In the Senate of the United States, 

June 11, 2015. 

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 615) entitled ‘‘An Act to amend the Homeland 

Security Act of 2002 to require the Under Secretary for 

Management of the Department of Homeland Security to 

take administrative action to achieve and maintain interoperable communications capabilities among the components of 

the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with the following 

AMENDMENT: 

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert: 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Home3 land Security Interoperable Communications Act’’ or the 

4 ‘‘DHS Interoperable Communications Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act— 

7 (1) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart8 ment of Homeland Security; 
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1 (2) the term ‘‘interoperable communications’’ has 

2 the meaning given that term in section 701(d) of the 

3 Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by section 

4 3; and 

5 (3) the term ‘‘Under Secretary for Management’’ 

6 means the Under Secretary for Management of the 

7 Department of Homeland Security. 

8 SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS 

9 CAPABILITIES IN RESPONSIBILITIES OF 

10 UNDER SECRETARY FOR MANAGEMENT. 

11 Section 701 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

12 U.S.C. 341) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)(4), by inserting before the 

14 period at the end the following: ‘‘, including policies 

15 and directives to achieve and maintain interoperable 

16 communications among the components of the Depart17 ment’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(d) INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS DEFINED.— 

20 In this section, the term ‘interoperable communications’ has 

21 the meaning given that term in section 7303(g) of the Intel22 ligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (6 

23 U.S.C. 194(g)).’’. 
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1 SEC. 4. STRATEGY. 

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

3 date of enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary for Man4 agement shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Secu5 rity of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

6 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate 

7 a strategy, which shall be updated as necessary, for achiev8 ing and maintaining interoperable communications among 

9 the components of the Department, including for daily oper10 ations, planned events, and emergencies, with cor11 responding milestones, that includes the following: 

12 (1) An assessment of interoperability gaps in 

13 radio communications among the components of the 

14 Department, as of the date of enactment of this Act. 

15 (2) Information on efforts and activities, includ16 ing current and planned policies, directives, and 

17 training, of the Department since November 1, 2012 

18 to achieve and maintain interoperable communica19 tions among the components of the Department, and 

20 planned efforts and activities of the Department to 

21 achieve and maintain such interoperable communica22 tions. 

23 (3) An assessment of obstacles and challenges to 

24 achieving and maintaining interoperable communica25 tions among the components of the Department. 
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1 (4) Information on, and an assessment of, the 

2 adequacy of mechanisms available to the Under Sec3 retary for Management to enforce and compel compli4 ance with interoperable communications policies and 

5 directives of the Department. 

6 (5) Guidance provided to the components of the 

7 Department to implement interoperable communica8 tions policies and directives of the Department. 

9 (6) The total amount of funds expended by the 

10 Department since November 1, 2012 and projected fu11 ture expenditures, to achieve interoperable commu12 nications, including on equipment, infrastructure, 

13 and maintenance. 

14 (7) Dates upon which Department-wide inter15 operability is projected to be achieved for voice, data, 

16 and video communications, respectively, and interim 

17 milestones that correspond to the achievement of each 

18 such mode of communication. 

19 (b) SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL.—Together with the 

20 strategy required under subsection (a), the Under Secretary 

21 for Management shall submit to the Committee on Home22 land Security of the House of Representatives and the Com23 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 

24 the Senate information on— 
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1 (1) any intra-agency effort or task force that has 

2 been delegated certain responsibilities by the Under 

3 Secretary for Management relating to achieving and 

4 maintaining interoperable communications among 

5 the components of the Department by the dates re6 ferred to in subsection (a)(7); and 

7 (2) who, within each such component, is respon8 sible for implementing policies and directives issued 

9 by the Under Secretary for Management to so achieve 

10 and maintain such interoperable communications. 

11 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

12 Not later than 100 days after the date on which the 

13 strategy required under section 4(a) is submitted, and every 

14 2 years thereafter for 6 years, the Under Secretary for Man15 agement shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Secu16 rity of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

17 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate 

18 a report on the status of efforts to implement the strategy 

19 required under section 4(a), including the following: 

20 (1) Progress on each interim milestone referred 

21 to in section 4(a)(7) toward achieving and maintain22 ing interoperable communications among the compo23 nents of the Department. 
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1 (2) Information on any policies, directives, guid2 ance, and training established by the Under Secretary 

3 for Management. 

4 (3) An assessment of the level of compliance, 

5 adoption, and participation among the components of 

6 the Department with the policies, directives, guidance, 

7 and training established by the Under Secretary for 

8 Management to achieve and maintain interoperable 

9 communications among the components. 

10 (4) Information on any additional resources or 

11 authorities needed by the Under Secretary for Man12 agement. 

13 SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY. 

14 Sections 4 and 5 shall only apply with respect to the 

15 interoperable communications capabilities within the De16 partment and components of the Department to commu17 nicate within the Department. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H.R. 615 

AMENDMENT