II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3465 

To reserve certain proceeds from the auction of spectrum, including the 

auction of the D-block of spectrum, for use to provide interoperable 

devices to public safety personnel. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 10, 2008 

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

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To reserve certain proceeds from the auction of spectrum, 

including the auction of the D-block of spectrum, for 

use to provide interoperable devices to public safety personnel. 

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 ‘‘Reliable, Effective, and 

5 Sustained Procurement of New Devices for Emergency 

6 Responders Act of 2008’’ or the ‘‘RESPONDER Act of 

7 2008’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. RESERVE OF CERTAIN AUCTION PROCEEDS FOR 

2 USE TO PROVIDE INTEROPERABLE DEVICES. 

3 Section 309(j)(8) of the Communications Act of 1934 

4 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)) is amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘subpara6 graphs (B), (D), and (E)’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara7 graphs (B), (D), (E), and (F)’’; 

8 (2) in subparagraph (C)(i), by inserting before 

9 the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘or subpara10 graph (F)’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(F) TRANSFER OF CERTAIN AUCTION

13 PROCEEDS FOR USE TO PROVIDE INTEROPER14 ABLE DEVICES.— 

15 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRUST

16 FUND.— 

17 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—There is es18 tablished in the Treasury of the 

19 United States a trust fund to be 

20 known as the ‘First Responders Inter21 operable Device Availability Trust 

22 Fund’, consisting of such amounts as 

23 shall be deposited under subclause 

24 (II). 

25 ‘‘(II) TRANSFER OF AMOUNTS.— 

26 Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) 


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1 and (E) or any other provision of law, 

2 there shall be deposited in the First 

3 Responders Interoperable Device 

4 Availability Trust Fund— 

5 ‘‘(aa) 5 percent of the net 

6 proceeds (including deposits and 

7 upfront payments from successful 

8 bidders) from the use of the com9 petitive bidding system estab10 lished under this subsection; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) 100 percent of the net 

12 proceeds (including deposits and 

13 upfront payments from the suc14 cessful bidders) from the use of a 

15 competitive bidding system under 

16 this subsection with respect to 

17 the D-block of licenses. 

18 ‘‘(ii) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

19 ‘‘(I) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

20 ‘‘(aa) TRANSFER.—The Sec21 retary of the Treasury shall 

22 transfer to the Administrator of 

23 the National Telecommunications 

24 and Information Administration 

25 amounts in the First Responders 


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1 Interoperable Device Availability 

2 Trust Fund to be used by the 

3 Administrator to make grants in 

4 accordance with the requirements 

5 of this clause to States and In6 dian tribes— 

7 ‘‘(AA) to purchase 

8 interoperable devices meet9 ing the requirements of sub10 clause (III); or 

11 ‘‘(BB) to distribute 

12 funds to local public safety 

13 entities in order for such en14 tities to use the funds to di15 rectly purchase such inter16 operable devices. 

17 ‘‘(bb) CONDITION OF

18 GRANTS.— 

19 ‘‘(AA) COST SHARE.— 

20 In order to obtain a grant 

21 under this clause, a State or 

22 Indian tribe shall agree to 

23 provide for each interoper24 able device to be purchased 

25 by the State or Indian tribe, 


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1 from non-Federal sources, 

2 an amount equal to the dif3 ference (if any) between the 

4 actual cost of purchasing 

5 that interoperable device and 

6 $1,000. 

7 ‘‘(BB) OTHER CONDI8 TIONS.—The Administrator 

9 shall, in coordination with 

10 the Director of the Office of 

11 Emergency Communications 

12 within the Department of 

13 Homeland Security, develop 

14 such additional conditions 

15 and requirements that a 

16 State or Indian tribe shall 

17 meet in order to obtain a 

18 grant under this clause as 

19 the Administrator and the 

20 Director determine nec21 essary. 

22 ‘‘(cc) RESERVE FOR BREAK23 AGE OR LOSS.— 

24 ‘‘(AA) IN GENERAL.— 

25 Of the total amount of grant 


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1 funds made available to a 

2 State or Indian tribe under 

3 this clause, the State or In4 dian tribe shall set aside, re5 serve, or otherwise allocate 

6 not less than 1 percent of 

7 such amounts to a reserve 

8 fund from which the State 

9 or Indian tribe may dis10 tribute funds to local public 

11 safety entities for repair, 

12 maintenance, or loss of the 

13 interoperable devices pur14 chased by the State or In15 dian tribe and distributed to 

16 such agencies pursuant to 

17 this subparagraph or pur18 chased directly by local pub19 lic safety entities with any 

20 amounts distributed to such 

21 entities under subclause 

22 (VII). 

23 ‘‘(BB) APPLICATION.— 

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1 tenance, or loss as described 

2 in subitem (AA), a local 

3 public safety entity shall 

4 submit an application at 

5 such time, in such form, and 

6 with such information and 

7 assurances as a State or In8 dian tribe may require. 

9 ‘‘(CC) NTIA RE10 VIEW.—Not later than 1 

11 year after the date of enact12 ment of this subparagraph, 

13 and each year thereafter, the 

14 Administrator shall review 

15 the ability of each reserve 

16 fund established under 

17 subitem (AA) to determine 

18 if the 1-percent set aside re19 quirement is sufficient to 

20 meet the repair, mainte21 nance, and loss replacement 

22 needs of the State or Indian 

23 tribe. If the Administrator 

24 determines that the 1-per25 cent set aside requirement is 


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1 not sufficient, the Adminis2 trator may by rule increase 

3 the set aside requirement up 

4 to a maximum of 5 percent 

5 of the total amount of grant 

6 funds made available to a 

7 State or Indian tribe. 

8 ‘‘(dd) RESERVE FOR ADMIN9 ISTRATIVE COSTS.—Of the total 

10 amount of grant funds made 

11 available to a State or Indian 

12 tribe under this clause, a State 

13 or Indian tribe may reserve not 

14 more than 5 percent for adminis15 trative costs associated with the 

16 management and distribution of 

17 such funds. 

18 ‘‘(II) BULK PURCHASES.—A 

19 State or Indian tribe may use any 

20 grant funds received under subclause 

21 (I) to purchase interoperable devices 

22 meeting the requirements of subclause 

23 (III) on a bulk basis. 

24 ‘‘(III) DEVICE REQUIREMENTS.— 

25 Interoperable devices purchased with 


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1 funds authorized for grants under 

2 subclause (I) shall— 

3 ‘‘(aa) provide both mobile 

4 satellite and terrestrial based 

5 wireless service; 

6 ‘‘(bb) be based on an open 

7 source platform; 

8 ‘‘(cc) be devices intended for 

9 use by public safety personnel 

10 and certified for use on the inter11 operable network or networks 

12 built to serve public safety within 

13 the 700 MHz band, as agreed to 

14 by the Public Safety Broadband 

15 Licensee, or its successors, and 

16 its commercial partners, in ac17 cordance with rules and regula18 tions promulgated by the Com19 mission; 

20 ‘‘(dd) be compatible with 

21 any other platform, spectrum, or 

22 wireless network used or reserved 

23 for use by the State with respect 

24 to interoperable communications 

25 within that State; and 


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1 ‘‘(ee) satisfy any other inter2 operable device requirements es3 tablished as of the date of such 

4 purchase by the Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security, the Adminis6 trator, or the Commission. 

7 ‘‘(IV) COORDINATION.—In car8 rying out the grant program estab9 lished under this clause, the Adminis10 trator shall coordinate its efforts to 

11 establish interoperable device require12 ments under subclause (III) with the 

13 head of any other Federal agency re14 sponsible for establishing standards 

15 related to interoperable devices. 

16 ‘‘(V) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

17 Not more than 5 percent of the 

18 amounts transferred to the Adminis19 trator in accordance with subclause 

20 (I) may be used for the administrative 

21 costs of the National Telecommuni22 cations and Information Administra23 tion. 

24 ‘‘(VI) APPLICATION.—In order to 

25 be eligible to receive a grant under 


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1 this clause, a State or Indian tribe 

2 shall submit an application at such 

3 time, in such form, and with such in4 formation and assurances as the Ad5 ministrator may require. 

6 ‘‘(VII) GRANT CYCLES.— 

7 ‘‘(aa) 2012.— 

8 ‘‘(AA) IN GENERAL.— 

9 Beginning in fiscal year 

10 2012, the Administrator 

11 shall award grants to States 

12 and Indian tribes to pur13 chase interoperable devices 

14 meeting the requirements of 

15 subclause (III) or to dis16 tribute funds to local public 

17 safety entities in order for 

18 such entities to use the 

19 funds to directly purchase 

20 such interoperable devices. 

21 ‘‘(BB) TOTAL

22 AWARDS.—The total amount 

23 of grants awarded under 

24 subitem (AA) shall not ex25 ceed $250,000,000. 


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1 ‘‘(bb) 2013 AND BEYOND.— 

2 ‘‘(AA) IN GENERAL.— 

3 Beginning in fiscal year 

4 2013 and continuing in each 

5 fiscal year thereafter, the 

6 Administrator shall award 

7 grants to States and Indian 

8 tribes to purchase interoper9 able devices meeting the re10 quirements of subclause 

11 (III) or to distribute funds 

12 to local public safety entities 

13 in order for such entities to 

14 use the funds to directly 

15 purchase such interoperable 

16 devices. 

17 ‘‘(BB) TOTAL

18 AWARDS.—The total amount 

19 of grants awarded under 

20 subitem (AA) shall not ex21 ceed 20 percent of the total 

22 amount held in the First 

23 Responders Interoperable 

24 Device Availability Trust 

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1 termined on the last day of 

2 the prior fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(cc) FORMULA.—Any funds 

4 distributed under item (aa) or 

5 item (bb) shall be based on a for6 mula established by the Adminis7 trator. 

8 ‘‘(dd) BASELINE

9 AMOUNTS.—Any formula devel10 oped by the Administrator under 

11 item (cc), shall ensure that— 

12 ‘‘(AA) each State (ex13 cluding territories and pos14 sessions) shall receive, at a 

15 minimum, an amount equal 

16 to .50 percent of the total 

17 funds made available under 

18 this clause; 

19 ‘‘(BB) each territory 

20 shall receive, at a minimum, 

21 an amount equal to .05 per22 cent of the total funds made 

23 available under this clause; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(CC) each Indian tribe 

2 shall receive, at minimum, a 

3 fixed amount to be deter4 mined by the Administrator. 

5 ‘‘(ee) PRIORITY DISTRIBU6 TION OF REMAINING FUNDS.— 

7 The funds remaining for distribu8 tion under this clause after allo9 cation of the baseline amounts 

10 under item (dd) shall be distrib11 uted to State and Indian Tribes 

12 based upon all-hazard risk, 

13 unmet financial need, and per 

14 capita income criteria established 

15 by the Administrator. 

16 ‘‘(VIII) DISTRIBUTION OF DE17 VICES OR FUNDS TO PUBLIC SAFETY

18 ENTITIES.— 

19 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—Not 

20 later than 180 days after receiv21 ing grant funds under subclause 

22 (I), a State or Indian tribe shall 

23 make available— 

24 ‘‘(AA) the interoperable 

25 devices purchased with such 


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1 funds to local public safety 

2 entities located in that State 

3 or Indian tribe; or 

4 ‘‘(BB) such funds to 

5 local public safety entities. 

6 ‘‘(bb) APPLICATION.— 

7 ‘‘(AA) IN GENERAL.— 

8 In order to be eligible to re9 ceive an interoperable device 

10 under this clause, a local 

11 public safety entity shall 

12 submit an application at 

13 such time, in such form, and 

14 with such information and 

15 assurances as the State or 

16 Indian tribe may require. 

17 ‘‘(BB) LIMITATION ON

18 APPLICATION FOR REPLACE19 MENT DEVICES.—A local 

20 public safety entity that re21 ceives an interoperable de22 vice under this clause may 

23 submit an application for 

24 additional replacement de25 vices once every 5 years. 


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1 ‘‘(cc) LIMITATIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(AA) IN GENERAL.— 

3 Grant funds distributed 

4 from a State or Indian tribe 

5 to a local public safety enti6 ty under this clause shall 

7 not exceed $1,000 per eligi8 ble public safety official 

9 under the jurisdiction of 

10 such entity. 

11 ‘‘(BB) REQUIRED USE

12 OF FUNDS.—A local public 

13 safety entity receiving grant 

14 funds from a State or In15 dian tribe under this clause 

16 shall use such funds to pur17 chase interoperable devices 

18 that satisfy all the require19 ments described in subclause 

20 (III) and that have been ap21 proved by both the State or 

22 Indian tribe and the Admin23 istrator. 

24 ‘‘(CC) PRIORITY.—A 

25 State or Indian tribe that 


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1 receives grant funds pursu2 ant to this clause shall dis3 tribute such funds to local 

4 public safety entities based 

5 upon all-hazard risk, unmet 

6 financial need, and per cap7 ita income criteria estab8 lished by the Administrator. 

9 ‘‘(iii) CREDIT.—The Administrator 

10 may borrow from the Treasury such sums 

11 as may be necessary to implement this 

12 subparagraph. The Administrator shall re13 imburse the Treasury, without interest, as 

14 funds are deposited into the First Re15 sponders Interoperable Device Availability 

16 Trust Fund. 

17 ‘‘(iv) TRUST FUND.— 

18 ‘‘(I) TRUSTEE AND REPORT.— 

19 The Secretary of the Treasury shall 

20 be the trustee of the First Responders 

21 Interoperable Device Availability 

22 Trust Fund, and shall submit an an23 nual report to the Committee on Fi24 nance of the Senate, the Committee 

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1 tation of the Senate, the Committee 

2 on Ways and Means of the House of 

3 Representatives, and the Committee 

4 on Energy and Commerce of the 

5 House of Representatives on— 

6 ‘‘(aa) the financial condition 

7 and the results of the operations 

8 of the First Responders Inter9 operable Device Availability 

10 Trust Fund during the fiscal 

11 year preceding the fiscal year in 

12 which such report is submitted; 

13 ‘‘(bb) the results of the in14 vestment activities and financial 

15 status of the First Responders 

16 Interoperable Device Availability 

17 Trust Fund during the preceding 

18 calendar year; and 

19 ‘‘(cc) the expected condition 

20 and operations of the First Re21 sponders Interoperable Device 

22 Availability Trust Fund during 

23 the fiscal year in which such re24 port is submitted and the 5 fiscal 

25 years succeeding such fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(v) INVESTMENT.— 

2 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Sec3 retary of the Treasury shall invest 

4 such portion of the First Responders 

5 Interoperable Device Availability 

6 Trust Fund as is not, in his or her 

7 judgment, required to meet current 

8 withdrawals. Such investments shall 

9 be made only in interest-bearing obli10 gations of the United States. For such 

11 purpose, such obligations may be ac12 quired— 

13 ‘‘(aa) on original issue at 

14 the issue price; or 

15 ‘‘(bb) by purchase of out16 standing obligations at the mar17 ket price. 

18 ‘‘(II) SALE AT MARKET

19 PRICES.—Any obligation acquired by 

20 the First Responders Interoperable 

21 Device Availability Trust Fund may 

22 be sold by the Secretary of the Treas23 ury at the market price. 

24 ‘‘(III) INTEREST TO BE CRED25 ITED TO TRUST FUND.—The interest 


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1 on, and the proceeds from the sale or 

2 redemption of, any obligations held in 

3 the First Responders Interoperable 

4 Device Availability Trust Fund shall 

5 be credited to and form a part of the 

6 Trust Fund. 

7 ‘‘(vi) STUDIES.— 

8 ‘‘(I) NTIA REPORT ON GRANT

9 PROGRAM.—Not later than 1 year 

10 after the date of enactment of this 

11 subparagraph and each year there12 after, the Administrator shall conduct 

13 a study and submit a report to the 

14 Committee on Commerce, Science, 

15 and Transportation of the Senate and 

16 the Committee on Energy and Com17 merce of the House of Representa18 tives— 

19 ‘‘(aa) on the distribution of 

20 funds authorized for grants 

21 under clause (ii); and 

22 ‘‘(bb) detailing the expendi23 ture of such funds, including the 

24 type of interoperable devices pur25 chased with such funds, and 


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1 whether such devices were pur2 chased— 

3 ‘‘(AA) by the State and 

4 distributed to local public 

5 safety entities; or 

6 ‘‘(BB) directly by a 

7 local public safety entity. 

8 ‘‘(II) GAO REPORT.—Not later 

9 than 3 years after the date of enact10 ment of this subparagraph and every 

11 3 years thereafter, the Comptroller 

12 General of the United States shall 

13 conduct a study and submit a report 

14 to the Committee on Commerce, 

15 Science, and Transportation of the 

16 Senate and the Committee on Energy 

17 and Commerce of the House of Rep18 resentatives on the— 

19 ‘‘(aa) distribution of funds 

20 authorized for grants under 

21 clause (ii); 

22 ‘‘(bb) expenditure of such 

23 funds; 

24 ‘‘(cc) cost of interoperable 

25 devices to be used in connection 


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1 with the interoperable network or 

2 networks built to serve public 

3 safety within the 700 MHz band, 

4 as agreed to by the Public Safety 

5 Broadband Licensee, or its suc6 cessors, and its commercial part7 ners, in accordance with rules 

8 and regulations promulgated by 

9 the Commission; 

10 ‘‘(dd) adherence of States 

11 and Indian tribes to the grant 

12 conditions set forth in clause 

13 (ii)(I)(bb); 

14 ‘‘(ee) solvency of the First 

15 Responders Interoperable Device 

16 Availability Trust Fund; and 

17 ‘‘(ff) effectiveness and limi18 tations of, and potential improve19 ments for, the grant program es20 tablished under this subpara21 graph. 

22 ‘‘(vii) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpara23 graph, the following definitions shall apply: 

24 ‘‘(I) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term 

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1 trator of the National Telecommuni2 cations and Information Administra3 tion. 

4 ‘‘(II) D-BLOCK.—The term ‘D5 block’ means that part of the electro6 magnetic spectrum between 758 

7 megahertz and 763 megahertz and 

8 788 megahertz and 793 megahertz. 

9 ‘‘(III) DEVICE.—The term ‘de10 vice’ means a portable or mobile radio 

11 device. 

12 ‘‘(IV) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term 

13 ‘Indian tribe’ has the same meaning 

14 as in section 4(e) of the Indian Self15 Determination and Education Assist16 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)). 

17 ‘‘(V) PUBLIC SAFETY ENTITY OR

18 PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIAL.—The term 

19 ‘public safety entity’ or ‘public safety 

20 official’ means any entity or person 

21 authorized by a State or Indian tribe 

22 to protect the safety of life, health, or 

23 property. 

24 ‘‘(VI) STATE.—The term ‘State’ 

25 means each of the several States, the 


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1 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

2 District of Columbia, and any other 

3 territory or other possession of the 

4 United States. 

5 ‘‘(VII) TERRITORY.—The term 

6 ‘territory’ means American Samoa, 

7 the Republic of Palau, the Federated 

8 States of Micronesia, the Marshall Is9 lands, the Commonwealth of the 

10 Northern Mariana Islands, the United 

11 States Virgin Islands, and Guam.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF AUCTION AUTHORITY. 

13 Section 309(j)(11) of the Communications Act of 

14 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(11)) is amended by striking 

15 ‘‘2011’’ and inserting ‘‘2014’’. 

Æ 


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