II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1703 

To provide for the development and implementation of an emergency backup 

communications system. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2005 

Mr. KERRY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide for the development and implementation of an 

emergency backup communications 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 ‘‘Communications Secu5 rity Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The tragic events of September 11, 2001, 

9 placed an enormous strain on the communications 

10 network in New York City, New York and Wash-
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1 ington, District of Columbia. Officials from both cit2 ies struggled to communicate and coordinate among 

3 the various emergency response teams dispatched to 

4 ‘‘Ground Zero’’ and the Pentagon. These events un5 covered manifest structural weaknesses in the com6 munications infrastructure of the United States. 

7 (2) The 9/11 Commission Report states that 

8 our Nation remains largely unprepared to commu9 nicate effectively in the event of another attack or 

10 natural catastrophe. 

11 (3) The massive communications failures asso12 ciated with Hurricane Katrina illustrate the con13 tinuing inadequacies of our communications systems 

14 in times of crisis. 

15 (4) Despite heroic efforts by public officials and 

16 communications industry personnel, the failure of 

17 our communications network to persevere in the face 

18 of a catastrophic hurricane severely hampered post19 storm recovery efforts. 

20 (5) A comprehensive effort must be undertaken 

21 to deal with the communications challenges faced by 

22 our Nation, including short-term and long-term 

23 steps that can be taken to improve the interoperable 

24 communications and emergency response capability 

25 within the United States. 
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1 (6) There is an immediate need for the develop2 ment and deployment of an emergency back-up com3 munications system to enhance the Nation’s emer4 gency response capabilities. Deployment of an emer5 gency back-up communications system should be a 

6 priority of the United States. 

7 (7) The deployment of such a system is a crit8 ical first step in enhancing the overall communica9 tions infrastructure. Other required improvements 

10 will need to be made in such areas as training, per11 sonnel, equipment, software, and services for local 

12 governments, and assistance with capital expenses. 

13 Supporting and enhancing ongoing efforts in this re14 gard is an important goal. 

15 SEC. 3. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS BACK-UP SYSTEM. 

16 (a) Title III of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

17 (6 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), as amended by section 4, is further 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 317. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS BACK-UP SYS20 TEM. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

22 the date of enactment of the Communications Security Act 

23 of 2005, the Secretary, in conjunction with the Federal 

24 Communications Commission, shall evaluate the technical 

25 feasibility of creating a back-up emergency communica-
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1 tions system that complements existing communications 

2 resources and takes into account next generation and ad3 vanced telecommunications technologies. The overriding 

4 objective for the evaluation shall be providing a framework 

5 for the development of a resilient interoperable commu6 nications system for emergency responders in an emer7 gency. In conducting that evaluation, the Secretary shall 

8 evaluate all reasonable options, including satellites, wire9 less, and terrestrial-based communications systems and 

10 other alternative transport mechanisms that can be used 

11 in tandem with existing technologies. 

12 ‘‘(b) COMPONENTS.—The back-up system shall in13 clude— 

14 ‘‘(1) reliable means of emergency communica15 tions; and 

16 ‘‘(2) if necessary, handsets, desktop commu17 nications devices, or other appropriate devices for 

18 each public safety entity. 

19 ‘‘(c) FACTORS TO BE EVALUATED.—The evaluation 

20 under subsection (a) shall include— 

21 ‘‘(1) a survey of all Federal agencies that use 

22 terrestrial or satellite technology for communications 

23 security and an evaluation of the feasibility of using 

24 existing systems for purposes creating such an emer-
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1 gency back-up medical facility public safety commu2 nications system; 

3 ‘‘(2) the feasibility of using private satellite, 

4 wireless, or terrestrial networks for emergency com5 munications; 

6 ‘‘(3) the technical options, cost, and deployment 

7 methods of software, equipment, handsets or desktop 

8 communications devices for public safety entities in 

9 major urban areas, and nationwide; and 

10 ‘‘(4) the feasibility and cost of necessary 

11 changes to the network operations center of terres12 trial-based or satellite systems to enable the centers 

13 to serve as an emergency back-up communications 

14 systems. 

15 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Upon the completion of the evalua16 tion under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit a re17 port to Congress that details the findings of the evalua18 tion, including a full inventory of existing public and pri19 vate resources most efficiently capable of providing emer20 gency communications. 

21 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

23 necessary to carry out this section. 

24 ‘‘(f) EXPEDITED FUNDING OPTION AND IMPLEMEN25 TATION STRATEGY.—If, as a result of the evaluation con-
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1 ducted under subsection (a), the Secretary determines 

2 that the establishment of such a back-up system is feasible 

3 then the Secretary shall request appropriations for the de4 ployment of such a back-up communications system not 

5 later than 90 days after submission of the report under 

6 subsection (d).’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

8 for the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended by 

9 section 4, is amended by inserting after the item relating 

10 to section 316 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 317. Emergency communications back-up system.’’. 

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