II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2701

To provide incentives for the sharing of homeland security information, promote the development of an information sharing network, provide grants 

and other support to achieve communications interoperability, and establish an Office of Information Sharing, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 21, 2004

Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. AKAKA, and Mrs. CLINTON) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Governmental Affairs 

A BILL

To provide incentives for the sharing of homeland security 

information, promote the development of an information 

sharing network, provide grants and other support to 

achieve communications interoperability, and establish an 

Office of Information Sharing, 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 ‘‘Homeland Security 

5 Interagency and Interjurisdictional Information Sharing 

6 Act of 2004’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The effective use of information is essential 

4 to the Nation’s efforts to protect the homeland. In5 formation that may prove important to those efforts, 

6 however, is often widely dispersed and may be un7 covered or held by any of a number of Federal agen8 cies, by 50 States or by the Nation’s 650,000 local 

9 law enforcement officers who form the front lines of 

10 the war against terrorism, among others. Finding 

11 ways to share this information in an efficient and 

12 timely manner with those who need it is central to 

13 both preventing and responding to potential terrorist 

14 attacks on our nation. 

15 (2) Current approaches to information sharing 

16 are woefully inadequate and largely ad hoc. State 

17 and local officials frequently report that they do not 

18 receive adequate homeland security information from 

19 Federal officials, nor is there a consistent, easy way 

20 for State and local officials to effectively provide 

21 homeland security information in their possession to 

22 Federal officials. Federal agencies have often not 

23 shared information even with other Federal agencies, 

24 and State and local governments have few formal25 ized means to share information with other States 

26 and localities. 
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1 (3) There are a number of barriers, both struc2 tural and cultural, to the more effective sharing of 

3 homeland security information including—

4 (A) a lingering cold war paradigm that em5 phasizes information security and maintaining 

6 strict limits on access to information; 

7 (B) mistrust among historically rival agen8 cies and between Federal and State officials; 

9 and 

10 (C) few incentives to reward Government 

11 employees who share information outside their 

12 agencies. 

13 (4) A further barrier to information sharing 

14 among police, firefighters and others who may be 

15 called on to respond to terrorist attacks and other 

16 large-scale emergencies is the lack of interoperable 

17 communications systems, which can enable public 

18 safety agencies to communicate and share impor19 tant, sometimes critical, information in an emer20 gency. 

21 (5) A new approach to the sharing of homeland 

22 security information (a new ‘‘information architec23 ture’’) is urgently needed to overcome these barriers 

24 and to meet the homeland security needs of the Na25 tion. One useful model for such a network is the 
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1 Systemwide Homeland Analysis and Resource Ex2 change Network (SHARE) proposed by the Markle 

3 Foundation in reports issued in October 2002 and 

4 December 2003. Like the envisioned SHARE Net5 work, a new approach, to be successful, must be 

6 comprehensive, encompassing the many participants, 

7 at many levels of government, who strive to protect 

8 the homeland, and the system should be largely de9 centralized, permitting participants throughout the 

10 system to exchange information directly in a timely 

11 and effective matter without having to go through a 

12 central hub. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

17 (2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

18 means the Department of Homeland Security. 

19 (3) HOMELAND SECURITY INFORMATION.—The 

20 term ‘‘homeland security information’’ means infor21 mation relevant to, or of potential use in, the pre22 vention of, preparation for, or response to, terrorist 

23 attacks upon the United States. 
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1 (4) NETWORK.—The term ‘‘Network’’ means 

2 the Homeland Security Information Sharing Net3 work established under section 4. 

4 SEC. 4. HOMELAND SECURITY INFORMATION SHARING 

5 NETWORK. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—

7 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es8 tablish a Homeland Security Information Sharing 

9 Network. 

10 (2) FUNCTIONS.—The Network shall—

11 (A) to the maximum extent possible, con12 sistent with national security requirements and 

13 the protection of civil liberties, foster the shar14 ing of homeland security information—

15 (i) among offices and divisions within 

16 the Department; 

17 (ii) between the Department and 

18 other Federal agencies; 

19 (iii) between the Department and 

20 State, local, and tribal governments; and 

21 (iv) among State, local, and tribal 

22 governments; and 

23 (B) provide for the analysis of homeland 

24 security information obtained or made available 

25 through the Network.
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1 (b) COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENTS.—In developing 

2 the Network, the Secretary shall work with representatives 

3 of other governmental entities that possess homeland secu4 rity information or will otherwise participate in the net5 work, including the Intelligence Community, the Depart6 ment of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation, and 

7 the Department of Health and Human Services, and 

8 State, local government and tribal officials. 

9 (c) REPORTS.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit 

11 status reports on the development and implementa12 tion of the Network to—

13 (A) the Committee on Governmental Af14 fairs of the Senate; 

15 (B) the Select Committee on Homeland 

16 Security of the House of Representatives; and 

17 (C) the Committee on Government Reform 

18 of the House of Representatives. 

19 (2) CONTENTS.—The status reports shall in20 clude— 

21 (A) a detailed description of the work com22 pleted to date with attached relevant documents 

23 produced in the development of the Network, 

24 including documents describing the strategy for 
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1 the Network and the Network’s design or archi2 tecture; and 

3 (B) a detailed timetable and implementa4 tion plan for remaining work. 

5 (3) SUBMISSION.—Status reports under this 

6 subsection shall be submitted— 

7 (A) not later than 6 months after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act; 

9 (B) not later than 12 months after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act; and 

11 (C) at 1-year intervals thereafter. 

12 SEC. 5. HOMELAND SECURITY INFORMATION COORDI13 NATING COUNCIL. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Homeland Security Act of 

15 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

16 end the following: 

17 ‘‘TITLE XVIII—HOMELAND SECU18 RITY INFORMATION COORDI19 NATING COUNCIL 

20 ‘‘SEC. 1801. HOMELAND SECURITY INFORMATION COORDI21 NATING COUNCIL. 

22 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘home23 land security information’ means information relevant to, 

24 or of potential use in, the prevention of, preparation for, 

25 or response to, terrorist attacks upon the United States. 
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1 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordina3 tion with the Attorney General, the Director of Cen4 tral Intelligence, the Secretary of Health and 

5 Human Services, and other Federal departments 

6 and agencies in possession of homeland security in7 formation, as identified by the President, shall es8 tablish the Homeland Security Information Coordi9 nating Council (in this section referred to as the 

10 ‘Coordinating Council’). 

11 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The Coordinating Council 

12 shall be composed of— 

13 ‘‘(A) a representative of the Department; 

14 ‘‘(B) a representative of the Department of 

15 Justice; 

16 ‘‘(C) a representative of the Central Intel17 ligence Agency; 

18 ‘‘(D) a representative of the Department of 

19 Health and Human Services; 

20 ‘‘(E) a representative of any other Federal 

21 department or agency in possession of home22 land security information, as identified by the 

23 President; and 
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1 ‘‘(F) not fewer than 2 representatives of 

2 State and local governments, to be selected by 

3 the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Coordinating 

5 Council shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) develop, monitor, and update proce7 dures and protocols for sharing homeland secu8 rity information among Federal departments 

9 and agencies; 

10 ‘‘(B) develop, monitor, and update proce11 dures and protocols for sharing homeland secu12 rity information with State and local govern13 ments so as to minimize the difficulties of State 

14 and local governments in receiving information 

15 that may reside in multiple departments or 

16 agencies; 

17 ‘‘(C) establish a dispute resolution process 

18 to resolve disagreements among departments 

19 and agencies about whether particular home20 land security information should be shared and 

21 in what manner; 

22 ‘‘(D) review, on an ongoing basis, current 

23 issues related to homeland security information 

24 sharing among Federal departments and agen-
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1 cies and between those departments and agen2 cies and State and local governments; 

3 ‘‘(E) where appropriate, promote the com4 patibility and accessibility of technology, includ5 ing computer hardware and software, used by 

6 Federal departments and agencies to facilitate 

7 the sharing of homeland security information; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(F) ensure that there is coordination— 

10 ‘‘(i) among Federal departments and 

11 agencies that maintain homeland security 

12 information; 

13 ‘‘(ii) multi-organization entities that 

14 maintain homeland security information, 

15 including the Terrorist Threat Integration 

16 Center and Joint Terrorism Task Forces; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(iii) the Homeland Security Informa19 tion Network, in actions and policies relat20 ing to the sharing of homeland security in21 formation. 

22 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Department shall pro23 vide administrative support to the Coordinating Council, 

24 which shall include—

25 ‘‘(1) scheduling meetings;
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1 ‘‘(2) preparing agenda; 

2 ‘‘(3) maintaining minutes and records; and 

3 ‘‘(4) producing reports. 

4 ‘‘(d) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary shall designate 

5 a chairperson of the Coordinating Council. 

6 ‘‘(e) MEETINGS.—The Coordinating Council shall 

7 meet— 

8 ‘‘(1) at the call of the Secretary; or 

9 ‘‘(2) not less frequently than once a month.’’. 

10 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—

11 The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Se12 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 note) is amended by 

13 adding at the end the following:

TITLE XVIII—HOMELAND SECURITY INFORMATION 

COORDINATING COUNCIL 

‘‘Sec. 1801. Homeland Security Information Coordinating Council.’’.

14 SEC. 6. INCENTIVES TO PROMOTE SHARING OF HOMELAND 

15 SECURITY INFORMATION. 

16 (a) AGENCY PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—

17 (1) PERFORMANCE PLAN.—Consistent with the 

18 requirements of section 1115 of title 5, United 

19 States Code, the Secretary shall prepare an annual 

20 performance plan that establishes measurable goals 

21 and objectives for information sharing between the 

22 Department and other appropriate entities in Fed23 eral, State, local, and tribal governments. The plans 
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1 shall identify action steps necessary to achieve such 

2 goals. 

3 (2) PERFORMANCE REPORT.—Consistent with 

4 the requirements of section 1116 of title 5, United 

5 States Code, the Secretary shall prepare and submit 

6 to Congress an annual report including an evalua7 tion of the extent the Department’s information 

8 sharing goals and objectives were met. The report 

9 shall include the results achieved during the year rel10 ative to the goals established in the previous year’s 

11 performance plan. 

12 (3) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.—The Sec13 retary shall incorporate the performance measures in 

14 the performance plan required under paragraph (1) 

15 into the Department’s performance appraisal sys16 tem. These performance measures shall be used in 

17 evaluating the performance of appropriate managers 

18 and employees. If appropriate, determinations for 

19 performance awards, bonuses, achievement awards, 

20 and other incentives for Departmental managers and 

21 employees shall include consideration of these per22 formance measures. 

23 (b) INCENTIVES PROGRAMS.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 45 of title 5, United 

2 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

3 following: 

4 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER IV—AWARDS TO PROMOTE 

5 HOMELAND SECURITY INFORMATION 

6 SHARING 

7 ‘‘§ 4521. Awards to promote homeland security infor8 mation sharing 

9 ‘‘(a) In this section—

10 ‘‘(1) the terms ‘agency’ and ‘employee’ have the 

11 meanings given under paragraphs (1) and (2) of sec12 tion 4501, respectively; and 

13 ‘‘(2) the term ‘homeland security information’ 

14 means information relevant to, or of potential use in, 

15 the prevention of, preparation for, or response to, 

16 terrorist attacks upon the United States. 

17 ‘‘(b)(1) The head of an agency may pay a cash award 

18 to, grant time-off without charge to leave or loss of pay, 

19 or incur necessary expense for the honorary recognition 

20 of, an employee who—

21 ‘‘(A) develops and implements innovative poli22 cies, practices, procedures, or technologies to foster 

23 appropriate sharing of homeland security informa24 tion with other agencies and with State, local, and 

25 tribal governments; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) through such innovations, achieves meas2 urable results. 

3 ‘‘(2) A cash award under this section may not exceed 

4 the greater of—

5 ‘‘(A) $10,000; or 

6 ‘‘(B) 20 percent of the basic pay of the em7 ployee. 

8 ‘‘(3) A cash award may not be paid under this section 

9 to an individual who is appointed to, or who holds—

10 ‘‘(A) a position to which an individual is ap11 pointed by the President, by and with the advice and 

12 consent of the Senate; 

13 ‘‘(B) a position in the Senior Executive Service 

14 as a noncareer appointee (as such term is defined 

15 under section 3132(a); or 

16 ‘‘(C) a position which has been excepted from 

17 the competitive service by reason of its confidential, 

18 policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advo19 cating character. 

20 ‘‘(4) Consistent with paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), the 

21 Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish an awards 

22 program specifically designed to recognize and reward em23 ployees (including managers) of the Department of Home24 land Security. An employee of the Department of Home-
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1 land Security may not receive an award under paragraph 

2 (1). 

3 ‘‘(5) Not later than 1 year after the date of enact4 ment of this section, and annually for 5 years thereafter, 

5 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the 

6 Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Se7 lect Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

8 Representatives, and the Committee on Government Re9 form of the House of Representatives a report detailing 

10 the implementation of programs under this section, includ11 ing— 

12 ‘‘(A) the number of managers and employ13 ees recognized; 

14 ‘‘(B) the type of recognition given; 

15 ‘‘(C) the number and dollar amount of 

16 awards paid to individuals holding positions 

17 within each pay grade, pay level or other pay 

18 classification; 

19 ‘‘(D) the relationship between awards 

20 under this program and other incentive or 

21 awards programs; and 

22 ‘‘(E) the extent to which the program is 

23 assisting in overcoming cultural and other bar24 riers to sharing homeland security informa25 tion.’’.
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1 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND2 MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 45 of title 

3 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

4 end the following:

‘‘SUBCHAPTER IV—AWARDS TO PROMOTE HOMELAND SECURITY 

INFORMATION SHARING 

‘‘4521. Awards to promote homeland security information sharing.’’.

5 SEC. 7. OFFICE OF INFORMATION SHARING. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Homeland Security Act of 

7 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) is amended by adding after 

8 section 801 the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 802. OFFICE OF INFORMATION SHARING. 

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

11 definitions shall apply: 

12 ‘‘(1) COMMUNICATIONS INTEROPERABILITY.—

13 The term ‘communications interoperability’ means 

14 the ability of public safety service and support pro15 viders, including law enforcement, firefighters, and 

16 emergency management, to communicate with other 

17 responding agencies and Federal agencies if nec18 essary, through information technology systems and 

19 radio communications systems, and to exchange 

20 voice, data, or video with one another on demand, in 

21 real time, as necessary. 

22 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

23 the Director of the Office of Information Sharing. 
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1 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE STATE.—The term ‘eligible 

2 State’ means a State that—

3 ‘‘(A) has submitted a plan under sub4 section (d)(3); and 

5 ‘‘(B) the Secretary determines has not 

6 achieved adequate statewide communications 

7 interoperability. 

8 ‘‘(4) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the Of9 fice of Information Sharing established under sub10 section (b). 

11 ‘‘(5) PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES.—The term 

12 ‘public safety agencies’ means law enforcement, fire13 fighters, emergency technicians, public health offi14 cials, and such other persons that the Secretary de15 termines must communicate effectively with one an16 other to respond to emergencies. 

17 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established the 

19 Office of Information Sharing within the Office for 

20 State and Local Government Coordination and Pre21 paredness, which shall be headed by a Director of 

22 Information Sharing appointed by the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall 

24 provide the Office with the resources and staff nec25 essary to carry out the purposes of this section, in-
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1 cluding sufficient staff to provide support to each 

2 State, consistent with the responsibilities set forth in 

3 paragraph (3). 

4 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Office estab5 lished under paragraph (1) shall—

6 ‘‘(A) foster the sharing of homeland secu7 rity information among State and local govern8 ments and public safety agencies, and regional 

9 consortia thereof, and between these entities 

10 and the Federal Government by— 

11 ‘‘(i) facilitating the creation of re12 gional task forces with representation from 

13 State and local governments and public 

14 safety agencies and from the Federal Gov15 ernment to address information sharing 

16 needs; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) facilitating the establishment of 

18 24-hour operations centers in each State to 

19 provide a hub for Federal and State and 

20 local government intelligence and public 

21 safety agencies to share information; 

22 ‘‘(B) foster the development of interoper23 able communications systems by State and local 

24 governments and public safety agencies, and by 

25 regional consortia thereof, by—
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1 ‘‘(i) developing and implementing a 

2 national strategy to achieve communica3 tions interoperability; 

4 ‘‘(ii) developing and maintaining a 

5 task force that represents the broad cus6 tomer base of State and local governments, 

7 public safety agencies, as well as Federal 

8 agencies, involved in public safety dis9 ciplines such as law enforcement, fire10 fighting, public health, and disaster recov11 ery, in order to receive input and coordi12 nate efforts to achieve communications 

13 interoperability; 

14 ‘‘(iii) promoting a greater under15 standing of the importance of interoper16 ability among all levels of Federal, State 

17 and local government; 

18 ‘‘(iv) facilitating collaborative plan19 ning and partnerships among Federal, 

20 State, and local government agencies in all 

21 States where necessary; 

22 ‘‘(v) facilitating the sharing of infor23 mation on best practices for achieving 

24 interoperability;
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1 ‘‘(vi) identifying and working to over2 come the cultural, political, institutional, 

3 and geographic barriers within the public 

4 safety community that can impede inter5 operability among public safety agencies, 

6 including among Federal agencies; 

7 ‘‘(vii) developing appropriate perform8 ance measures and systematically meas9 uring the Nation’s progress toward inter10 operability; 

11 ‘‘(viii) coordinating with other offices 

12 in the Department and other Federal 

13 agencies providing grants for communica14 tions interoperability or for other equip15 ment and training necessary to prevent, re16 spond to, or recover from terrorist attacks, 

17 including the development of common 

18 guidance for such grants and consistent 

19 technical advice; and 

20 ‘‘(ix) making recommendations to 

21 Congress about any changes in Federal law 

22 necessary to remove barriers to achieving 

23 communications interoperability; 

24 ‘‘(C) provide technical assistance to State 

25 and local governments and public safety agen-
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1 cies, and regional consortia thereof, on the de2 sign of regional information sharing networks 

3 and technology needed to support such govern4 ments, agencies, and consortia; 

5 ‘‘(D) provide technical assistance to State 

6 and local governments and public safety agen7 cies, and regional consortia thereof, on plan8 ning, interoperability architectures, acquisition 

9 strategies, and other functions necessary to 

10 achieve communications interoperability; 

11 ‘‘(E) in conjunction with the Directorate 

12 for Science and Technology—

13 ‘‘(i) provide research, development, 

14 testing, and evaluation for public safety 

15 communications technologies and equip16 ment; 

17 ‘‘(ii) evaluate and validate new tech18 nology concepts, and promote the deploy19 ment of advanced broadband communica20 tions technologies; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) encourage the development of 

22 flexible and open architectures and stand23 ards, with appropriate levels of security, 

24 for short- and long-term solutions to inter25 operability; and 
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1 ‘‘(F) in coordination with State and local 

2 governments, develop a system for collecting 

3 and distributing best practices in homeland se4 curity. 

5 ‘‘(c) BASELINE ASSESSMENT.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

7 through the Director, shall conduct a nationwide as8 sessment to determine the degree to which commu9 nications interoperability has been achieved to date 

10 and to ascertain the needs that remain for interoper11 ability to be achieved. 

12 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.—The Secretary, acting through 

13 the Director, shall submit to the Committee on Gov14 ernmental Affairs of the Senate, the Select Com15 mittee on Homeland Security of the House of Rep16 resentatives, and the Committee on Government Re17 form of the House of Representatives— 

18 ‘‘(A) not later than 1 year after the date 

19 of enactment of this section, a report of the 

20 findings of the assessment required by sub21 section (c); and 

22 ‘‘(B) not later than 18 months after the 

23 date of enactment of this section, a plan for 

24 achieving all necessary communications inter25 operability throughout the Nation. 
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1 ‘‘(d) PREPAREDNESS GRANT PROGRAM.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the 

3 Office, shall make grants to—

4 ‘‘(A) eligible States for initiatives nec5 essary to achieve interoperability within each 

6 State, including—

7 ‘‘(i) statewide communications plan8 ning; 

9 ‘‘(ii) system design and engineering; 

10 ‘‘(iii) procurement and installation of 

11 equipment; 

12 ‘‘(iv) operations and maintenance of 

13 equipment; and 

14 ‘‘(v) testing and technology develop15 ment initiatives; and 

16 ‘‘(B) local governments (including a con17 sortium of local governments), and public safety 

18 agencies within eligible States, to assist with 

19 any aspect of the communications life-cycle, in20 cluding—

21 ‘‘(i) planning, system design, and en22 gineering; 

23 ‘‘(ii) procurement and installation of 

24 equipment; 
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1 ‘‘(iii) operations and maintenance of 

2 equipment; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) testing and technology develop4 ment. 

5 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall en6 sure that the Office coordinates its activities with 

7 other entities of the Department and other Federal 

8 entities so that grants awarded under this sub9 section, and other grant programs related to home10 land security, fulfill the purposes of this Act and fa11 cilitate the achievement of communications inter12 operability nationally. 

13 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.— 

14 ‘‘(A) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—To be eligi15 ble to receive a grant under this subsection, 

16 each eligible State, or local governments or pub17 lic safety agencies within an eligible State, shall 

18 submit a communications interoperability plan 

19 to the Secretary that—

20 ‘‘(i) addresses any aspect of the com21 munications life cycle, including planning, 

22 system design and engineering, procure23 ment and installation, operations and 

24 maintenance, and testing and technology 

25 development;
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1 ‘‘(ii) if the applicant is not a State, 

2 includes a description of how the applicant 

3 addresses the goals specified in any appli4 cable State plan or plans submitted under 

5 this section; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) is approved by the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(B) INCORPORATION AND CONSIST8 ENCY.—A plan submitted under subparagraph 

9 (A) may be part of, and shall be consistent 

10 with, any other homeland security plans re11 quired of the submitting party by the Depart12 ment. 

13 ‘‘(4) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) CONSIDERATIONS.—In approving 

15 plans and awarding grants under this sub16 section, the Secretary shall consider—

17 ‘‘(i) the nature of the threat to the eli18 gible State or local jurisdiction; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the location, risk, or vulnerability 

20 of critical infrastructure and key national 

21 assets; 

22 ‘‘(iii) the number, as well as the den23 sity, of persons who will be served by inter24 operable communications systems; 
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1 ‘‘(iv) the extent of the partnerships, 

2 existing or planned, established between 

3 local jurisdictions and agencies partici4 pating in the development of interoperable 

5 communications systems, and their coordi6 nation with Federal and State agencies; 

7 ‘‘(v) the extent to which the commu8 nications interoperability plan submitted 

9 under paragraph (3) adequately addresses 

10 steps necessary to implement short-term or 

11 long-term solutions to communications 

12 interoperability; 

13 ‘‘(vi) the extent to which eligible 

14 States and local governments, in light of 

15 their financial capability, demonstrate their 

16 commitment to expeditiously achieving 

17 communications interoperability by 

18 supplementing Federal funds with non19 Federal funds; 

20 ‘‘(vii) the extent to which grants will 

21 expedite the achievement of interoperability 

22 in the relevant jurisdiction with Federal, 

23 State, and local agencies; and 

24 ‘‘(viii) the extent to which grants will 

25 be utilized to implement advanced commu-
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1 nications technologies to promote inter2 operability. 

3 ‘‘(B) COORDINATION.—To the maximum 

4 extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure 

5 that any grant made under this subsection is 

6 coordinated with neighboring jurisdictions, con7 tiguous local governments, and within State and 

8 regional entities. 

9 ‘‘(C) LOCAL FUNDING.—If the Secretary 

10 makes grants awards to States, the Secretary 

11 shall—

12 ‘‘(i) make it a priority to ensure that 

13 funding or resources reach local govern14 ments; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) require applicants to demonstrate 

16 how such funding will reach local govern17 ments. 

18 ‘‘(D) ALLOCATION.—In awarding grants 

19 under this subsection, the Secretary shall en20 sure that—

21 ‘‘(i) not less than .75 percent of the 

22 total amount appropriated for grants in 

23 any fiscal year shall be awarded, subject to 

24 clause (ii), to each eligible States, includ-
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1 ing the District of Columbia and the Com2 monwealth of Puerto Rico; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) not less than .25 percent of the 

4 total amount appropriated for grants in 

5 any fiscal year shall be awarded to the ter6 ritories of the United States, including 

7 American Samoa, the Commonwealth of 

8 Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the 

9 United States Virgin Islands. 

10 ‘‘(E) PROCESS.—In awarding grants under 

11 this subsection, the Secretary shall, to the max12 imum extent practical, employ a peer review 

13 process such as that used to review applications 

14 awarded under the Assistance to Firefighters 

15 Grant Program. 

16 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

18 appropriated $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

19 2005 through 2008, and such sums as are necessary 

20 each fiscal year thereafter, for the operations of the 

21 Office, and for other entities within the Department 

22 whose activities facilitate the purposes of this section 

23 and the Homeland Security Interoperability Act of 

24 2004. 
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1 ‘‘(2) PREPAREDNESS GRANT PROGRAM.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the 

3 grant program under subsection (d)—

4 ‘‘(A) $400,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

5 ‘‘(B) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

6 ‘‘(C) $600,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

7 ‘‘(D) $800,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

8 ‘‘(E) $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(F) such sums as are necessary each fis11 cal year thereafter.’’. 

12 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—

13 The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Se14 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101) is amended by striking 

15 the item relating to section 801 and inserting the fol16 lowing:

‘‘801. Office for State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness. 

‘‘802. Office of Information Sharing.’’.

Æ