I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4289 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Under Secretary 

for Management of the Department of Homeland Security to take administrative action to achieve and maintain interoperable communications 

capabilities among the components of the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 24, 2014 

Mr. PAYNE (for himself and Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require 

the Under Secretary for Management of the Department 

of Homeland Security to take administrative action to 

achieve and maintain interoperable communications capabilities among the components of the Department of 

Homeland Security, 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 ‘‘Department of Home5 land Security Interoperable Communications Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘DHS Interoperable Communications Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS 

2 CAPABILITIES IN RESPONSIBILITIES OF 

3 UNDER SECRETARY FOR MANAGEMENT. 

4 Section 701 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

5 (6 U.S.C. 341) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (4) of subsection (a), by in7 serting before the period at the end the following: ‘‘, 

8 including policies and directives to achieve and main9 tain interoperable communications among the com10 ponents of the Department’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub12 section: 

13 ‘‘(d) INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS DE14 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘interoperable commu15 nications’ means the ability of components of the Depart16 ment to communicate with each other as necessary, uti17 lizing information technology systems and radio commu18 nications systems to exchange voice, data, and video in 

19 real time, as necessary, for acts of terrorism, daily oper20 ations, planned events, and emergencies.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. STRATEGY. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary 

24 for Management of the Department of Homeland Security 

25 shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of 

26 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 


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1 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen2 ate a strategy, which shall be updated as necessary, for 

3 achieving and maintaining interoperable communications 

4 (as such term is defined in subsection (d) of section 701 

5 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by section 

6 2 of this Act) among the components of the Department 

7 of Homeland Security, including for daily operations, 

8 planned events, and emergencies, with corresponding mile9 stones, that includes, at a minimum the following: 

10 (1) An assessment of interoperability gaps in 

11 radio communications among the components of the 

12 Department, as of the date of the enactment of this 

13 Act. 

14 (2) Information on efforts and activities, includ15 ing current and planned policies, directives, and 

16 training, of the Department since November 1, 

17 2012, to achieve and maintain interoperable commu18 nications among the components of the Department, 

19 and planned efforts and activities of the Department 

20 to achieve and maintain such interoperable commu21 nications. 

22 (3) An assessment of obstacles and challenges 

23 to achieving and maintaining interoperable commu24 nications among the components of the Department. 


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1 (4) Information on, and an assessment of, the 

2 adequacy of mechanisms available to the Under Sec3 retary for Management to enforce and compel com4 pliance with interoperable communications policies 

5 and directives of the Department. 

6 (5) Guidance provided to the components of the 

7 Department to implement interoperable communica8 tions policies and directives of the Department. 

9 (6) The total amount of funds expended by the 

10 Department since November 1, 2012, and projected 

11 future expenditures, to achieve interoperable commu12 nications, including on equipment, infrastructure, 

13 and maintenance. 

14 (7) Dates upon which Department-wide inter15 operability is projected to be achieved for voice, 

16 data, and video communications, respectively, and 

17 interim milestones that correspond to the achieve18 ment of each such mode of communication. 

19 (b) SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL.—Together with the 

20 strategy required under subsection (a), the Under Sec21 retary for Management shall submit to the Committee on 

22 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and 

23 the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

24 Affairs of the Senate information on any intra-agency ef25 fort or task force that has been delegated certain responVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:53 Mar 25, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4289.IH H4289

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1 sibilities by the Under Secretary relating to achieving and 

2 maintaining interoperable communications among the 

3 components of the Department by the dates referred to 

4 in paragraph (9) of subsection (a), and on who, within 

5 each such component, is responsible for implementing poli6 cies and directives issued by the Under Secretary to so 

7 achieve and maintain such interoperable communications. 

8 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

9 Not later than 220 days after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act and biannually thereafter, the Under Sec11 retary for Management shall submit to the Committee on 

12 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and 

13 the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

14 Affairs of the Senate a report on the status of efforts, 

15 since the issuance of the strategy required under section 

16 3, to implement such strategy, including the following: 

17 (1) Progress on each interim milestone referred 

18 to in paragraph (9) of subsection (a) toward achiev19 ing and maintaining interoperable communications 

20 among the components of the Department. 

21 (2) Information on any policies, directives, 

22 guidance, and training established by the Under Sec23 retary. 

24 (3) An assessment of the level of compliance, 

25 adoption, and participation among the components 


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1 of the Department with the policies, directives, guid2 ance, and training established by the Under Sec3 retary to achieve and maintain interoperable commu4 nications among such components. 

5 (4) Information on any additional resources or 

6 authorities needed by the Under Secretary. 

Æ 


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