I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2101 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of 

Homeland Security to develop and implement the READICall emergency 

alert system. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 4, 2005 

Mr. MEEK of Florida (for himself, Mrs. MCCARTHY, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ

of California, Mr. FORD, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. GONZALEZ, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. NORTON, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. 

CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mrs. LOWEY, and Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi) 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 amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct 

the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and implement the READICall emergency alert 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. READICALL EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Homeland Security 

5 Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–296; 6 U.S.C. 311 et seq.) 

6 is amended by adding at the end the following: 
2 

•HR 2101 IH 

1 ‘‘SEC. 510. READICALL EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as is practicable, but not 

3 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

4 section, the Secretary, working in coordination with appro5 priate Federal agencies, State, and local domestic security 

6 agencies, and national private sector networks and infra7 structure, shall develop and implement an emergency tele8 phonic alert notification system which shall be known as 

9 the Responsive Emergency Alert and Dissemination of In10 formation Call System or READICall System. 

11 ‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The System shall be designed— 

12 ‘‘(1) to alert persons in the United States of 

13 imminent or current hazardous events caused by an 

14 act of terrorism, any other man-made disaster, any 

15 natural disaster, or any combination of the fore16 going; and 

17 ‘‘(2) to provide information to individuals re18 garding appropriate measures that may be under19 taken to alleviate or minimize threats to their safety 

20 and welfare posed by such events. 

21 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION.—In im22 plementing this section, the Secretary shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) to the maximum extent possible, make use 

24 of national private sector networks, technology, per25 sonnel, and infrastructure to develop and implement 

26 the System; 
3 

•HR 2101 IH 

1 ‘‘(2) develop coordinated infrastructure for the 

2 System, in collaboration with the Assistant Secretary 

3 of Commerce for Communications and Information, 

4 the national telecommunications and teleservices in5 dustries, and other Federal, State, and local govern6 mental agencies as may be necessary, that— 

7 ‘‘(A) uses the full range of available 

8 telecomunications technology; and 

9 ‘‘(B) will be able to— 

10 ‘‘(i) provide immediate notification 

11 and warning upon approval by the Sec12 retary, via telephone to all telephone sub13 scribers within the United States and its 

14 territories in the event of an act of ter15 rorism, any other man-made disaster, any 

16 natural disaster, or any combination of the 

17 foregoing; 

18 ‘‘(ii) target specific regions, commu19 nities, neighborhoods, or locations of emer20 gent local crises and provide notification 

21 and warning to just the affected areas if 

22 appropriate; 

23 ‘‘(iii) to the extent possible, provide 

24 for a distinct ring so that telephone sub-
4 

•HR 2101 IH 

1 scribers are immediately aware of the 

2 emergency nature of the call; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) disseminate necessary informa4 tion to a telephone subscriber related to 

5 the emergency situation and appropriate 

6 courses of action to take; and 

7 ‘‘(3) in developing the System, undertake a col8 laborative effort between the Department and other 

9 Federal agencies, State, and local domestic security 

10 agencies, and organizations of first responders, so 

11 that— 

12 ‘‘(A) the System will allow for necessary 

13 interoperability between different sources of ter14 rorist threat information; 

15 ‘‘(B) the System will allow for the imme16 diate dissemination of information both laterally 

17 and horizontally, such that information can be 

18 provided from all levels of governmental 

19 sources; and 

20 ‘‘(C) appropriate standards, protocols, pro21 cedures, and terminology are determined to 

22 minimize inconsistencies and miscommunication 

23 with intelligence information, including appro24 priate definitions for situations that would con-
5 

•HR 2101 IH 

1 stitute a threat for which the System would be 

2 used. 

3 ‘‘(d) AUTHORITIES.—The Secretary may conduct re4 search and pilot programs as may be necessary to deter5 mine and improve the effectiveness of the System. 

6 ‘‘(e) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 

7 submit a report to the Congress on the status of the Sys8 tem— 

9 ‘‘(1) by not later than 6 months after the date 

10 of enactment of this Act; and 

11 ‘‘(2) yearly thereafter. 

12 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) SYSTEM.—The term ‘System’ means the 

14 Responsive Emergency Alert and Dissemination of 

15 Information Call System or READICall System es16 tablished under this section. 

17 ‘‘(2) TELEPHONE SUBSCRIBER.—The term 

18 ‘telephone subscriber’ means any residents of the 

19 United States (including territories of the United 

20 States) who receives telephone service via a tradi21 tional residential telephone, business telephone, or 

22 wireless telephone.’’. 
6 

•HR 2101 IH 

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

2 in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by inserting after 

3 the item relating to section 509 the following: 

‘‘510. READICall emergency alert system.’’. 

Æ