I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1738 

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

Homeland Security to modernize and implement the national integrated 

public alert and warning system to disseminate homeland security information and other information, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 13, 2015 

Mr. BILIRAKIS (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, and Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure, 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 modernize and 

implement the national integrated public alert and warning system to disseminate homeland security information 

and other information, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Integrated Public Alert 

5 and Warning System Modernization Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) numerous proven and tested technologies 

4 exist to enable the Federal Government to update 

5 and modernize its dissemination of public alerts and 

6 warnings; 

7 (2) the expected benefits of these enhancements 

8 include— 

9 (A) greater security, effectiveness, reli10 ability, integration, flexibility, comprehensive11 ness, and redundancy of the Federal Govern12 ment’s alert and warning capabilities; 

13 (B) rapid alert dissemination; 

14 (C) an improved ability to notify remote lo15 cations; 

16 (D) an improved ability to notify individ17 uals with disabilities; and 

18 (E) the ability to geographically target and 

19 deliver alerts and warnings through multiple 

20 communication modes; 

21 (3) there is a need to test the viability of deliv22 ering messages through diverse communications 

23 modes to effectively alert and warn the public; 

24 (4) there is a need to update, modernize, and 

25 improve the ability of the Federal Government to 


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1 provide residents of the United States with timely 

2 and effective warnings; 

3 (5) although significant Federal integration ef4 forts are underway, the aggregation, dissemination, 

5 and reporting system necessary for effective public 

6 alert and warning will require an integrated national 

7 network for flexible, reliable, secure, and authenti8 cated dissemination of emergency alerts and warn9 ings by Federal, State, local, and tribal entities that 

10 are authorized to issue alerts to the public; 

11 (6) there is a need to ensure that alerts and 

12 warnings are accessible to people with disabilities, 

13 particularly with sensory disabilities; and 

14 (7) States and urban areas should be allowed to 

15 utilize homeland security grants for the purposes of 

16 updating and modernizing public alert and warning 

17 capabilities. 

18 SEC. 3. NATIONAL INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT AND WARN19 ING SYSTEM MODERNIZATION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

21 (1) AMENDMENT.—Title V of the Homeland 

22 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311 et seq.) is 

23 amended by adding at the end of the following new 

24 section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 526. NATIONAL INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT AND 

2 WARNING SYSTEM MODERNIZATION. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to provide timely and 

4 effective warnings and disseminate homeland security in5 formation and other information, the Secretary shall, con6 sidering the recommendations of the advisory committee 

7 established under subsection (d), update, modernize, and 

8 implement the national integrated public alert and warn9 ing system. 

10 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION REQUIREMENTS.—In car11 rying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) establish or adapt, as appropriate, common 

13 alerting and warning protocols, standards, termi14 nology, and operating procedures for the integrated 

15 public alert and warning system; 

16 ‘‘(2) include in the integrated public alert and 

17 warning system the capability to adapt the dissemi18 nation of homeland security information and other 

19 information, and the content of communications, on 

20 the basis of geographic location, risks, and multiple 

21 communications systems and technologies, as appro22 priate; 

23 ‘‘(3) to the extent technically feasible, include in 

24 the national integrated public alert and warning sys25 tem the capability to alert, warn, and provide the 

26 equivalent amount of information to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) individuals with limited English pro2 ficiency skills; 

3 ‘‘(B) individuals with disabilities, particu4 larly sensory disabilities; and 

5 ‘‘(C) individuals with other access or func6 tional needs; 

7 ‘‘(4) ensure training, tests, and exercises for the 

8 integrated public alert and warning system, and that 

9 the system is incorporated into other training and 

10 exercise programs of the Department, as appro11 priate; 

12 ‘‘(5) ensure that a comprehensive and periodic 

13 training program, consistent with the principles of, 

14 and integrated with, the National Incident Manage15 ment System and in support of the National Pre16 paredness System, for receiving and disseminating 

17 the integrated public alert and warning system mes18 sages utilizing advanced technologies is provided to 

19 State, local, tribal, and other homeland security 

20 stakeholders involved in the transmission of such 

21 messages; 

22 ‘‘(6) conduct periodic nationwide tests of the in23 tegrated public alert and warning system, at least 

24 once every 5 years; and 


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1 ‘‘(7) consult, coordinate, and cooperate, to the 

2 extent practicable, with other Federal agencies and 

3 departments and with State, local, and tribal govern4 ments, the private sector, and other key stakeholders 

5 to leverage existing alert and warning capabilities. 

6 ‘‘(c) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall 

7 ensure that the system— 

8 ‘‘(1) incorporates redundant, diverse modes to 

9 disseminate homeland security information and 

10 other information in warning messages to the public 

11 so as to reach the greatest number of individuals in 

12 the intended area or location; 

13 ‘‘(2) can be adapted to incorporate emerging 

14 and future technologies, including social media; 

15 ‘‘(3) is reliable, resilient, and secure, and can 

16 withstand acts of terrorism, hazards, and other ex17 ternal attacks or dangers; 

18 ‘‘(4) is, to the greatest extent practicable, hard19 ened against cyber attacks; 

20 ‘‘(5) promotes State, local, tribal, and regional 

21 partnerships to enhance coordination; 

22 ‘‘(6) to the extent technically feasible, is de23 signed to provide alerts that are accessible to the 

24 largest portion of the affected population, including 

25 nonresident visitors and tourists, individuals with 


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1 limited English proficiency skills, and individuals 

2 with disabilities, particularly sensory disabilities, or 

3 other access or functional needs; and 

4 ‘‘(7) is designed to improve the ability of af5 fected populations in remote areas and areas with 

6 underdeveloped telecommunications infrastructure to 

7 receive alerts. 

8 ‘‘(d) PRIVACY PROTECTION.—The Secretary, in con9 sultation with the Department’s Chief Privacy Officer, 

10 shall produce a Privacy Impact Assessment every 5 years 

11 to evaluate whether the technology of the national inte12 grated public alert and warning system has implications 

13 on the privacy rights of citizens of the United States. 

14 ‘‘(e) INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT AND WARNING

15 SYSTEM MODERNIZATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

17 after the date of enactment of the Integrated Public 

18 Alert and Warning System Modernization Act of 

19 2015, the Secretary shall establish an advisory com20 mittee to be known as the Integrated Public Alert 

21 and Warning System Advisory Committee (in this 

22 subsection referred to as the ‘Advisory Committee’). 

23 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Committee 

24 shall be composed of the following members: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The Chairman of the Federal Com2 munications Commission (or the Chairman’s 

3 designee). 

4 ‘‘(B) The Administrator of the National 

5 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or 

6 the Administrator’s designee). 

7 ‘‘(C) The Assistant Secretary for Commu8 nications and Information of the Department of 

9 Commerce (or the Assistant Secretary’s des10 ignee). 

11 ‘‘(D) The Director of the United States 

12 Geological Survey (or the Director’s designee). 

13 ‘‘(E) The Under Secretary for Science and 

14 Technology of the Department of Homeland Se15 curity (or the Under Secretary’s designee). 

16 ‘‘(F) The Under Secretary for Cybersecu17 rity and Communications of the Department of 

18 Homeland Security National Protection and 

19 Programs Directorate. 

20 ‘‘(G) The Director of the Office of Dis21 ability Integration and Coordination of the Fed22 eral Emergency Management Agency. 

23 ‘‘(H) The following members, to be ap24 pointed by the Secretary as soon as practicable 

25 after the date of enactment of the Integrated 


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1 Public Alert and Warning System Moderniza2 tion Act of 2015 for a term established by the 

3 Secretary that does not exceed 5 years: 

4 ‘‘(i) Representatives of State and local 

5 governments, representatives of emergency 

6 management agencies, representatives of 

7 emergency response providers, and rep8 resentatives of emergency communications 

9 providers, selected from among individuals 

10 nominated by national organizations rep11 resenting governments and personnel. 

12 ‘‘(ii) Representatives from federally 

13 recognized Indian tribes and national In14 dian organizations. 

15 ‘‘(iii) Individuals who have the req16 uisite technical knowledge and expertise to 

17 serve on the Advisory Committee, including 

18 representatives of— 

19 ‘‘(I) communications service pro20 viders; 

21 ‘‘(II) vendors, developers, and 

22 manufacturers of systems, facilities, 

23 equipment, and capabilities for the 

24 provision of communications services; 

25 ‘‘(III) the broadcasting industry; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) the commercial mobile 

2 radio service industry; 

3 ‘‘(V) the cable industry; 

4 ‘‘(VI) the satellite industry; 

5 ‘‘(VII) consumer or privacy advo6 cates; 

7 ‘‘(VIII) national organizations 

8 representing individuals with disabil9 ities and access and functional needs; 

10 ‘‘(IX) national organizations rep11 resenting the elderly; and 

12 ‘‘(X) national organizations rep13 resenting educational institutions, in14 cluding higher education. 

15 ‘‘(iv) Qualified representatives of such 

16 other stakeholders and interested and af17 fected parties as the Secretary considers 

18 appropriate. 

19 ‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary (or the 

20 Secretary’s designee) shall serve as the Chairperson 

21 of the Advisory Committee. 

22 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meet24 ing of the Advisory Committee shall take place 

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1 ment of the Integrated Public Alert and Warn2 ing System Modernization Act of 2015. 

3 ‘‘(B) OTHER MEETINGS.—After the initial 

4 meeting, the Advisory Committee shall meet, at 

5 least annually, at the call of the Chairperson. 

6 ‘‘(C) NOTICE; OPEN MEETINGS.—Meetings 

7 held by the Advisory Committee shall be duly 

8 noticed at least 14 days in advance and shall be 

9 open to the public. 

10 ‘‘(5) RULES.—The Advisory Committee may 

11 adopt such rules as are necessary to carry out its 

12 duties. 

13 ‘‘(6) CONSULTATION WITH NONMEMBERS.—The 

14 Advisory Committee and the program office for the 

15 integrated public alert and warning system of the 

16 United States shall regularly meet with groups that 

17 are not represented on the Advisory Committee to 

18 consider new and developing technology that may be 

19 beneficial to such system, such as— 

20 ‘‘(A) the Defense Advanced Research 

21 Projects Agency; 

22 ‘‘(B) entities engaged in federally funded 

23 research; and 

24 ‘‘(C) academic institutions engaged in rel25 evant work and research. 


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1 ‘‘(7) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Advisory Com2 mittee may develop and submit in the annual reports 

3 under paragraph (8) recommendations for the con4 tinuation and improvement of an integrated public 

5 alert and warning system, including— 

6 ‘‘(A) recommendations for common alert7 ing and warning protocols, standards, termi8 nology, and operating procedures for such sys9 tem; 

10 ‘‘(B) an assessment of the accomplish11 ments and deficiencies of such system, includ12 ing its accessibility for individuals with disabil13 ities, and the impact on current alert and warn14 ing systems; 

15 ‘‘(C) recommendations for increasing par16 ticipation in such system, particularly among el17 ementary, secondary, and higher education in18 stitutions; and 

19 ‘‘(D) recommendations for improvements 

20 to such system, including recommendations to 

21 provide for a public alert and warning system 

22 that— 

23 ‘‘(i) has the capability to adapt the 

24 distribution and content of communications 

25 on the basis of geographic location, risks, 


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1 multiple communication systems and tech2 nologies, as appropriate; 

3 ‘‘(ii) has the capability to alert and 

4 warn individuals with disabilities, particu5 larly sensory disabilities, or access or func6 tional needs, and individuals with limited 

7 English proficiency; 

8 ‘‘(iii) incorporates multiple commu9 nications technologies; 

10 ‘‘(iv) is designed to adapt to, and in11 corporate, emerging and future tech12 nologies for communicating directly with 

13 the public; 

14 ‘‘(v) is hardened and resilient, to the 

15 greatest extent practicable, with respect to 

16 cyber attacks; 

17 ‘‘(vi) encourages proper use by State 

18 and local governments of such system 

19 through training programs and other 

20 means; 

21 ‘‘(vii) is designed to provide alerts to 

22 the largest portion of the affected popu23 lation feasible, including nonresident visi24 tors and tourists, and improve the ability 

25 of remote areas to receive alerts; 


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1 ‘‘(viii) promotes local and regional 

2 public and private partnerships to enhance 

3 community preparedness and response; 

4 ‘‘(ix) promotes the participation of 

5 representatives from underserved and 

6 underrepresented communities, to ensure 

7 that alerts and warnings reach such popu8 lations; and 

9 ‘‘(x) provides redundant alert mecha10 nisms where practicable so as to reach the 

11 greatest number of people regardless of 

12 whether they have access to, or utilize, any 

13 specific medium of communication or any 

14 particular device. 

15 ‘‘(8) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

16 date of enactment of the Integrated Public Alert and 

17 Warning System Modernization Act of 2015, and 

18 every year thereafter, the Advisory Committee shall 

19 submit to the Secretary a report containing the rec20 ommendations of the Advisory Committee. 

21 ‘‘(9) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.— 

22 Neither the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

23 U.S.C. App.) nor any rule, order, or regulation pro24 mulgated under that Act shall apply to the Advisory 

25 Committee. 


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1 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

2 of the establishment of the Advisory Committee, and every 

3 year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Com4 mittee on Homeland Security and the Committee on 

5 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep6 resentatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 

7 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, a report on the 

8 functionality and performance of such system, including— 

9 ‘‘(1) the recommendations of the most recent 

10 Advisory Committee report under subsection (e)(8), 

11 what recommendations under subsection (e)(8) the 

12 Secretary has implemented to modernize the public 

13 alert and warning system, and if any such rec14 ommendations identified under subsection (e)(8) 

15 were not implemented, why the Secretary chose not 

16 to implement such recommendations; 

17 ‘‘(2) an assessment of the accomplishments and 

18 deficiencies of the system; 

19 ‘‘(3) an assessment of the cybersecurity of the 

20 system, including any relevant vulnerability assess21 ments; 

22 ‘‘(4) recommendations based on lessons learned 

23 during events in which the system was utilized; 

24 ‘‘(5) recommendations for improvements to the 

25 system; 


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1 ‘‘(6) information on the feasibility and effective2 ness of disseminating homeland security information 

3 and other information, notices, and alerts prior to 

4 and following an incident requiring use of the sys5 tem; and 

6 ‘‘(7) information on any innovations in or 

7 changes to the national integrated public alert and 

8 warning system that result in the collection of per9 sonally identifiable information. 

10 ‘‘(g) COMPATIBLE MOBILE DEVICES.—The Secretary 

11 shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) make available to the public, through the 

13 Internet and other appropriate means, a list of mo14 bile devices that are capable of receiving warnings 

15 and alerts disseminated through the national inte16 grated public alert and warning system; and 

17 ‘‘(2) update such list as necessary, but not less 

18 often than once each year. 

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

20 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

21 out this section $13,400,000 for each of fiscal years 2016, 

22 2017, and 2018.’’. 

23 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con24 tents in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by addVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Apr 14, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1738.IH H1738

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1 ing at the end of the items relating to such title the 

2 following: 

‘‘Sec. 526. National integrated public alert and warning system modernization.’’. 

3 (b) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act (includ5 ing the amendments made by this Act) shall be con6 strued— 

7 (A) to affect the authority of the Depart8 ment of Commerce, the authority of the Federal 

9 Communications Commission, or the Robert T. 

10 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist11 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.); 

12 (B) to provide the Secretary of Homeland 

13 Security authority to require any action by the 

14 Federal Communications Commission, the De15 partment of Commerce, or any nongovernment 

16 entity, or to affect any existing obligations of 

17 those entities; 

18 (C) to apply to, or provide the Secretary of 

19 Homeland Security any authority over, any par20 ticipating commercial mobile service provider; 

21 or 

22 (D) to alter in any way the wireless emer23 gency alert service created pursuant to the 

24 Warning, Alert, and Response Network Act (47 


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1 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.) or related orders of the 

2 Federal Communications Commission issued 

3 after the date of enactment of that Act. 

4 (2) PARTICIPATING COMMERCIAL MOBILE SERV5 ICE PROVIDER DEFINED.—For purposes of this sub6 section, the term ‘‘participating commercial mobile 

7 service provider’’ has the same meaning as such 

8 term has in section 10.10(f) of title 47, Code of 

9 Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of the 

10 enactment of this Act. 

11 (c) HOMELAND SECURITY GRANTS.—Section 

12 2008(a) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

13 609(a)) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

15 end; 

16 (2) by redesignating paragraph (13) as para17 graph (14); and 

18 (3) by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol19 lowing new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(13) improving public alert and warning capa21 bilities; and’’. 

Æ 


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