

21 (4) according to the report by the Committee 

22 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 

23 the Senate, titled ‘‘Hurricane Katrina: A Nation 

24 Still Unprepared’’, dated May 2006, ‘‘It is essential 

25 that the news media receive accurate disaster informstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 mation to circulate to the public. News media can 

2 also help inform the public by reporting on rumors 

3 and soliciting evidence and comment on their plausi4 bility, if any’’; 

5 (5) according to testimony provided on Sep6 tember 22, 2005, to the Committee on Commerce, 

7 Science, and Transportation of the Senate, an esti8 mated 100 Gulf Coast broadcast stations were un9 able to broadcast as a result of Hurricane Katrina, 

10 with approximately 28 percent of television stations 

11 and approximately 35 percent of radio stations un12 able to broadcast in the area affected by Hurricane 

13 Katrina; 

14 (6) according to testimony provided on Sep15 tember 7, 2005, to the Committee on Energy and 

16 Commerce of the House of Representatives, fol17 lowing Hurricane Katrina only 4 of the 41 radio 

18 broadcast stations in the New Orleans metropolitan 

19 area remained on the air in the immediate aftermath 

20 of that hurricane; 

21 (7) the only television station in New Orleans 

22 to continue transmitting its over-the-air signal unin23 terrupted during and after Hurricane Katrina was 

24 able to do so only as a direct result of steps taken 

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1 to better protect its transmitter and provide redun2 dant production facilities in the region; 

3 (8) fuel and other supply shortages inhibit the 

4 ability of a broadcaster to stay on the air and pro5 vide essential public information following a major 

6 disaster; 

7 (9) according to the report by the Committee 

8 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 

9 the Senate, titled ‘‘Hurricane Katrina: A Nation 

10 Still Unprepared’’, dated May 2006, there were in11 stances of Federal authorities confiscating privately12 purchased fuel supplies in the area affected by Hur13 ricane Katrina; 

14 (10) the ability of several broadcasters in Mis15 sissippi to remain on the air was unduly com16 promised by the confiscation of their privately-pur17 chased fuel supplies; 

18 (11) practices put in place following Hurricane 

19 Andrew to involve broadcasters in disaster response 

20 and expedite access by broadcast engineers to dis21 aster areas for the purpose of repairing critical-to22 air facilities and infrastructure has significantly in23 creased the ability of broadcasters in Florida to con24 tinue transmitting essential public information dur25 ing subsequent major disasters; 

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1 (12) a June 12, 2006, report to the Federal 

2 Communications Commission from the Independent 

3 Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina 

4 on Communications Networks recommends that 

5 cable and broadcasting infrastructure providers, and 

6 their contracted workers, be afforded emergency re7 sponder status under the Robert T. Stafford Dis8 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) and that this designation would 

10 remedy many of the access and fuel sharing issues 

11 that hampered industry efforts to quickly repair in12 frastructure following Hurricane Katrina; 

13 (13) the partnership of competing radio broad14 casters in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, casting 

15 aside commercial interests to provide uninterrupted, 

16 redundant public information programming from 

17 multiple transmission facilities, served the public 

18 well and for many hurricane victims was the only 

19 source of disaster-related information for many days; 

20 (14) other similar models for regional broad21 caster cooperation nationwide, such as the initiative 

22 by 3 public and private radio groups to cooperatively 

23 produce essential disaster-related programming in 

24 eastern and central Maine, will further prepare the 

25 industry to effectively respond to major disasters; 

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1 (15) following Hurricane Katrina, a Primary 

2 Entry Point station in Louisiana, operating only on 

3 generator power until commercial power was re4 stored 2 weeks after the disaster, was instrumental 

5 in providing life-saving information to the general 

6 public throughout the area as battery-operated ra7 dios were the only source of official news and infor8 mation; 

9 (16) as of April 18, 2007, there were 24 States 

10 with 1 Primary Entry Point station, 4 States with 

11 2 Primary Entry point stations, 2 Primary Entry 

12 Point stations located in territories of the United 

13 States, and 2 Primary Entry Point stations under 

14 development in Alabama and Mississippi; 

15 (17) in the event of a man-made or natural dis16 aster, it is essential to provide for Primary Entry 

17 Point stations in any State or territory where there 

18 is not a facility, meaning an additional 23 stations 

19 are required, located in— 

20 (A) Arkansas; 

21 (B) Connecticut; 

22 (C) Delaware; 

23 (D) the District of Columbia; 

24 (E) Indiana; 

25 (F) Iowa; 

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1 (G) Kentucky; 

2 (H) Maine; 

3 (I) Michigan; 

4 (J) Nebraska; 

5 (K) New Hampshire; 

6 (L) New Jersey; 

7 (M) Oklahoma; 

8 (N) Oregon; 

9 (O) Pennsylvania; 

10 (P) Rhode Island; 

11 (Q) South Dakota; 

12 (R) Vermont; 

13 (S) West Virginia; 

14 (T) Wisconsin; 

15 (U) American Samoa; 

16 (V) the Northern Mariana Islands; and 

17 (W) Guam; and 

18 (18) in the event of a man-made or natural dis19 aster, it is essential to provide for the Primary 

20 Entry Point stations in larger States where there is 

21 currently a facility, but an additional station is re22 quired to ensure full sufficient geographic coverage, 

23 meaning 2 stations are required, located in— 

24 (A) Kansas; and 

25 (B) Florida. 

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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act— 

3 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad4 ministrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

5 Agency; 

6 (2) the term ‘‘disaster area’’ means an area in 

7 which the President has declared a major disaster, 

8 during the period of that declaration; 

9 (3) the term ‘‘first response broadcaster’’ 

10 means a local or regional television or radio broad11 caster that provides essential disaster-related public 

12 information programming before, during, and after 

13 the occurrence of a major disaster; 

14 (4) the term ‘‘major disaster’’ has the meaning 

15 given the term in section 102 of the Robert T. Staf16 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

17 (42 U.S.C. 5122); and 

18 (5) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

19 of Homeland Security. 

20 SEC. 4. PRIMARY ENTRY POINT STATIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro22 priated $6,500,000 to the Administrator of the Federal 

23 Emergency Management Agency for facility and equip24 ment expenses to construct an additional 25 Primary 

25 Entry Point stations in the continental United States and 

26 territories. 

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1 (b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘Primary 

2 Entry Point station’’ means a radio broadcast station des3 ignated to provide public information following national 

4 and local emergencies where there is no commercial power. 

5 SEC. 5. BROADCAST DISASTER PREPAREDNESS GRANT 

6 PROGRAM. 

7 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘pilot 

8 program’’ means the Broadcast Disaster Preparedness 

9 Grant Program established under subsection (b). 

10 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es12 tablish a pilot program under which the Administrator 

13 may make grants to first response broadcasters, to be 

14 known as the ‘‘Broadcast Disaster Preparedness Grant 

15 Program’’. 

16 (c) PRIORITY.—The Administrator may give priority 

17 to an application for a grant under the pilot program 

18 that— 

19 (1) is submitted— 

20 (A) on behalf of more than 1 first response 

21 broadcaster operating in an area; 

22 (B) in cooperation with State or local au23 thorities; 

24 (C) on behalf of a first response broad25 caster with 50 employees or less; 

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1 (D) on behalf of a first response broad2 caster that is principally owned and operated by 

3 individuals residing within the State, county, 

4 parish, or municipality in which the broadcaster 

5 is located; or 

6 (2) provides, in writing, a statement of the in7 tention of the applicant to provide disaster-related 

8 programming dedicated to essential public informa9 tion purposes before, during, and after a major dis10 aster. 

11 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—A grant under the pilot pro12 gram shall be used by a first response broadcaster to— 

13 (1) protect or provide redundancy for facilities 

14 and infrastructure, including transmitters and other 

15 at-risk equipment (as determined by the Adminis16 trator), critical to the ability of that first response 

17 broadcaster to continue to produce and transmit es18 sential disaster-related public information program19 ming; or 

20 (2) upgrade or add facilities or equipment that 

21 will enhance or expand the ability of the first re22 sponder broadcaster to acquire, produce, or transmit 

23 essential disaster-related public information pro24 gramming. 

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1 (e) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of an ac2 tivity carried out with a grant under this section shall be 

3 not more than 50 percent. 

4 (f) TERMINATION.—The authority to make grants 

5 under the pilot program shall terminate at the end of the 

6 third full fiscal year after the date of enactment of this 

7 Act. 

8 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

10 out the pilot program $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

11 2008 through 2010. 

12 SEC. 6. FIRST RESPONSE BROADCASTER ACCESS FOL13 LOWING A MAJOR DISASTER. 

14 (a) ACCESS.—Section 403 of the Robert T. Stafford 

15 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

16 5170b) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)(3)(B), by inserting ‘‘(in18 cluding providing fuel, food, water, and other sup19 plies to first response broadcasters, after providing 

20 essential emergency services, health care, and utility 

21 restoration services)’’ before the semicolon at the 

22 end; and 

23 (2) in subsection (c)(6)— 

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1 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

2 and (B) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respec3 tively; and 

4 (B) by inserting before subparagraph (B), 

5 as so redesignated, the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) FIRST RESPONSE BROADCASTER.— 

7 The term ‘first response broadcaster’ has the 

8 meaning given that term in section 707.’’. 

9 (b) CONFISCATION.—Title VII of the Robert T. Staf10 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 5201 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 707. CONFISCATION FROM FIRST RESPONSE BROAD14 CASTERS. 

15 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘first re16 sponse broadcaster’ means a local or regional television 

17 or radio broadcaster that provides essential disaster-re18 lated public information programming before, during, and 

19 after a major disaster. 

20 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—In the event of a major disaster, 

21 and to the extent practicable and consistent with not en22 dangering public safety, a Federal officer or employee may 

23 not confiscate fuel, water, or food from a first response 

24 broadcaster if that first response broadcaster adequately 

25 documents that such supplies will be used to enable that 

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1 broadcast first responder to broadcast essential disaster2 related public information programming in the area af3 fected by that major disaster.’’. 

4 (c) RESTORATION OF SERVICES.—The Robert T. 

5 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating section 425 (42 U.S.C. 

8 5189e) (relating to essential service providers) as 

9 section 427; and 

10 (2) in section 427, as so redesignated, by add11 ing at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(d) FIRST RESPONSE BROADCASTERS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

14 ‘first response broadcaster’ has the meaning given 

15 that term in section 707. 

16 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—In the event of a major dis17 aster, the head of a Federal agency, in consultation 

18 with appropriate State and local government au19 thorities, and to the greatest extent practicable and 

20 consistent with not endangering public safety or in21 hibiting recovery efforts, shall allow access to the 

22 area affected by that major disaster for technical 

23 personnel, broadcast engineers, and equipment need24 ed to restore, repair, or resupply any facility or 

25 equipment critical to the ability of a first response 

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1 broadcaster to continue to acquire, produce, and 

2 transmit essential disaster-related public information 

3 programming, including the repair and maintenance 

4 of transmitters and other facility equipment and 

5 transporting fuel for generators. 

6 ‘‘(3) NEWS GATHERING EMPLOYEES.—This 

7 subsection shall not apply to news gathering employ8 ees or agents of a first response broadcaster.’’. 

9 (d) GUIDELINES FOR PRESS.— 

10 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

11 (A) the term ‘‘credentialing authority’’ 

12 means a Federal, State, or local government 

13 agency that— 

14 (i) issues press credentials; and 

15 (ii) permits and coordinates access to 

16 a designated location or area on the basis 

17 of possessing such press credentials; 

18 (B) the term ‘‘press credential’’ means the 

19 identification provided to news personnel to 

20 identify such personnel as members of the 

21 press; and 

22 (C) the term ‘‘news personnel’’ includes a 

23 broadcast journalist or technician, newspaper or 

24 periodical reporter, photojournalist, and mem25 ber of a similar professional field whose primstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 mary interest in entering the disaster area is to 

2 gather information related to the disaster for 

3 wider publication or broadcast. 

4 (2) ACCESS TO DISASTER AREA.—For purposes 

5 of permitting and coordinating access by news per6 sonnel to a disaster area— 

7 (A) any State or local government agency 

8 that serves as the primary credentialing author9 ity for that disaster area before the date of the 

10 applicable major disaster shall remain the pri11 mary credentialing authority during and after 

12 that major disaster, unless— 

13 (i) the State or local government 

14 agency voluntarily relinquishes the ability 

15 to serve as primary credentialing authority 

16 to another agency; or 

17 (ii) the State or local government 

18 agency, in consultation with appropriate 

19 Federal disaster response agencies, assigns 

20 certain duties, including primary 

21 credentialing authority, to the Federal 

22 Emergency Management Agency or an23 other appropriate Federal, State, or local 

24 government agency; and 

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1 (B) the Federal Emergency Management 

2 Agency and other appropriate Federal disaster 

3 response agencies operating in a disaster area 

4 shall permit and coordinate news personnel ac5 cess to the disaster area consistent with the ac6 cess guidelines determined by the primary 

7 credentialing authority for that disaster area. 

8 (3) CATASTROPHIC INCIDENT ACCESS.—In the 

9 event of a catastrophic incident (as that term is de10 fined in section 501 of the Homeland Security Act 

11 of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311)) that leaves a State or local 

12 primary credentialing authority unable to execute 

13 the duties of that credentialing authority described 

14 under paragraph (2) or to effectively communicate 

15 to Federal officials a determination regarding the in16 tent of that credentialing authority to retain, relin17 quish, or assign its status as the primary 

18 credentialing authority, the Secretary may designate 

19 the Federal Emergency Management Agency or an20 other Federal agency as the interim primary 

21 credentialing authority, until such a time as the 

22 State or local credentialing authority notifies the 

23 Secretary of whether that authority intends to re24 tain, relinquish, or assign its status. 

Æ 

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