II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 744 

To provide greater public safety by making more spectrum available to public 

safety, to establish the Public Safety Interoperable Communications 

Working Group to provide standards for public safety spectrum needs, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 1, 2007 

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

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To provide greater public safety by making more spectrum 

available to public safety, to establish the Public Safety 

Interoperable Communications Working Group to provide 

standards for public safety spectrum needs, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Spectrum Availability for Emergency-Response and Law6 Enforcement to Improve Vital Emergency Services Act’’ 

7 or the ‘‘SAVE LIVES Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—USER-DRIVEN APPROACH TO SOLVING PUBLIC SAFETY 

INTEROPERABILITY 

Sec. 101. Establishment of the Public Safety Interoperable Communications 

Working Group. 

TITLE II—STATE, LOCAL, AND REGIONAL INTEROPERABLE 

VOICE AND DATA NETWORK 

Sec. 201. Sense of the Congress. 

Sec. 202. Allowing for data transmission on the public safety bands. 

TITLE III—NATIONAL INTEROPERABLE BROADBAND NETWORK 

Sec. 301. Sense of the Congress. 

Sec. 302. Preparing for auction. 

Sec. 303. Responsibilities of successful bidders for certain spectrum. 

Sec. 304. Reversionary license to Public Safety Broadband Trust. 

Sec. 305. Loan guarantees. 

Sec. 306. Rule of construction. 

TITLE IV—LONG-TERM STRATEGY FOR INTEROPERABILITY 

Sec. 401. Report on efficient use of public safety band. 

Sec. 402. Report on long-term interoperability by consolidating band use. 

Sec. 403. Report on long-term interoperability using IP-based solutions. 

3 TITLE I—USER-DRIVEN AP4 PROACH TO SOLVING PUBLIC 

5 SAFETY INTEROPERABILITY 

6 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY INTER7 OPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS WORKING 

8 GROUP. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chairman of 

11 the Federal Communications Commission and the Sec12 retary of Homeland Security shall jointly establish a Pub13 lic Safety Interoperable Communications Working Group 


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1 (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Working Group’’) to pro2 vide continuing advice and counsel to the Chairman and 

3 the Secretary with respect to public safety interoperable 

4 communications. 

5 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Working Group established 

6 under subsection (a) shall consist of the following: 

7 (1) NON-FEDERAL MEMBERS.—The following 

8 individuals, or their respective designees, shall serve 

9 as non-federal members: 

10 (A) The President of the Association of 

11 Public-Safety Communications Officials—Inter12 national. 

13 (B) The President of the Fraternal Order 

14 of Police National Lodge. 

15 (C) The President of the International As16 sociation of Chiefs of Police. 

17 (D) The President of the International As18 sociation of Fire Fighters. 

19 (E) The President of the International As20 sociation of Fire Chiefs, Inc. 

21 (F) The President of the National Associa22 tion of Counties. 

23 (G) The President of the Major Cities 

24 Chiefs Association. 


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1 (H) The President of the Major County 

2 Sheriffs’ Association. 

3 (I) The President of the National Emer4 gency Number Association. 

5 (J) The President of the National Associa6 tion of State EMS Officials. 

7 (K) The Chair of the National Governors 

8 Association. 

9 (L) The President of the National League 

10 of Cities. 

11 (M) The President of the National Sher12 iffs’ Association. 

13 (N) The Chair of the National Volunteer 

14 Fire Council. 

15 (O) The President of the United States 

16 Conference of Mayors. 

17 (P) The President of the Metropolitan Fire 

18 Chiefs Association. 

19 (Q) The President of the International 

20 Municipal Signal Association. 

21 (R) 4 members to be elected by a majority 

22 of members described in subparagraphs (A) 

23 through (Q)— 


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1 (i) at least 1 of whom shall be a rep2 resentative of the critical infrastructure in3 dustry; and 

4 (ii) at least 2 of whom shall be a per5 sons with experience in the commercial 

6 wireless industry. 

7 (2) FEDERAL MEMBERS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The following individ9 uals, or their respective designees, shall serve as 

10 Federal members: 

11 (i) The Chairman of the Federal 

12 Communications Commission. 

13 (ii) The Secretary of Commerce. 

14 (iii) The Secretary of Homeland Secu15 rity. 

16 (iv) The Secretary of Defense. 

17 (v) The Secretary of Transportation. 

18 (vi) The Attorney General of the 

19 United States. 

20 (B) ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS.—Any 

21 Federal member may appoint a subordinate of22 ficer of their agency to attend meetings of the 

23 Working Group on the behalf of such member. 

24 (c) DUTIES OF THE WORKING GROUP.—The duties 

25 of the Working Group are as follows: 


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1 (1) To create, and report to the Federal Com2 munications Commission, not later than August 1, 

3 2007, specifications for the development of a na4 tional public safety broadband network on the 

5 30MHz band of recovered analog spectrum (encom6 passing that part of the electromagnetic spectrum 

7 between 747 megahertz and 762 megahertz and 777 

8 megahertz and 792 megahertz) reclaimed by the 

9 Federal Communications Commission under section 

10 3003 of the Digital Television Transition and Public 

11 Safety Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–171; 120 Stat. 

12 22) in preparation for the auction of such spectrum 

13 by January 28, 2008, including— 

14 (A) establishing appropriate build time15 tables, coverage areas, service levels, perform16 ance criteria, and other similar matters for the 

17 deployment of such network to ensure that such 

18 network will meet mission-critical public safety 

19 communications requirements; 

20 (B) setting forth specific performance cri21 teria that ensures such network will receive 

22 support reliability along with security and re23 dundancy at every level of network perform24 ance; 


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1 (C) reviewing and approving open stand2 ards for equipment and usage that will support 

3 upgrade and technology development on such 

4 network; 

5 (D) considering the use of ‘‘commercial 

6 off-the-shelf’’ solutions that may promote com7 petition between multiple equipment vendors 

8 that may result in lower prices for public safety 

9 users of such network; 

10 (E) establishing terms of service for the 

11 use of such network that— 

12 (i) permits public safety users to pre13 empt use on such network in the event of 

14 a national emergency; 

15 (ii) provides capacity throughput la16 tency; and 

17 (iii) allows such network the ability to 

18 support large numbers of users in a cell in 

19 the event of a national emergency; 

20 (F) providing that any equipment or appli21 cations used on such network is interoperable 

22 with broadband equipment or applications used 

23 on the 24 MHz band of spectrum (encom24 passing that part of the electromagnetic spec25 trum between 764 megahertz and 776 megaVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:50 Mar 03, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S744.IS S744

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1 hertz and 794 megahertz and 806 megahertz) 

2 allocated to public safety services under section 

3 337(a)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 

4 (47 U.S.C. 337(a)(1)); 

5 (G) establishing a user fee schedule that 

6 takes into consideration the limited resources of 

7 State, local, and tribal governments; 

8 (H) assessing, in partnership with any li9 censee of any part of such network, network 

10 construction and testing; and 

11 (I) performing compliance review and mon12 itoring of such network, in partnership with the 

13 licensee of any part of such network. 

14 (2) To assess the performance of the licensee of 

15 any part of such network over the term of the li16 cense granted to such licensee. 

17 (3) To advise and report to the Federal Com18 munications Commission whether such licensee is 

19 complying with the requirements of the license 

20 granted to such licensee. 

21 (4) To take such other action as the Working 

22 Group may from time to time determine to be nec23 essary, appropriate, or advisable to accomplish the 

24 purposes of this Act. 

25 (d) MANAGEMENT OF WORKING GROUP.— 


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1 (1) CHAIRPERSON.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The representatives of 

3 the non-federal members appointed under sub4 section (b)(1) shall elect 1 non-federal member 

5 to serve as Chairperson of the Working Group. 

6 (B) TERM OF CHAIRPERSON.—The Chair7 person elected under subparagraph (A) shall 

8 serve a 1-year term, with the representative of 

9 the Association of Public-Safety Communica10 tions Officials—International serving the initial 

11 term of Chairperson until the first election 

12 under subparagraph (A) occurs. 

13 (C) NON-ELIGIBLE MEMBERS.—Non-fed14 eral members appointed pursuant to subsection 

15 (b)(1)(R) are not eligible to serve as Chair16 person of the Working Group. 

17 (2) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the 

19 Working Group shall be appointed for the life 

20 of the Working Group. 

21 (B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Work22 ing Group shall not affect its powers, but shall 

23 be filled in the same manner as the original ap24 pointment was made. 


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1 (3) MEETINGS.—After its initial meeting, the 

2 Working Group shall meet at the call of its Chair3 person or a majority of its members at any time. 

4 (4) QUORUM.— 

5 (A) MAJORITY.—12 members of the Work6 ing Group shall constitute a quorum, but a less7 er number may hold hearings. 

8 (B) APPROVAL ACTIONS.—All rec9 ommendations and reports of the Working 

10 Group required by this Act shall be approved 

11 only by a majority vote of a quorum of the 

12 Working Group. 

13 (5) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members of the 

14 Working Group shall be allowed travel expenses, in15 cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates au16 thorized for persons employed intermittently by the 

17 Federal Government under section 5703(b) of title 

18 5, United States Code, while away from their homes 

19 or regular places of business in the performance of 

20 services for the Working Group. 

21 (6) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Commu23 nications Commission and the Department of 

24 Homeland Security shall, jointly, furnish to the 

25 Working Group clerical, administrative, and 


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1 other assistance for the performance of the 

2 functions of the Working Group. 

3 (B) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGEN4 CIES.—In addition to the assistance prescribed 

5 under subparagraph (A), departments and 

6 agencies of the United States may provide to 

7 the Working Group such services, funds, facili8 ties, staff, and other support services as they 

9 may determine advisable and as may be author10 ized by law. 

11 (7) FACA NOT APPLICABLE.—The Working 

12 Group shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory 

13 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 2). 

14 (8) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND REPORTS.—The 

15 Working Group shall— 

16 (A) to the extent appropriate, and in the 

17 discretion of the Working Group, open its hear18 ings and meetings to the public; and 

19 (B) make broadly available to the public at 

20 no cost any report of the Working Group. 

21 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the provi23 sions of this section $500,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 

24 through 2013. 


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1 TITLE II—STATE, LOCAL, AND 

2 REGIONAL INTEROPERABLE 

3 VOICE AND DATA NETWORK 

4 SEC. 201. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that the 24 MHz band 

6 of spectrum (encompassing that part of the electro7 magnetic spectrum between 764 megahertz and 776 mega8 hertz and 794 megahertz and 806 megahertz) allocated 

9 to public safety services under section 337(a)(1) of the 

10 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 337(a)(1)) 

11 should be used by State, local, and regional public safety 

12 organizations for interoperable voice and data communica13 tions. 

14 SEC. 202. ALLOWING FOR DATA TRANSMISSION ON THE 

15 PUBLIC SAFETY BANDS. 

16 (a) FCC PROCEEDING ON DATA TRANSMISSION.— 

17 Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this 

18 Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall— 

19 (1) complete its Eighth Notice of Proposed 

20 Rulemaking In the Matter of Implementing a Na21 tionwide, Broadband, Interoperable Public Safety 

22 Network in the 700MHz Band; Development of 

23 Operational, Technical and Spectrum Requirements 

24 for Meeting Federal, State and Local Public Safety 

25 Communication Requirements Through the Year 


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1 2010 (PS Docket No. 06–229; WT Docket No. 96– 

2 86); and 

3 (2) issue rules allowing certain channels within 

4 the current 24 MHz band of public safety spectrum 

5 (encompassing that part of the electromagnetic spec6 trum between 764 megahertz and 776 megahertz 

7 and 794 megahertz and 806 megahertz) to accom8 modate data communications. 

9 TITLE III—NATIONAL INTER10 OPERABLE BROADBAND NET11 WORK 

12 SEC. 301. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. 

13 It is the sense of Congress that the 30MHz band of 

14 recovered analog spectrum (encompassing that part of the 

15 electromagnetic spectrum between 747 megahertz and 762 

16 megahertz and 777 megahertz and 792 megahertz) re17 claimed by the Federal Communications Commission 

18 under section 3003 of the Digital Television Transition 

19 and Public Safety Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–171; 120 

20 Stat. 22) in preparation for the auction of such spectrum 

21 by January 28, 2008, should be available to Federal, 

22 State, local, and regional public safety organizations (in23 cluding all Federal agencies, such as the Department of 

24 Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal 

25 Emergency Management Agency, the United States Secret 


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1 Service, and the United States Marshals Service) for a na2 tional, interoperable broadband network. 

3 SEC. 302. PREPARING FOR AUCTION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communica6 tions Commission shall issue a notice of proposed rule7 making to determine how the spectrum described in sec8 tion 301 should be allocated for auction. The rulemaking 

9 shall be completed by July 1, 2007. 

10 (b) CONTENT OF NOTICE.—In the notice required 

11 under subsection (a), the Federal Communications Com12 mission shall— 

13 (1) ask for comments on the proposed auction; 

14 and 

15 (2) consider— 

16 (A) the financial, technical, competitive, 

17 and public safety merits of re-banding such 

18 spectrum into three 10 MHz bands of paired 5 

19 MHz channels for auction; and 

20 (B) whether such spectrum is better auc21 tioned— 

22 (i) as one band of 30 MHz with two 

23 paired channels of 15 MHz; or 

24 (ii) any other configuration not de25 scribed in clause (i) or subparagraph (A). 


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1 (c) REPORT OF THE WORKING GROUP.—Not later 

2 than August 2, 2007, the Federal Communications Com3 mission shall make available to the public, for notice and 

4 comment, the report of the Working Group (relating to 

5 specifications for a national public safety broadband net6 work) required under section 101(c)(1). 

7 (d) FINAL SPECIFICATIONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than November 1, 

9 2007, the Federal Communications Commission 

10 shall issue, based on the report received from the 

11 Working Group described in subsection (c), a final 

12 report establishing the specifications for a national 

13 public safety broadband network. 

14 (2) REQUIRED CONTENT.—The final specifica15 tions required under paragraph (1) shall set forth 

16 the rules of any auction of the spectrum described 

17 in section 301, including that any license granted by 

18 the Federal Communications Commission for the use 

19 of any part of such spectrum is conditioned on the 

20 bidder for such spectrum agreeing to implement and 

21 comply with the specifications established under 

22 paragraph (1). 


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1 SEC. 303. RESPONSIBILITIES OF SUCCESSFUL BIDDERS 

2 FOR CERTAIN SPECTRUM. 

3 (a) REQUIRED USE OF SPECIFICATIONS PRODUCED

4 BY WORKING GROUP.—Any successful bidder for any part 

5 of the spectrum described in section 301 shall, prior to 

6 making a bid for such spectrum, agree to implement and 

7 comply with the specifications concerning the development 

8 of a national public safety broadband network established 

9 by the Federal Communications Commission under section 

10 302(d)(1). 

11 (b) DUTY OF THE FCC.—The Federal Communica12 tions Commission shall enforce the requirement under 

13 subsection (a) in order to ensure compliance by any suc14 cessful bidder. 

15 (c) REPORTS BY FCC.— 

16 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF NETWORK.—Not later 

17 than January 28, 2010, the Federal Communica18 tions Commission, in conjunction with the Secretary 

19 of Homeland Security, shall report to Congress on 

20 the development of such a national public safety 

21 broadband network, including a description of the 

22 successes and failures of the successful bidder in im23 plementing the provisions of this section. 

24 (2) COMPLIANCE BY WINNING BIDDER.—Not 

25 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 

26 this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Federal 


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1 Communications Commission shall report to Con2 gress on the compliance of the successful bidder for 

3 the spectrum described under section 301 in imple4 menting and adhering to the specifications estab5 lished by the Commission under section 302(d)(1). 

6 SEC. 304. REVERSIONARY LICENSE TO PUBLIC SAFETY 

7 BROADBAND TRUST. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the event that the auction of 

9 the 30MHz band of recovered analog spectrum (encom10 passing that part of the electromagnetic spectrum between 

11 747 megahertz and 762 megahertz and 777 megahertz 

12 and 792 megahertz) reclaimed by the Federal Commu13 nications Commission under section 3003 of the Digital 

14 Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 (Pub15 lic Law 109–171; 120 Stat. 22) does not produce a suc16 cessful bidder, the Federal Communications Commission 

17 may grant a license for the use of such spectrum to the 

18 Public Safety Broadband Trust Corporation established 

19 under subsection (b). 

20 (b) PUBLIC SAFETY BROADBAND TRUST CORPORA21 TION.— 

22 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is authorized to 

23 be established a private, nonprofit corporation, to be 

24 known as the ‘‘Public Safety Broadband Trust Cor25 poration’’ (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘CorporaVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:50 Mar 03, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S744.IS S744

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1 tion’’), which is neither an agency nor establishment 

2 of the United States Government or the District of 

3 Columbia Government. 

4 (2) APPLICATION OF PROVISIONS.—The Cor5 poration shall be subject to the provisions of this 

6 section, and, to the extent consistent with this sec7 tion, to the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corpora8 tion Act (sec. 29–301.01 et seq., D.C. Official 

9 Code). 

10 (3) RESIDENCE.—The Corporation shall have 

11 its place of business in the District of Columbia and 

12 shall be considered, for purposes of venue in civil ac13 tions, to be a resident of the District of Columbia. 

14 (4) POWERS UNDER DC ACT.—In order to carry 

15 out the duties and activities of the Corporation, the 

16 Corporation shall have the usual powers conferred 

17 upon a nonprofit corporation by the District of Co18 lumbia Nonprofit Corporation Act. 

19 (5) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall 

21 have a Board of Directors (referred to in this 

22 Act as the ‘‘Board’’), which shall consist of the 

23 following members: 

24 (i) NON-FEDERAL MEMBERS.—The 

25 following individuals, or their respective 


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1 designees, shall serve as non-federal mem2 bers: 

3 (I) The President of the Associa4 tion of Public-Safety Communications 

5 Officials—International. 

6 (II) The President of the Fra7 ternal Order of Police National 

8 Lodge. 

9 (III) The President of the Inter10 national Association of Chiefs of Po11 lice. 

12 (IV) The President of the Inter13 national Association of Fire Fighters. 

14 (V) The President of the Inter15 national Association of Fire Chiefs, 

16 Inc. 

17 (VI) The President of the Na18 tional Association of Counties. 

19 (VII) The President of the Major 

20 Cities Chiefs Association. 

21 (VIII) The President of the 

22 Major County Sheriffs’ Association. 

23 (IX) The President of the Na24 tional Emergency Number Associa25 tion. 


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1 (X) The President of the Na2 tional Association of State EMS Offi3 cials. 

4 (XI) The Chair of the National 

5 Governors Association. 

6 (XII) The President of the Na7 tional League of Cities. 

8 (XIII) The President of the Na9 tional Sheriffs’ Association. 

10 (XIV) The Chair of the National 

11 Volunteer Fire Council. 

12 (XV) The President of the 

13 United States Conference of Mayors. 

14 (XVI) The President of the Met15 ropolitan Fire Chiefs Association. 

16 (XVII) The President of the 

17 International Municipal Signal Asso18 ciation. 

19 (XVIII) 4 members to be elected 

20 by a majority of members described in 

21 subclauses (I) through (XVII)— 

22 (aa) at least 1 of whom shall 

23 be a representative of the critical 

24 infrastructure industry; and 


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1 (bb) at least 2 of whom shall 

2 be a persons with experience in 

3 the commercial wireless industry. 

4 (ii) FEDERAL MEMBERS.— 

5 (I) IN GENERAL.—The following 

6 individuals, or their respective des7 ignees, shall serve as Federal mem8 bers: 

9 (aa) The Chairman of the 

10 Federal Communications Com11 mission. 

12 (bb) The Secretary of Com13 merce. 

14 (cc) The Secretary of Home15 land Security. 

16 (dd) The Secretary of De17 fense. 

18 (ee) The Secretary of Trans19 portation. 

20 (ff) The Attorney General of 

21 the United States. 

22 (B) TERM.— 

23 (i) LENGTH.—The term of office of 

24 each non-federal member of the Board 

25 shall be 4 years. Each Federal member of 


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1 the Board shall serve as member of the 

2 Board for the life of the Corporation. 

3 (ii) EXPIRATION OF TERM.—Any 

4 member whose term has expired may serve 

5 until such member’s successor has taken 

6 office, or until the end of the calendar year 

7 in which such member’s term has expired, 

8 whichever is earlier. 

9 (iii) VACANCIES.—Any member ap10 pointed to fill a vacancy prior to the expi11 ration of the term for which such mem12 ber’s predecessor was appointed shall be 

13 appointed for the remainder of such term. 

14 (C) VACANCIES NOT TO AFFECT POWER OF

15 BOARD.—A vacancy on the Board shall not af16 fect its powers, but shall be filled in the same 

17 manner as the original appointment was made. 

18 (D) ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN; ELECTION

19 OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE; COMPENSATION OF

20 BOARD MEMBERS.— 

21 (i) CHAIRMAN.—All members of the 

22 Board shall annually elect one of their 

23 members to be Chairman, and elect one or 

24 more of their members as a Vice Chairman 

25 or Vice Chairmen. 


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1 (ii) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.— 

2 (I) IN GENERAL.—All members 

3 of the Board shall elect, on annual 

4 basis, 7 of their members to serve on 

5 an Executive Committee. 

6 (II) REQUIRED REPRESENTA7 TION.—Of the 7 members elected 

8 under subclause (I), at least one rep9 resentative shall be elected from— 

10 (aa) the law enforcement 

11 community; 

12 (bb) the fire services com13 munity; and 

14 (cc) the community of State 

15 and local government entities. 

16 (III) LIMITATION.—No more 

17 than 2 of the members of the Execu18 tive Committee may be Federal mem19 bers of the Board. 

20 (E) NOT OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES.—The 

21 non-federal members of the Board shall not, by 

22 reason of such membership, be considered to be 

23 officers or employees of the United States Gov24 ernment or of the District of Columbia Govern25 ment. 


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1 (F) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from 

2 home or regular place of business in the per3 formance of duties for the Board, each member 

4 of the Board may receive reasonable travel, sub5 sistence, and other necessary expenses. 

6 (G) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.— 

7 (i) PRESIDENT.—The Corporation 

8 shall have a President, and such other offi9 cers as may be named and appointed by 

10 the Board for terms, and at rates of com11 pensation fixed by the Board. 

12 (ii) LIMITATION ON RATE OF PAY.— 

13 No officer or employee of the Corporation 

14 may be compensated by the Corporation at 

15 an annual rate of pay which exceeds the 

16 rate of basic pay in effect from time to 

17 time for level I of the Executive Schedule 

18 under section 5312 of title 5, United 

19 States Code. 

20 (iii) CITIZENSHIP REQUIREMENT.— 

21 No individual other than a citizen of the 

22 United States may be an officer of the 

23 Corporation. 

24 (iv) OUTSIDE SOURCES OF COMPENSA25 TION.—No officer of the Corporation, 


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1 other than the Chairman or a Vice Chair2 man, may receive any salary or other com3 pensation (except for compensation for 

4 services on boards of directors of other or5 ganizations that do not receive funds from 

6 the Corporation, on committees of such 

7 boards, and in similar activities for such 

8 organizations) from any sources other than 

9 the Corporation for services rendered dur10 ing the period of his or her employment by 

11 the Corporation. 

12 (v) ADVANCE APPROVAL FOR OUTSIDE

13 SERVICE.—Service by any officer on boards 

14 of directors of other organizations, on com15 mittees of such boards, and in similar ac16 tivities for such organizations shall be sub17 ject to— 

18 (I) annual advance approval by 

19 the Board; and 

20 (II) the provisions of the Cor21 poration’s Statement of Ethical Con22 duct. 

23 (vi) AT WILL EMPLOYMENT.—All offi24 cers shall serve at the pleasure of the 

25 Board. 


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1 (vii) QUALIFICATION.—No political 

2 test or qualification may be used in select3 ing, appointing, promoting, or taking other 

4 personnel actions with respect to officers, 

5 agents, or employees of the Corporation. 

6 (H) NONPROFIT AND NONPOLITICAL NA7 TURE OF THE CORPORATION.— 

8 (i) NO POWER TO ISSUE STOCK OR

9 DECLARE DIVIDENDS.—The Corporation 

10 shall have no power to issue shares of 

11 stock, or to declare or pay any dividends. 

12 (ii) NO BENEFIT.—No part of the in13 come or assets of the Corporation shall 

14 inure to the benefit of any officer, em15 ployee, or any other individual associated 

16 with the Corporation, except as salary or 

17 reasonable compensation for services. 

18 (iii) POLITICAL ACTIVITY.—The Cor19 poration may not contribute to or other20 wise support any political party or can21 didate for elective public office. 

22 (I) INCORPORATION.—The members of the 

23 initial Board shall serve as incorporators and 

24 shall take whatever steps are necessary to es25 tablish the Corporation under the District of 


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1 Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act (sec. 29– 

2 301.01 et seq., D.C. Official Code). 

3 (J) MEETINGS OF THE BOARD.—All meet4 ings of the Board, including any committee of 

5 the Board, shall be open to the public, except 

6 for meetings— 

7 (i) regarding personnel matters; and 

8 (ii) that, in the discretion of the 

9 Board or the Executive Committee, should 

10 be conducted in closed session for the pur11 pose of guarding sensitive commercial in12 formation or national security interests. 

13 (c) DUTIES OF THE CORPORATION.—The Corpora14 tion may— 

15 (1) obtain, through purchase, a license from the 

16 Federal Communications Commission for the use of 

17 the 30MHz band of recovered analog spectrum (en18 compassing that part of the electromagnetic spec19 trum between 747 megahertz and 762 megahertz 

20 and 777 megahertz and 792 megahertz) reclaimed 

21 by the Federal Communications Commission under 

22 section 3003 of the Digital Television Transition 

23 and Public Safety Act of 2005 (Public Law 109– 

24 171; 120 Stat. 22) and reserved for the public safe25 ty; 


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1 (2) facilitate the development of a national pub2 lic safety broadband network, including by the pro3 motion of a single, open, advanced technology stand4 ard for such network; 

5 (3) hold and commit to use any license obtained 

6 under paragraph (1) for the benefit of the public 

7 safety community throughout the United States; 

8 (4) establish such arrangements as the Board 

9 may determine appropriate to afford public safety 

10 entities priority in the use of such network over all 

11 other network users; 

12 (5) assist in the development of a business 

13 model that stimulates competition and innovation 

14 while attempting to achieve self-sustenance through 

15 the auctioning, in conjunction with the Federal 

16 Communications Commission, of spectrum relating 

17 to the license obtained under paragraph (1) to com18 mercial entities, provided that 10 percent of the rev19 enues from any such auction be deposited in any re20 serve accounts established under paragraph (9); 

21 (6) require such commercial entities to con22 struct, manage, and operate a network— 

23 (A) that meets specifications established by 

24 the Working Group under section 101(c); and 


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1 (B) that shall be subject to the approval of 

2 the Federal Communications Commission; 

3 (7) encourage such commercial entities to invest 

4 in and improve advanced mobile broadband services; 

5 (8) incur indebtedness to carry out the pur6 poses of this Act; 

7 (9) establish reserve accounts with funds that 

8 the Corporation may receive from time to time that 

9 exceed the amounts required by the Corporation to 

10 timely pay its debt service and other obligations; 

11 (10) expend the funds placed in any reserve ac12 counts established under paragraph (9) (including 

13 interest earned on any such amounts) in a manner 

14 authorized by the Board, but only for purposes 

15 that— 

16 (A) will advance or enhance public safety 

17 communications; or 

18 (B) are otherwise approved by an Act of 

19 Congress; and 

20 (11) accept donations, contributions, and grants 

21 from supporters and providers of public safety serv22 ices. 

23 (d) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In order to carry out 

24 the duties required under subsection (c), the Corporation 

25 may— 


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1 (1) issue notes or bonds to purchasers of such 

2 instruments in the private capital markets; 

3 (2) take such steps as the Corporation deter4 mines necessary or appropriate to discharge its re5 sponsibilities and perform its tasks relating to the 

6 intended construction, operation, and oversight of a 

7 national broadband network for public safety, includ8 ing— 

9 (A) establishing appropriate build time10 tables, coverage areas, service levels, perform11 ance criteria, and other similar matters for the 

12 deployment of such network; 

13 (B) reviewing and approving the terms of 

14 any licenses for use of the spectrum relating to 

15 the license obtained from the Federal Commu16 nications Commission under subsection (c)(1); 

17 (C) conducting and supervising system and 

18 network testing; and 

19 (D) engaging in, or arranging for, ongoing 

20 compliance review and monitoring of the— 

21 (i) network; and 

22 (ii) practices and procedures of the 

23 commercial entities operating on such net24 work; 


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1 (3) select, and contract for the services of, an 

2 agent which, on behalf of the Corporation, and sub3 ject to the direction, policy oversight, and super4 vision of the Corporation (through its Board), would 

5 be empowered to conduct any and all aspects of the 

6 process that the Corporation determines to be nec7 essary, appropriate, or advisable to establish and 

8 enter into commercial arrangements to build, oper9 ate, and manage the network, including leases by 

10 commercial service providers for usage rights in that 

11 part of the spectrum relating to the license obtained 

12 from the Federal Communications Commission 

13 under subsection (c)(1); 

14 (4) hire or accept the voluntary services of con15 sultants, experts, agents (in addition to the agent 

16 described in paragraph (3)), advisory boards, and 

17 panels to aid the Corporation in carrying out the 

18 purpose of this section; and 

19 (5) take such other actions as the Board may 

20 from time to time determine necessary, appropriate, 

21 or advisable to accomplish the purposes of this sec22 tion. 

23 (e) SELECTION OF AGENTS, CONSULTANTS, AND EX24 PERTS.—The Corporation shall select parties to serve as 


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1 its agents, consultants, or experts in a fair, transparent, 

2 and objective manner. 

3 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub4 section shall be construed to commit the Federal Govern5 ment to provide any sums for the payment of any obliga6 tion of the Corporation which exceeds amounts provided 

7 in advance in a relevant appropriations Act. 

8 (g) CIVIL LIABILITY.— 

9 (1) LIMITED LIABILITY.—The liability of the 

10 Corporation, its employees and volunteers, in any 

11 court of any State or the United States, shall be lim12 ited as provided in the District of Columbia Non13 profit Corporation Act. 

14 (2) EXTENSION OF LIMITATION.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any director, officer, 

16 employee, or agent of the Corporation not oth17 erwise provided for under paragraph (1), in18 cluding any agent described in subsection 

19 (d)(3), is entitled to the same limitations of li20 ability afforded under paragraph (1). 

21 (B) COMMERCIAL ENTITIES.—Any com22 mercial entity described in subsection (d)(3), in23 cluding the directors, officers, and employees of 

24 such entity, shall not be liable in any court of 

25 any State or the United States in connection 


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1 with any injury or damages arising out of the 

2 use of that part of spectrum reserved for public 

3 safety services, except to the extent that the 

4 public safety personnel using such spectrum 

5 would be liable for such injury or damages. 

6 (h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

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

9 thereafter, the Corporation shall submit, directly to 

10 the President for review and transmittal to Congress 

11 on or before the 15th day of May of each year, an 

12 annual report covering the preceding fiscal year. 

13 (2) REQUIRED CONTENT.—The report required 

14 under paragraph (1) shall include— 

15 (A) a comprehensive and detailed report of 

16 the operations, activities, financial condition, 

17 and accomplishments of the Corporation under 

18 this section; and 

19 (B) such recommendations or proposals for 

20 legislative or administrative action as the Cor21 poration deems appropriate. 

22 (3) AVAILABILITY TO TESTIFY.—The directors, 

23 officers, employees, and agents of the Corporation 

24 shall be available to testify before the appropriate 

25 committees of the Congress with respect to— 


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1 (A) the report required under paragraph 

2 (1); 

3 (B) the report of any audit made by the 

4 Comptroller General under subsection (i); or 

5 (C) any other matter which such commit6 tees may determine appropriate. 

7 (i) FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND RECORDS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The accounts of the Cor9 poration shall be audited annually in accordance 

10 with generally accepted auditing standards by inde11 pendent certified public accountants or independent 

12 licensed public accountants, certified or licensed by 

13 a regulatory authority of a State or other political 

14 subdivision of the United States. The audit shall be 

15 conducted at the place or places where the accounts 

16 of the Corporation are normally kept. All books, ac17 counts, financial records, files, and other papers, 

18 things, and property belonging to or in use by the 

19 Corporation and necessary to facilitate the audit 

20 shall be made available to the person or persons con21 ducting the audit, and full facilities for verifying 

22 transactions with the balances or securities held by 

23 depositories, fiscal agents, and custodians shall be 

24 afforded to such person or persons. 

25 (2) REPORT ON ACCOUNTS.— 


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1 (A) INCLUSION WITH ANNUAL REPORT.— 

2 The report of each such independent audit un3 dertaken pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be in4 cluded in the annual report required under sub5 section (h). 

6 (B) REQUIRED CONTENT.—The audit re7 port required under this subsection shall set 

8 forth the scope of the audit and include— 

9 (i) such statements as are necessary 

10 to present fairly the assets and liabilities, 

11 surplus or deficit of the Corporation; 

12 (ii) an analysis of the changes to any 

13 such assets and liabilities, or surplus or 

14 deficit during the year; 

15 (iii) reasonably detailed statement of 

16 the Corporation’s income and expenses 

17 during the year; and 

18 (iv) a statement of the sources and 

19 application of funds, together with the 

20 independent auditor’s opinion of those 

21 statements. 

22 (3) GAO AUDIT.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The financial trans24 actions of the Corporation, for any fiscal year 

25 during which Federal funds are available to fiVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:50 Mar 03, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S744.IS S744

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1 nance any portion of its operations, shall be au2 dited by the Comptroller General of the United 

3 States in accordance with the principles and 

4 procedures applicable to commercial corporate 

5 transactions and under such rules and regula6 tions as may be prescribed by the Comptroller 

7 General. Any such audit shall be conducted at 

8 the place or places where accounts of the Cor9 poration are normally kept. The representative 

10 of the Comptroller General shall have access to 

11 all books, accounts, records, reports, files, and 

12 all other papers, things, or property belonging 

13 to or in use by the Corporation pertaining to its 

14 financial transactions and necessary to facilitate 

15 the audit, and they shall be afforded full facili16 ties for verifying transactions with the balances 

17 or securities held by depositories, fiscal agents, 

18 and custodians. All such books, accounts, 

19 records, reports, files, papers and property of 

20 the Corporation shall remain in possession and 

21 custody of the Corporation. 

22 (B) REPORT.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—A report of each 

24 such audit undertaken pursuant to subVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:50 Mar 03, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S744.IS S744

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1 paragraph (A) shall be made by the Comp2 troller General to the Congress. 

3 (ii) REQUIRED CONTENT.—The report 

4 required under clause (i) shall— 

5 (I) contain such comments and 

6 information as the Comptroller Gen7 eral may deem necessary to inform 

8 Congress of the financial operations 

9 and condition of the Corporation, to10 gether with such recommendations the 

11 Comptroller General may deem advis12 able; and 

13 (II) show specifically any pro14 gram, expenditure, or other financial 

15 transaction or undertaking observed 

16 in the course of the audit, which, in 

17 the opinion of the Comptroller Gen18 eral, has been carried on or made 

19 without authority of law. 

20 (iii) COPIES.—A copy of each report 

21 required under clause (i) shall be furnished 

22 to the President of the United States, to 

23 the Chairman of the Federal Communica24 tions Commission, and to the Corporation 


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1 at the time such report is submitted to the 

2 Congress. 

3 (j) PURCHASE OF LICENSE.—Notwithstanding any 

4 other provision of law, the license that may made available 

5 for purchase by the Corporation in the manner authorized 

6 by this section, shall be at a price determined by the Fed7 eral Communications Commission not to exceed 

8 $5,000,000,000. 

9 SEC. 305. LOAN GUARANTEES. 

10 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Communica12 tions Commission shall have the authority to enter 

13 into an agreement with the Corporation to provide, 

14 and to issue, guarantees of loans to the Corporation 

15 to provide funds for— 

16 (A) the acquisition of the license for the 

17 construction, management, and operation of the 

18 advanced broadband public safety network au19 thorized by this Act; 

20 (B) the establishment of a broadband pub21 lic safety network in less densely populated, 

22 rural areas; and 

23 (C) for other operating funds of the Cor24 poration. 


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1 (2) FULL FAITH AND CREDIT.—The full faith 

2 and credit of the United States is pledged to the 

3 payment of all guarantees made under subsection 

4 (a) with respect to both principal and interest, in5 cluding— 

6 (A) interest that is capitalized and added 

7 to the outstanding principal balance of any loan 

8 (subject to the aggregate principal amount limi9 tation of all outstanding guaranteed loans, as 

10 set forth in subsection (d)); and 

11 (B) interest, as may be provided for in any 

12 such guarantee, accruing between the date of 

13 default under a guaranteed loan and the pay14 ment in full of such guarantee. 

15 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to obtain a loan 

16 guarantee under subsection (a), the Corporation shall sub17 mit a proposal to the Federal Communications Commis18 sion, at such time and in such manner as the Commission 

19 may require. Each proposal submitted shall meet the re20 quirements of this Act. 

21 (c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—A loan guaranteed 

22 under subsection (a) shall— 

23 (1) bear interest at market rates for United 

24 States guaranteed loans of comparable maturity; 

25 and 


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1 (2) have a term not to exceed 30 years from the 

2 date the relevant indebtedness is incurred. 

3 (d) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The principal amount of all 

5 outstanding loans guaranteed under this section at 

6 any one time shall not exceed, in the aggregate, 

7 $10,000,000,000, not more than $5,000,000,000 of 

8 which shall be used to fund the purchase price to be 

9 paid by the Corporation for the license for the spec10 trum to be auctioned under this title. 

11 (2) VARYING AMOUNTS FOR LOANS.—Loans 

12 guaranteed under this section may be incurred in 

13 different amounts and at different times, and may 

14 be refinanced from time to time, provided that no 

15 such loan refinancing shall result in the term of the 

16 loan being extended. 

17 (e) SECURITY INTEREST.—For any loan guaranteed 

18 under this section, the Corporation shall grant the United 

19 States Government a security interest in any license for 

20 use of spectrum held by the Corporation, or other com21 parable arrangements, satisfactory to the Federal Com22 munications Commission. 

23 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi24 tion to any amounts otherwise made available under this 

25 section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums 


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1 as necessary to carry out this section for each of the fiscal 

2 years 2008 through 2013. 

3 (g) TERMINATION OF LOAN PROGRAM.—No loan 

4 guarantee may be made under this section after December 

5 31, 2020. 

6 SEC. 306. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

7 Nothing in this Act shall affect, or be construed to 

8 affect, the spectrum auction date of January 28, 2008, 

9 as such date was established under the Digital Television 

10 Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 (Public Law 

11 109–171; 120 Stat. 21). 

12 TITLE IV—LONG-TERM STRAT13 EGY FOR INTEROPERABILITY 

14 SEC. 401. REPORT ON EFFICIENT USE OF PUBLIC SAFETY 

15 BAND. 

16 Not later than 2 years after February 18, 2009, and 

17 every February 18th of each odd-numbered year there18 after, the Federal Communications Commission, the Sec19 retary of Homeland Security, and either the Working 

20 Group established in section 101 or the Corporation estab21 lished in section 304(b), shall, jointly, after allowing time 

22 for notice and comment, prepare and submit a report to 

23 the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans24 portation and the House of Representatives Committee on 

25 Energy and Commerce, on the efficiency and effectiveness 


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1 of the public safety use of the 24 MHz band of spectrum 

2 (encompassing that part of the electromagnetic spectrum 

3 between 764 megahertz and 776 megahertz and 794 

4 megahertz and 806 megahertz) allocated to public safety 

5 services under section 337(a)(1) of the Communications 

6 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 337(a)(1)). 

7 SEC. 402. REPORT ON LONG-TERM INTEROPERABILITY BY 

8 CONSOLIDATING BAND USE. 

9 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission, the 

11 Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Working Group 

12 established in section 101, shall, jointly, prepare and sub13 mit a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

14 Science, and Transportation and the House of Represent15 atives Committee on Energy and Commerce, on how dur16 ing the next 15 years public safety organizations can— 

17 (1) end their use of Land Mobile radio spec18 trum below 512 MHz; and 

19 (2) begin to use either— 

20 (A) the 30MHz band of recovered analog 

21 spectrum (encompassing that part of the elec22 tromagnetic spectrum between 747 megahertz 

23 and 762 megahertz and 777 megahertz and 

24 792 megahertz) reclaimed by the Federal Com25 munications Commission under section 3003 of 


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1 the Digital Television Transition and Public 

2 Safety Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–171; 120 

3 Stat. 22) in preparation for the auction of such 

4 spectrum by January 28, 2008; 

5 (B) the 24 MHz band of spectrum (encom6 passing that part of the electromagnetic spec7 trum between 764 megahertz and 776 mega8 hertz and 794 megahertz and 806 megahertz) 

9 allocated to public safety services under section 

10 337(a)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 

11 (47 U.S.C. 337(a)(1)); or 

12 (C) the spectrum in the 800 MHz band. 

13 SEC. 403. REPORT ON LONG-TERM INTEROPERABILITY 

14 USING IP-BASED SOLUTIONS. 

15 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

16 of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission, the 

17 Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Working Group 

18 established in section 101, shall, jointly, after allowing 

19 time for notice and comment, prepare and submit a report 

20 to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

21 Transportation and the House of Representatives Com22 mittee on Energy and Commerce, on whether Internet 

23 Protocol-enabled solutions could aid interoperability. 

Æ 


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