I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1251 

To provide grants and other support to achieve communications 

interoperability in the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 10, 2005 

Mrs. LOWEY (for herself, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. CARDOZA, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. 

CUMMINGS, Mrs. MCCARTHY, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. LEE, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. 

CASE, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. 

SANDERS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. WATSON, Mr. OWENS, Mr. 

THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. WEINER, Mr. 

ETHERIDGE, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. DEFAZIO, 

and Mr. LEWIS of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 

the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide grants and other support to achieve communications interoperability in the United States, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as ‘‘Connecting the Operations 

3 of National Networks of Emergency Communications 

4 Technologies for First Responders Act of 2005’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Throughout the United States, public safety 

8 agencies—law enforcement, firefighters, emergency 

9 technicians, public health officials, and others—in 

10 the same jurisdictions cannot now communicate ef11 fectively with one another, with agencies in neigh12 boring jurisdictions, or with other public safety 

13 agencies at the Federal and State level, when re14 sponding to emergencies or participating in major 

15 deployment. 

16 (2) The inability of public safety agencies in the 

17 United States to communicate with one another 

18 within and across jurisdictions and disciplines is a 

19 long-recognized and complex problem that threatens 

20 the public’s safety and security and often results in 

21 unnecessary loss of lives and property. 

22 (3) The lack of interoperability was at least 

23 partially responsible for the deaths of 343 fire24 fighters in New York City on September 11, 2001, 

25 when police could not communicate effectively with 

26 firefighters prior to the collapse of the Twin Towers. 
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1 (4) In the immediate aftermath of the Okla2 homa City bombing in 1995, studies showed that 

3 emergency responders had to use runners to carry 

4 messages from one command center to another be5 cause the responding agencies used different emer6 gency radio channels, different frequencies, and dif7 ferent radio systems. 

8 (5) In Littleton, Colorado, 46 public safety 

9 agencies responded to the shooting spree inside Col10 umbine High School in 1999. Precious minutes were 

11 lost because command personnel were forced to send 

12 runners to communicate crucial information. Incom13 patible radio communication systems were a signifi14 cant factor, according to the Columbine Review 

15 Commission. 

16 (6) There are more than 50,000 State and local 

17 public safety agencies. Many of these agencies are 

18 small or volunteer organizations with limited budg19 ets, and little or no engineering expertise. State and 

20 local agencies consistently cite lack of funding as a 

21 critical obstacle to interoperability. 

22 (7) State and local budget crises have made 

23 funding public safety communications even more dif24 ficult, and competition with other critical homeland 

25 security needs, such as personnel, physical facilities, 
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1 protective gear, and other kinds of equipment reduce 

2 the available funding for mission-critical communica3 tions infrastructures and equipment. 

4 (8) Funding is needed for all phases of the 

5 communications system life cycle: planning, system 

6 design and engineering, procurement and installa7 tion, operations and maintenance, and testing and 

8 technology development. There is clear need for a 

9 dedicated and consistent Federal funding source 

10 that is sufficient to finance comprehensive interoper11 able communications solutions. The role of Federal, 

12 State, and local governments and agencies in fund13 ing interoperable communications must be clear. 

14 (9) Achieving nationwide interoperability will 

15 require a significant financial commitment at all lev16 els of government. In 1998, the Public Safety Wire17 less Network estimated that developing interoperable 

18 communications nationwide could cost 

19 $18,000,000,000. 

20 (10) An Independent Task Force sponsored by 

21 the Council on Foreign Relations stated that 

22 ‘‘among other things, additional funds are des23 perately needed . . . to foster interoperable commu24 nications systems for emergency responders across 

25 the country so that those on the front lines can com-
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1 municate with each other while at the scene of at2 tack’’. The Task Force recommended, ‘‘conserv3 atively’’, that $6,800,000,000 over 5 years is needed 

4 for interoperability as well as public alert and infor5 mation systems programs. 

6 (11) Numerous Federal agencies provide infor7 mation or grants that can be used in the develop8 ment of interoperable communications systems. 

9 However, without common guidance and standards, 

10 funding and grants are often used in isolation of 

11 broader, regional communications needs and capac12 ities. There is a need to better coordinate these dis13 parate grant programs, and to provide unified and 

14 consistent leadership and funding from the Federal 

15 Government. 

16 (12) The partnership between the private and 

17 public sectors has developed numerous solutions to 

18 significantly improve communications interoper19 ability that can be implemented immediately. These 

20 solutions include deployable vehicles that contain 

21 crosspatch capabilities that allow radio users on sep22 arate frequencies to talk to each other; communica23 tions system overlay software and hardware that 

24 allow multiple disparate communications networks to 

25 act as one network; and the Project 25 standard for 
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1 the manufacturing of interoperable digital two-way 

2 wireless communications products. 

3 (13) Current approaches to achieving commu4 nications interoperability are also hampered by the 

5 fact that in many jurisdictions— 

6 (A) the existing radio communications in7 frastructure is old and outdated; 

8 (B) planning for interoperability is limited 

9 and fragmented among multiple agencies; 

10 (C) the necessary coordination and co11 operation within and among jurisdictions is dif12 ficult to achieve; and 

13 (D) there is limited and fragmented 

14 amount of radio spectrum available to public 

15 safety organizations. 

16 (14) The lack of universally recognized, fully 

17 open, and implementable standards for public safety 

18 agency needs has limited the cost efficiencies of 

19 interoperability, and has delayed the adoption of new 

20 technologies by public safety agencies. 

21 (15) Solutions can only be achieved through co22 operation among all levels of government, and the 

23 Federal Government, through the Department of 

24 Homeland Security, must provide nationwide leader25 ship, coordination, and a substantial share of re-
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1 sources necessary to purchase appropriate tech2 nologies and create seamless communications among 

3 United States public safety agencies. 

4 (16) The Federal Government has made very 

5 little progress in addressing its overall objective of 

6 achieving national wireless communications inter7 operability among first responders and public safety 

8 systems at all levels of government, principally due 

9 to— 

10 (A) a lack of consistent executive commit11 ment and support; and 

12 (B) an inadequate level of interagency col13 laboration. 

14 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to— 

15 (1) require the Department of Homeland Secu16 rity to provide effective leadership, coordination, and 

17 technical assistance for the purposes of enhancing 

18 communications interoperability, and to establish 

19 and implement a strategy to ensure the achievement 

20 of communications interoperability for public safety 

21 agencies throughout the United States; 

22 (2) authorize appropriations for interoperable 

23 communications grants to State and local govern24 ments and public safety agencies; and 
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1 (3) support the effective acquisition, installa2 tion, and maintenance of short-term and long-term 

3 interoperable communications equipment for home4 land security at all levels of government. 

5 SEC. 3. NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR INTEROPERABLE COM6 MUNICATIONS. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi8 nitions shall apply: 

9 (1) COMMUNICATIONS INTEROPERABILITY.— 

10 The term ‘‘communications interoperability’’ means 

11 the ability of public safety service and support pro12 viders, including emergency response providers, to 

13 communicate with other responding agencies and 

14 Federal agencies if necessary, through information 

15 technology systems and radio communications sys16 tems, and to exchange voice, data, or video with one 

17 another on demand, in real time, as necessary. 

18 (2) PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES.—The term 

19 ‘‘public safety agencies’’ includes emergency re20 sponse providers and any other persons that the Sec21 retary determines must communicate effectively with 

22 one another to respond to emergencies. 

23 (b) NATIONAL STRATEGY.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, in co25 operation with State and local governments, Federal 
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1 agencies, public safety agencies, and the private sec2 tor, develop a national strategy to achieve commu3 nications interoperability, which shall— 

4 (A) provide for the development of national 

5 voluntary standards for the purchase and use 

6 by public safety agencies of interoperable com7 munications equipment and technologies; 

8 (B) identify the appropriate interoperable 

9 communications capabilities necessary for Fed10 eral, State, and local public safety agencies to 

11 adequately protect the people of the United 

12 States; 

13 (C) address both short-term and long-term 

14 solutions to achieving Federal, State and local 

15 communications interoperability, including pro16 vision of commercially available equipment that 

17 facilitates interoperability, coordination, and in18 tegration among existing emergency commu19 nications systems; 

20 (D) identify how the Federal Government 

21 can work effectively with State and local gov22 ernments, public safety agencies in all States, 

23 and such other entities as are necessary to im24 plement the strategy; 
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1 (E) include measures to identify and over2 come all obstacles to achieving interoperability; 

3 and 

4 (F) set goals and establish time frames for 

5 the achievement of communications interoper6 ability across the United States, and develop 

7 performance measures to determine whether 

8 these goals are being met. 

9 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, and each year 

11 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report to the 

12 Congress— 

13 (A) detailing the progress of the Depart14 ment in carrying out the purposes of this sec15 tion; 

16 (B) detailing the progress in achieving 

17 communications interoperability; and 

18 (C) making any recommendations nec19 essary to expedite the fulfillment of the pur20 poses of this section. 

21 SEC. 4. INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY 

22 GRANT PROGRAM. 

23 Section 430 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

24 (6 U.S.C. 238) is amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 
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1 ‘‘(e) INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS GRANTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the fol3 lowing definitions shall apply: 

4 ‘‘(A) COMMUNICATIONS INTEROPER5 ABILITY.—The term ‘communications interoper6 ability’ means the ability of public safety service 

7 and support providers, including emergency re8 sponse providers, to communicate with other re9 sponding agencies and Federal agencies if nec10 essary, through information technology systems 

11 and radio communications systems, and to ex12 change voice, data, or video with one another on 

13 demand, in real time, as necessary. 

14 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE STATE.—The term ‘eligible 

15 State’ means a State that— 

16 ‘‘(i) has submitted a plan under para17 graph (4); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary determines has not 

19 achieved adequate statewide communica20 tions interoperability. 

21 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES.—The 

22 term ‘public safety agencies’ includes emergency 

23 response providers and any other persons that 

24 the Secretary determines must communicate ef-
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1 fectively with one another to respond to emer2 gencies. 

3 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) make grants on a competitive basis 

5 directly to local governments (including a con6 sortium of local governments) and public safety 

7 agencies within eligible States, in consultation 

8 with the chief executives of the State or States, 

9 for the purpose of assisting in the development 

10 of interoperable communications systems at any 

11 stage, including— 

12 ‘‘(i) planning, system design, and en13 gineering; 

14 ‘‘(ii) procurement and installation of 

15 equipment; 

16 ‘‘(iii) operations and maintenance of 

17 equipment; and 

18 ‘‘(iv) testing and technology develop19 ment; and 

20 ‘‘(B) make grants to eligible States for ini21 tiatives necessary to achieve communications 

22 interoperability within each State, including— 

23 ‘‘(i) statewide communications plan24 ning; 

25 ‘‘(ii) system design and engineering; 
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1 ‘‘(iii) procurement and installation of 

2 equipment; 

3 ‘‘(iv) operations and maintenance of 

4 equipment; and 

5 ‘‘(v) testing and technology develop6 ment initiatives. 

7 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION.— 

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

9 ensure that grants administered under this sub10 section are coordinated with the activities of 

11 other entities of the Department and other Fed12 eral entities so that grants awarded under this 

13 subsection, and other grant programs related to 

14 homeland security, facilitate the achievement of 

15 the strategy developed under section 3 of the 

16 Connecting the Operations of National Net17 works of Emergency Communications Tech18 nologies for First Responders Act of 2005. 

19 ‘‘(B) RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING GRANT

20 PROGRAMS.—Nothing in this Act shall provide 

21 for the combination of grant funds among the 

22 grant program established under this subsection 

23 and any other grant programs administered by 

24 the Department of Homeland Security, includ25 ing the State Homeland Security Grant Pro-
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1 gram of the Department, or any successor to 

2 such grant program, and the Urban Area Secu3 rity Initiative of the Department, or any suc4 cessor to such grant program. 

5 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBILITY.— 

6 ‘‘(A) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—To be eligi7 ble to receive a grant under this subsection, 

8 each eligible State, or local governments or pub9 lic safety agencies within an eligible State or 

10 States, shall submit a communications inter11 operability plan to the Secretary that— 

12 ‘‘(i) addresses any stage of the devel13 opment of interoperable communications 

14 systems, including planning, system design 

15 and engineering, procurement and installa16 tion, operations and maintenance, and test17 ing and technology development; 

18 ‘‘(ii) if the applicant is not a State, 

19 includes a description of how the applicant 

20 addresses the goals specified in any appli21 cable State plan or plans submitted under 

22 this section; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) is approved by the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(B) INCORPORATION AND CONSIST25 ENCY.—A plan submitted under subparagraph 
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1 (A) may be part of, and shall be consistent 

2 with, any other homeland security plans re3 quired of the submitting party by the Depart4 ment. 

5 ‘‘(5) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) CONSIDERATIONS.—In approving 

7 plans and awarding grants under this sub8 section, the Secretary shall consider— 

9 ‘‘(i) the nature of the threat to the eli10 gible State or local jurisdiction; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the location, risk, or vulnerability 

12 of critical infrastructure and key national 

13 assets; 

14 ‘‘(iii) the number, as well as the den15 sity, of persons who will be served by inter16 operable communications systems; 

17 ‘‘(iv) the extent of the partnerships, 

18 existing or planned, established between 

19 local jurisdictions and agencies partici20 pating in the development of interoperable 

21 communications systems, and their coordi22 nation with Federal and State agencies; 

23 ‘‘(v) the level of communications 

24 interoperability already achieved by the ju25 risdictions; 
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1 ‘‘(vi) the extent to which the commu2 nications interoperability plan submitted 

3 under paragraph (4) adequately addresses 

4 steps necessary to implement short-term or 

5 long-term solutions to communications 

6 interoperability; 

7 ‘‘(vii) the extent to which eligible 

8 States and local governments, in light of 

9 their financial capability, demonstrate their 

10 commitment to expeditiously achieving 

11 communications interoperability by 

12 supplementing Federal funds with non13 Federal funds; 

14 ‘‘(viii) the extent to which grants will 

15 expedite the achievement of interoperability 

16 in the relevant jurisdiction with Federal, 

17 State, and local agencies; and 

18 ‘‘(ix) the extent to which grants will 

19 be utilized to implement advanced commu20 nications technologies to promote inter21 operability. 

22 ‘‘(B) COST SHARING.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share 

24 of the costs of an activity carried out with 
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1 a grant to an applicant awarded under this 

2 section shall not exceed 75 percent. 

3 ‘‘(ii) IN-KIND MATCHING.—Each re4 cipient of a covered grant may meet the 

5 matching requirement under clause (i) by 

6 making in-kind contributions of goods or 

7 services that are directly linked with the 

8 purpose for which the grant is made, in9 cluding personnel overtime, contractor 

10 services, administrative costs, equipment 

11 fuel and maintenance, and rental space. 

12 ‘‘(6) REIMBURSEMENT.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Unless otherwise re14 quested by the recipient of a grant under this 

15 subsection, grants shall not be awarded to reim16 burse the recipient for prior expenditures re17 lated to achieving communications interoper18 ability. 

19 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary shall re20 imburse public safety agencies directly for costs 

21 incurred for expenditures related to achieving 

22 communications interoperability, if— 

23 ‘‘(i) the public safety agency expended 

24 funds after September 11, 2001, and be-
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1 fore the date of enactment of this sub2 section; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) such expenditures are consistent 

4 with and supportive of the communications 

5 interoperability plan approved by the Sec6 retary under paragraph (4)(A)(iii). 

7 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The 

8 authority of the Secretary under subparagraph 

9 (B) shall terminate one year after the date on 

10 which the Department of Homeland Security 

11 first allocates grant funds for this program. 

12 ‘‘(7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec14 retary $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, 

15 $750,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, $1,000,000,000 

16 for fiscal year 2008, $1,250,000,000 for fiscal year 

17 2009, $1,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, and such 

18 sums as are necessary each fiscal year thereafter, to 

19 carry out the purposes of this subsection.’’. 

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