II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1725 

To strengthen Federal leadership, provide grants, enhance outreach and guidance, and provide other support to State and local officials to enhance 

emergency communications capabilities, to achieve communications interoperability, to foster improved regional collaboration and coordination, 

to promote more efficient utilization of funding devoted to public safety 

communications, to promote research and development by both the public 

and private sectors for first responder communications, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2005 

Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. LEVIN, and Mr. 

MCCAIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To strengthen Federal leadership, provide grants, enhance 

outreach and guidance, and provide other support to 

State and local officials to enhance emergency communications capabilities, to achieve communications interoperability, to foster improved regional collaboration and 

coordination, to promote more efficient utilization of 

funding devoted to public safety communications, to promote research and development by both the public and 

private sectors for first responder communications, and 

for other purposes. 
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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 ‘‘Assure Emergency and 

5 Interoperable Communications for First Responders Act 

6 of 2005’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) Communications among those responding to 

10 a natural disaster, terrorist attack, or other large11 scale emergency are critical to an effective response 

12 and to save lives. 

13 (2) Ordinary modes of communications are 

14 often difficult or impossible during a natural dis15 aster, terrorist attack, or other catastrophic emer16 gency, because of damage to critical infrastructure, 

17 including the destruction of phone lines and cellular 

18 towers, and loss of power sources and because of in19 creased demand placed on already strained systems. 

20 (3) In the days after Hurricane Katrina dev21 astated the Gulf Coast of the United States, the 

22 communications infrastructure in the affected areas 

23 was decimated, and difficulties in communicating 

24 among officials and first responders significantly im25 peded the rescue and relief efforts. 
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1 (4) A further major barrier to sharing informa2 tion among police, firefighters, and others who may 

3 be called on to respond to natural disasters, terrorist 

4 attacks, and other large-scale emergencies is the lack 

5 of interoperable communications systems, which can 

6 enable public safety agencies to talk to one another 

7 and share important, sometimes critical, information 

8 in an emergency. Police and firefighters responding 

9 to the attacks at the World Trade Center on Sep10 tember 11, 2001, had difficulty communicating with 

11 each other. Initial press reports indicate that con12 flicting radio frequencies also contributed to the dif13 ficulties in communications among law enforcement 

14 and government relief agencies in the aftermath of 

15 Hurricane Katrina. 

16 (5) The Department of Homeland Security has 

17 identified communications interoperability as 1 of 

18 the key national priorities for first responders to 

19 achieve the National Preparedness Goal that the De20 partment of Homeland Security has established for 

21 the Nation and has identified emergency response 

22 communications as an essential target capability 

23 needed to respond to a major event. 

24 (6) The lack of emergency communication capa25 bilities and interoperability costs lives not only dur-
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1 ing terrorist attacks or natural disasters, but also 

2 during everyday emergency operations. 

3 (7) Assuring emergency communications capa4 bilities and achieving interoperability is difficult be5 cause some 50,000 local agencies typically make 

6 independent decisions about communications sys7 tems. This lack of coordination also dramatically in8 creases the cost of public safety communications to 

9 Federal, State, local, and tribal governments. 

10 (8) Achieving the level of emergency commu11 nications capabilities and communications interoper12 ability that is needed will require an unprecedented 

13 level of coordination and cooperation among Federal, 

14 State, local, and tribal public safety agencies. Estab15 lishing multidisciplinary, cross-jurisdictional govern16 ance structures to achieve the necessary level of col17 laboration is essential to accomplishing this goal. 

18 (9) The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Pre19 vention Act of 2004 requires the Secretary of Home20 land Security, in consultation with other Federal of21 ficials, to establish a program to ensure public safety 

22 interoperable communications at all levels of govern23 ment. 

24 (10) However, much more remains to be done. 

25 For example, in January 2005, the National Gov-
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1 ernors Association reported that while achieving 

2 interoperability ranked as the top priority for States, 

3 obtaining the equipment and technology to fulfill 

4 this goal remains a challenge. The large majority of 

5 States report that they have not yet achieved inter6 operability in their States. 

7 (11) Much of the communications equipment 

8 used by emergency responders is outdated and in9 compatible, which inhibits communication between 

10 State and local governments and between neigh11 boring local jurisdictions. Additional grant funding 

12 would facilitate the acquisition of new technology to 

13 enable interoperability. 

14 (12) Stronger and more effective national, 

15 statewide, and regional leadership are required to 

16 improve emergency communications capabilities and 

17 interoperability. The Department of Homeland Secu18 rity must provide national leadership by conducting 

19 nationwide outreach to each State, fostering the de20 velopment of regional leadership, and providing sub21 stantial technical assistance to State, local, and trib22 al public safety officials, while more effectively uti23 lizing grant programs that fund interoperable equip24 ment and systems. 
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1 (13) The Department of Homeland Security 

2 must implement pilot programs and fund and con3 duct research to develop and promote adoption of 

4 next-generation solutions for public safety commu5 nications. The Department of Homeland Security 

6 must also further develop its own internal expertise 

7 to enable it to better lead national interoperability 

8 efforts and to provide technically sound advice to 

9 State and local officials. 

10 (14) Achieving emergency communications ca11 pabilities and interoperability requires the sustained 

12 commitment of substantial resources. Nonetheless, 

13 emergency communications capabilities and inter14 operability can be accomplished at a much lower cost 

15 than would otherwise be possible if strong national 

16 leadership drives cooperation and adoption of smart, 

17 new technology solutions. 

18 (15) The private sector has a critical role to 

19 play in developing cost-effective solutions to these 

20 problems. 

21 SEC. 3. OFFICE FOR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, 

22 INTEROPERABILITY, AND COMPATIBILITY. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7303(a)(2) of the Intel24 ligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (6 

25 U.S.C. 194(a)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 
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1 ‘‘(2) OFFICE FOR EMERGENCY COMMUNICA2 TIONS, INTEROPERABILITY, AND COMPATIBILITY.— 

3 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—There 

4 is established an Office for Emergency Commu5 nications, Interoperability, and Compatibility 

6 within the Directorate of Science and Tech7 nology of the Department of Homeland Secu8 rity to carry out this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(B) DIRECTOR.—There shall be a Direc10 tor of the Office for Emergency Communica11 tions, Interoperability, and Compatibility, who 

12 shall be appointed by the Secretary of Home13 land Security. 

14 ‘‘(C) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Director of 

15 the Office for Emergency Communications, 

16 Interoperability, and Compatibility shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) assist the Secretary of Homeland 

18 Security in developing and implementing 

19 the program described in paragraph (1); 

20 ‘‘(ii) carry out the Department of 

21 Homeland Security’s responsibilities and 

22 authorities relating to the SAFECOM Pro23 gram; 

24 ‘‘(iii) carry out section 510 of the 

25 Homeland Security Act of 2002; and 
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1 ‘‘(iv) conduct extensive, nationwide 

2 outreach and foster the development of 

3 emergency communications capabilities and 

4 interoperable communications systems by 

5 State, local, and tribal governments and 

6 public safety agencies, and by regional con7 sortia thereof, by— 

8 ‘‘(I) in coordination with the Na9 tional Communications System, devel10 oping, updating, and implementing a 

11 national strategy to achieve emer12 gency communications capabilities, 

13 with goals and timetables; 

14 ‘‘(II) developing, updating, and 

15 implementing a national strategy to 

16 achieve communications interoper17 ability, with goals and timetables; 

18 ‘‘(III) developing a national ar19 chitecture, which defines the compo20 nents of an interoperable system and 

21 how they fit together; 

22 ‘‘(IV) establishing and maintain23 ing a task force that represents the 

24 broad customer base of State, local, 

25 and tribal public safety agencies, as 
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1 well as Federal agencies, involved in 

2 public safety disciplines such as law 

3 enforcement, firefighting, emergency 

4 medical services, public health, and 

5 disaster recovery, in order to receive 

6 input and coordinate efforts to achieve 

7 emergency communications capabili8 ties and communications interoper9 ability; 

10 ‘‘(V) working with the Office of 

11 Domestic Preparedness Interoperable 

12 Communications Technical Assistance 

13 Program to— 

14 ‘‘(aa) provide technical as15 sistance to State, local, and tribal 

16 officials; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) facilitate the creation 

18 of regional task forces in each 

19 State, with appropriate govern20 ance structures and representa21 tion from State, local, and tribal 

22 governments and public safety 

23 agencies and from the Federal 

24 Government, to effectively ad25 dress emergency communications 
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1 capabilities, interoperability, and 

2 other communications and infor3 mation-sharing needs; 

4 ‘‘(VI) promoting a greater under5 standing of the importance of emer6 gency communications capabilities, 

7 interoperability, and the benefits of 

8 sharing resources among all levels of 

9 State, local, tribal, and Federal gov10 ernment; 

11 ‘‘(VII) promoting development of 

12 standard operating procedures for in13 cident response and facilitating the 

14 sharing of information on best prac15 tices (including from governments 

16 abroad) for achieving emergency com17 munications capabilities and inter18 operability; 

19 ‘‘(VIII) making recommendations 

20 to Congress about any changes in 

21 Federal law necessary to remove bar22 riers to achieving emergency commu23 nications capabilities and communica24 tions interoperability; 
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1 ‘‘(IX) funding and conducting 

2 pilot programs, as necessary, in order 

3 to— 

4 ‘‘(aa) evaluate and validate 

5 new technology concepts in real6 world environments to achieve 

7 emergency communications capa8 bilities and public safety commu9 nications interoperability; 

10 ‘‘(bb) encourage more effi11 cient use of existing resources, 

12 including equipment and spec13 trum; and 

14 ‘‘(cc) test and deploy public 

15 safety communications systems 

16 that are less prone to failure, 

17 support new non-voice services, 

18 consume less spectrum, and cost 

19 less; 

20 ‘‘(X) liaisoning with the private 

21 sector to develop solutions to improve 

22 emergency communications capabili23 ties and achieve interoperability; and 

24 ‘‘(XI) performing other functions 

25 necessary to improve emergency com-
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1 munications capabilities and achieve 

2 communications interoperability. 

3 ‘‘(D) SUFFICIENCY OF RESOURCES.—The 

4 Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide 

5 the Office for Emergency Communications, 

6 Interoperability, and Compatibility with the re7 sources and staff necessary to carry out the 

8 purposes of this section. The Secretary shall 

9 further ensure that there is sufficient staff 

10 within the Office of Emergency Communica11 tions, Interoperability, and Compatibility, the 

12 Office for Domestic Preparedness, the National 

13 Communications Systems, and other offices of 

14 the Department of Homeland Security as nec15 essary, to provide dedicated support to public 

16 safety organizations consistent with the respon17 sibilities set forth in subparagraph (C)(iv).’’. 

18 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 7303(g) of the Intel19 ligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (6 

20 U.S.C. 194(g)) is amended— 

21 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(1) INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS AND

24 COMMUNICATIONS INTEROPERABILITY.—The terms 

25 ‘interoperable communications’ and ‘communications 
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1 interoperability’ mean the ability of emergency re2 sponse providers and relevant Federal, State, and 

3 local government agencies to communicate with each 

4 other as necessary, utilizing information technology 

5 systems and radio communications systems, and to 

6 exchange voice, data, or video with one another on 

7 demand, in real time, as necessary.’’; and 

8 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(3) EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CAPABILI10 TIES.—The term ‘emergency communications capa11 bilities’ means the ability to provide and maintain, 

12 throughout an emergency response operation, a con13 tinuous flow of information among emergency re14 sponders, agencies, and government officials from 

15 multiple disciplines and jurisdictions and at all levels 

16 of government in the event of a natural disaster, ter17 rorist attack, or other large-scale or catastrophic 

18 emergency, including where there has been signifi19 cant damage to, or destruction of, critical infrastruc20 ture, substantial loss of ordinary telecommunications 

21 infrastructure, and sustained loss of electricity.’’. 

22 (c) ASSESSMENTS AND REPORTS.—Title III of the 

23 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) 

24 is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 314. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AND INTER2 OPERABILITY ASSESSMENTS AND REPORTS. 

3 ‘‘(a) BASELINE INTEROPERABILITY ASSESSMENT.— 

4 The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office 

5 for Emergency Communications, Interoperability, and 

6 Compatibility, shall conduct a nationwide assessment to 

7 determine the degree to which communications interoper8 ability has been achieved to date and to ascertain the 

9 needs that remain for interoperability to be achieved. 

10 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION OF EMERGENCY COMMUNICA11 TIONS CAPABILITIES.—The Secretary, acting through the 

12 Director of the Office for Emergency Communications, 

13 Interoperability, and Compatibility and the National Com14 munications System, shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) conduct an assessment of the ability of 

16 communities to provide and maintain emergency 

17 communications among emergency response pro18 viders and government officials in the event of a nat19 ural disaster, terrorist attack, or other large-scale 

20 emergency, including where there is substantial 

21 damage to ordinary communications infrastructure 

22 and sustained loss of electricity; 

23 ‘‘(2) compile a list of best practices among com24 munities for providing and maintaining communica25 tions in the event of a natural disaster, terrorist at26 tack, or other large-scale emergency; and 
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1 ‘‘(3) conduct a study to evaluate the feasibility 

2 and desirability of the Department developing, on its 

3 own or in conjunction with the Department of De4 fense, a mobile communications capability, modeled 

5 on the Army Signal Corps, that could be deployed to 

6 support emergency communications at the site of a 

7 natural disaster, terrorist attack, or other large-scale 

8 emergency. 

9 ‘‘(c) BIANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year 

10 after the date of enactment of this section, and biannually 

11 thereafter, the Secretary, acting through the Director of 

12 the Office for Emergency Communications, Interoper13 ability, and Compatibility, shall submit to the Committee 

14 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the 

15 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

16 the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security and 

17 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 

18 of Representatives a report on the Department’s progress 

19 in implementing and achieving the goals of the Assure 

20 Emergency and Interoperable Communications for First 

21 Responders Act of 2005. The first report submitted under 

22 this subsection shall include a description of the findings 

23 of the assessments, evaluations, and study conducted 

24 under subsections (a) and (b).’’. 
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1 SEC. 4. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

2 Title III of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

3 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), as amended by section 3, is amended 

4 by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 315. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INTEROPER6 ABILITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

8 comprehensive research and development program to pro9 mote emergency communications capabilities and commu10 nications interoperability among first responders, includ11 ing by— 

12 ‘‘(1) promoting research on a competitive basis 

13 through the Directorate of Science and Technology 

14 Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects 

15 Agency; and 

16 ‘‘(2) considering establishment of a Center of 

17 Excellence under the Department of Homeland Se18 curity Centers of Excellence Program, using a com19 petitive process, focused on enhancing information 

20 and communications systems for first responders. 

21 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program es22 tablished under subsection (a) include— 

23 ‘‘(1) understanding the strengths and weak24 nesses of the diverse public safety communications 

25 systems currently in use; 
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1 ‘‘(2) examining how current and emerging tech2 nology can make public safety organizations more ef3 fective, and how Federal, State, and local agencies 

4 can utilize this technology in a coherent and cost-ef5 fective manner; 

6 ‘‘(3) exploring Federal, State, and local policies 

7 that will move systematically towards long-term solu8 tions; 

9 ‘‘(4) evaluating and validating new technology 

10 concepts, and promoting the deployment of advanced 

11 public safety information technologies for emergency 

12 communications capabilities and interoperability; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(5) advancing the creation of a national strat15 egy to enhance emergency communications capabili16 ties, promote interoperability and efficient use of 

17 spectrum in communications systems, improve infor18 mation sharing across organizations, and use ad19 vanced information technology to increase the effec20 tiveness of first responders in valuable new ways.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. PILOT PROJECTS. 

22 Title III of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

23 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), as amended by sections 3 and 4, is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 316. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS PILOT 

2 PROJECTS. 

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

4 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall es5 tablish not fewer than 2 pilot projects to develop and 

6 evaluate strategies and technologies for providing and 

7 maintaining emergency communications capabilities 

8 among emergency response providers and government offi9 cials in the event of a natural disaster, terrorist attack, 

10 or other large-scale emergency in which there is significant 

11 damage to, or destruction of, critical infrastructure, in12 cluding substantial loss of ordinary telecommunications in13 frastructure and sustained loss of electricity. 

14 ‘‘(b) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting areas for 

15 the location of the pilot projects, the Secretary shall con16 sider— 

17 ‘‘(1) the risk to the area from a large-scale ter18 rorist attack or natural disaster; 

19 ‘‘(2) the number of potential victims from a 

20 large-scale terrorist attack or natural disaster in the 

21 area; 

22 ‘‘(3) the existing capabilities of the area’s emer23 gency communications systems; and 

24 ‘‘(4) such other criteria as the Secretary may 

25 determine appropriate.’’. 
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1 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 In addition to the funds authorized to be appro3 priated by section 7303(a)(3) of the Intelligence Reform 

4 and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (6 U.S.C. 

5 194(a)(3)), there are authorized to be appropriated for the 

6 operations of the Office for Emergency Communications, 

7 Interoperability, and Compatibility, to provide technical 

8 assistance through the Office for Domestic Preparedness, 

9 to fund and conduct research under section 315 of the 

10 Homeland Security Act of 2002, to fund pilot projects 

11 under section 316 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, 

12 and for other appropriate entities within the Department 

13 of Homeland Security to support the activities described 

14 in section 7303 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism 

15 Prevention Act of 2004 (6 U.S.C. 194) and sections 314 

16 through 316 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as 

17 added by this Act— 

18 (1) $127,232,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

19 (2) $126,549,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

20 (3) $125,845,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

21 (4) $125,121,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

22 (5) such sums as are necessary for each fiscal 

23 year thereafter. 
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1 SEC. 7. DEDICATED FUNDING TO ACHIEVE EMERGENCY 

2 COMMUNICATIONS CAPABILITIES AND 

3 INTEROPERABILITY. 

4 The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 

5 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘TITLE XVIII—DEDICATED FUND7 ING TO ACHIEVE EMERGENCY 

8 COMMUNICATIONS CAPABILI9 TIES AND INTEROPER10 ABILITY. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 1801. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AND INTER12 OPERABILITY GRANTS. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the Of14 fice, shall make grants to States and eligible regions for 

15 initiatives necessary to improve emergency communica16 tions capabilities and to achieve short-term or long-term 

17 solutions to statewide, regional, national and, where ap18 propriate, international interoperability. 

19 ‘‘(b) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Grants awarded under 

20 subsection (a) may be used for initiatives to achieve short21 term or long-term solutions for emergency communica22 tions and interoperability within the State or region and 

23 to assist with any aspect of the communication life cycle, 

24 including— 

25 ‘‘(1) statewide or regional communications 

26 planning; 
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1 ‘‘(2) system design and engineering; 

2 ‘‘(3) procurement and installation of equipment; 

3 ‘‘(4) training and exercises; and 

4 ‘‘(5) other activities determined by the Sec5 retary to be integral to the achievement of emer6 gency communications capabilities and communica7 tions interoperability. 

8 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall ensure 

9 that the Office coordinates its activities with the Office 

10 of Emergency Communications, Interoperability, and 

11 Compatibility, the Directorate of Science and Technology, 

12 the National Communications System, and other Federal 

13 entities so that grants awarded under this section, and 

14 other grant programs related to homeland security, fulfill 

15 the purposes of this Act and facilitate the achievement of 

16 emergency communications capabilities and communica17 tions interoperability consistent with the national strategy. 

18 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State or eligible region 

20 desiring a grant under this section shall submit an 

21 application at such time, in such manner, and ac22 companied by such information as the Secretary may 

23 reasonably require. 
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1 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM CONTENTS.—At a minimum, 

2 each application submitted under paragraph (1) 

3 shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) identify the critical aspects of the 

5 communications life cycle, including planning, 

6 system design and engineering, procurement 

7 and installation, and training for which funding 

8 is requested; 

9 ‘‘(B) describe how— 

10 ‘‘(i) the proposed use of funds would 

11 be consistent with and address the goals in 

12 any applicable State homeland security 

13 plan, and, unless the Secretary determines 

14 otherwise, are consistent with the national 

15 strategy and architecture; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the applicant intends to spend 

17 funds under the grant, to administer such 

18 funds, and to allocate such funds among 

19 any participating local governments; and 

20 ‘‘(C) be consistent with the Interoperable 

21 Communications Plan required by section 

22 7303(f) of the Intelligence Reform and Ter23 rorism Prevention Act of 2004 (6 U.S.C. 

24 194(f)). 

25 ‘‘(e) STATE REVIEW AND SUBMISSION.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To ensure consistency with 

2 State homeland security plans, an eligible region ap3 plying for a grant under this section shall submit its 

4 application to each State within which any part of 

5 the eligible region is located for review before sub6 mission of such application to the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE.—Not later than 30 days after 

8 receiving an application from an eligible region 

9 under paragraph (1), each such State shall transmit 

10 the application to the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(3) STATE DISAGREEMENT.—If the Governor 

12 of any such State determines that a regional appli13 cation is inconsistent with the State homeland secu14 rity plan of that State, or otherwise does not sup15 port the application, the Governor shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) notify the Secretary in writing of that 

17 fact; and 

18 ‘‘(B) provide an explanation of the reasons 

19 for not supporting the application at the time 

20 of transmission of the application. 

21 ‘‘(f) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) CONSIDERATIONS.—In approving applica23 tions and awarding grants under this section, the 

24 Secretary shall consider— 
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1 ‘‘(A) the nature of the threat to the State 

2 or eligible region from a terrorist attack, nat3 ural disaster, or other large-scale emergency; 

4 ‘‘(B) the location, risk, or vulnerability of 

5 critical infrastructure and key national assets, 

6 including the consequences from damage to 

7 critical infrastructure in nearby jurisdictions as 

8 a result of a terrorist attack, natural disaster, 

9 or other large-scale emergency; 

10 ‘‘(C) the size of the population, as well as 

11 the population density of the area, that will be 

12 served by the interoperable communications sys13 tems, except that the Secretary shall not estab14 lish a minimum population requirement that 

15 would disqualify from consideration an area 

16 that otherwise faces significant threats, 

17 vulnerabilities, or consequences from a terrorist 

18 attack, natural disaster, or other large-scale 

19 emergency; 

20 ‘‘(D) the extent to which grants will be uti21 lized to implement emergency communications 

22 and interoperability solutions— 

23 ‘‘(i) consistent with the national strat24 egy and compatible with the national archi25 tecture; and 
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1 ‘‘(ii) more efficient and cost effective 

2 than current approaches; 

3 ‘‘(E) the number of jurisdictions within re4 gions participating in the development of emer5 gency communications capabilities and inter6 operable communications systems, including the 

7 extent to which the application includes all in8 corporated municipalities, counties, parishes, 

9 and tribal governments within the State or eli10 gible region, and their coordination with Fed11 eral and State agencies; 

12 ‘‘(F) the extent to which a grant would ex13 pedite the achievement of emergency commu14 nications capabilities and interoperability in the 

15 State or eligible region with Federal, State, and 

16 local agencies; 

17 ‘‘(G) the extent to which a State or eligible 

18 region, given its financial capability, dem19 onstrates its commitment to expeditiously 

20 achieving emergency communications capabili21 ties and communications interoperability by 

22 supplementing Federal funds with non-Federal 

23 funds; 

24 ‘‘(H) whether the State or eligible region is 

25 on or near an international border; 
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1 ‘‘(I) whether the State or eligible region 

2 encompasses an economically significant border 

3 crossing; 

4 ‘‘(J) whether the State or eligible region 

5 has a coastline bordering an ocean or inter6 national waters; 

7 ‘‘(K) the extent to which geographic bar8 riers pose unusual obstacles to achieving emer9 gency communications capabilities or commu10 nications interoperability; 

11 ‘‘(L) the threats, vulnerabilities, and con12 sequences faced by the State or eligible region 

13 related to at-risk site or activities in nearby ju14 risdictions, including the need to respond to ter15 rorist attacks, natural disasters, or other large16 scale emergencies arising in those jurisdictions; 

17 ‘‘(M) the need to achieve nationwide emer18 gency communications capabilities and inter19 operability, consistent with the national strate20 gies; and 

21 ‘‘(N) such other factors as are specified by 

22 the Secretary in writing. 

23 ‘‘(2) REVIEW PANEL.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

25 establish a review panel under section 871(a) to 
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1 assist in reviewing grant applications under this 

2 section. 

3 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The review 

4 panel established under subparagraph (A) shall 

5 make recommendations to the Secretary regard6 ing applications for grants under this section. 

7 ‘‘(C) MEMBERSHIP.—The review panel es8 tablished under subparagraph (A) shall include 

9 individuals with technical expertise in emer10 gency communications and communications 

11 interoperability as well as emergency response 

12 providers and other relevant State and local of13 ficials. 

14 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Any grant 

15 funds awarded that may be used to support emer16 gency communications or interoperability shall, as 

17 the Secretary may determine, remain available for 

18 up to 3 years, consistent with section 7303(e) of the 

19 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act 

20 of 2004 (6 U.S.C. 194(e)). 

21 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

22 definitions apply: 

23 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE REGION.—The term ‘eligible re24 gion’ means— 
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1 ‘‘(A) 2 or more contiguous incorporated 

2 municipalities, counties, parishes, Indian tribes 

3 or other general purpose jurisdictions that— 

4 ‘‘(i) have joined together to enhance 

5 emergency communications capabilities or 

6 communications interoperability between 

7 first responders in those jurisdictions and 

8 with State and Federal officials; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) includes the largest city in any 

10 metropolitan statistical area, as defined by 

11 the Office of Management and Budget; or 

12 ‘‘(B) any other area the Secretary deter13 mines to be consistent with the definition of a 

14 region in the national preparedness guidance 

15 issued under Homeland Security Presidential 

16 Directive 8. 

17 ‘‘(2) OFFICE.—The term ‘office’ refers to the 

18 Office of Domestic Preparedness of the Office of 

19 State and Local Government Preparedness and Co20 ordination within the Department of Homeland Se21 curity. 

22 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the pur24 poses of this section— 

25 ‘‘(1) $400,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 
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1 ‘‘(2) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

2 ‘‘(3) $600,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

3 ‘‘(4) $800,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

4 ‘‘(5) $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

5 ‘‘(6) such sums as are necessary for each fiscal 

6 year thereafter.’’. 

7 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

8 Section 2 of the Homeland Security of Act of 2002 

9 (6 U.S. C. 101) is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through 

11 (16) as paragraphs (11) through (18), respectively; 

12 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through 

13 (8) as paragraphs (7) through (9), respectively; 

14 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(6) The term ‘emergency communications ca17 pabilities’ means the ability to provide and maintain, 

18 throughout an emergency response operation, a con19 tinuous flow of information among emergency re20 sponders, agencies, and government officials from 

21 multiple disciplines and jurisdictions and at all levels 

22 of government, in the event of a natural disaster, 

23 terrorist attack, or other large-scale or catastrophic 

24 emergency, including where there has been signifi25 cant damage to, or destruction of, critical infrastruc-
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1 ture, including substantial loss of ordinary tele2 communications infrastructure and sustained loss of 

3 electricity.’’; and 

4 (4) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(9) The terms ‘interoperable communications’ 

7 and ‘communications interoperability’ mean the abil8 ity of emergency response providers and relevant 

9 Federal, State, and local government agencies to 

10 communicate with each other as necessary, utilizing 

11 information technology systems and radio commu12 nications systems, and to exchange voice, data, or 

13 video with one another on demand, in real time, as 

14 necessary.’’. 

15 SEC. 9. INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an Inter17 agency Committee on Emergency Communications and 

18 Interoperability (referred to in this section as ‘‘the Com19 mittee’’). 

20 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Committee shall be com21 posed of: 

22 (1) a representative of the Department of 

23 Homeland Security, who shall serve as Chair of the 

24 Committee; 
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1 (2) a representative of the Federal Communica2 tions Committee; 

3 (3) a representative of the Department of Com4 merce; 

5 (4) a representative of the Department of De6 fense; 

7 (5) a representative of the Department of Jus8 tice; 

9 (6) a representative of the Department of 

10 Health and Human Services; 

11 (7) a representative of the National Institute of 

12 Standards and Technology; and 

13 (8) a representative of any other department or 

14 agency determined to be necessary by the President. 

15 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act, the Committee shall submit a 

17 report to the President and to Congress that includes— 

18 (1) a proposal as to how to most effectively ac19 celerate the development of national standards for 

20 public safety interoperable communications in ac21 cordance with section 7303 of the Intelligence Re22 form and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (6 

23 U.S.C. 194); and 

24 (2) a proposal on how to ensure that Federal 

25 officials responding to a natural disaster, terrorist 
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1 attack, or other large-scale emergency, have the 

2 means to provide and maintain emergency commu3 nications capabilities to support their response ef4 forts where there is significant damage to, or de5 struction of, critical infrastructure, including sub6 stantial loss of ordinary telecommunications infra7 structure and sustained loss of electricity. 

8 SEC. 10. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

9 The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland 

10 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101) is amended by— 

11 (1) inserting after the item relating to section 

12 313 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 314. Emergency communications and interoperability assessments 

and report. 

‘‘Sec. 315. Emergency communications and interoperability research and 

development. 

‘‘Sec. 316. Emergency communications pilot projects.’’. 

13 (2) adding at the end the following: 

‘‘TITLE XVIII—DEDICATED FUNDING TO ACHIEVE EMERGENCY 

COMMUNICATIONS CAPABILITIES AND INTEROPERABILITY 

‘‘Sec. 1801. Emergency communications and interoperability grants.’’. 

Æ