II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2696 

To establish the United States Homeland Security Signal Corps to ensure 

proper communications between law enforcement agencies. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 20, 2004 

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

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To establish the United States Homeland Security Signal 

Corps to ensure proper communications between law enforcement agencies.

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 ‘‘U.S. Homeland Secu5 rity Signal Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. HOMELAND SECURITY SIGNAL CORPS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Homeland Security 

8 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311 et seq.) is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 510. HOMELAND SECURITY SIGNAL CORPS. 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, within 

3 the Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Re4 sponse, a Homeland Security Signal Corps (referred to in 

5 this section as the ‘Signal Corps’). 

6 ‘‘(b) PERSONNEL.—The Signal Corps shall be com7 prised of specially trained police officers, firefighters, 

8 emergency medical technicians, and other emergency per9 sonnel. 

10 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Signal Corps shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) ensure that first responders can commu12 nicate with one another, mobile command centers, 

13 headquarters, and the public at disaster sites or in 

14 the event of a terrorist attack or a national crisis; 

15 ‘‘(2) provide sufficient training and equipment 

16 for fire and police units to enable those units to deal 

17 with all threats and contingencies in any environ18 ment; and 

19 ‘‘(3) secure joint-use equipment, such as tele20 communications trucks, that can access surviving 

21 telephone land lines to supplement communications 

22 access. 

23 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL SIGNAL CORPS STANDARDS.—The 

24 Signal Corps shall establish a set of standard operating 

25 procedures, to be followed by signal corps throughout the 

26 United States, that will ensure that first responders from 
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1 each Federal, State, and local agency have the methods 

2 and means to communicate with, or substitute for, first 

3 responders from other agencies in the event of a multi4 state terrorist attack or a national crisis. 

5 ‘‘(e) DEMONSTRATION SIGNAL CORPS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab7 lish a demonstration signal corps in New York City, 

8 New York, consisting of specially trained personnel 

9 from the New York Police Department, the Fire De10 partment of New York, the New York Port Author11 ity, and other appropriate personnel. 

12 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The demonstration 

13 signal corps established under this subsection 

14 shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) ensure that ‘best of breed’ military 

16 communications technology is identified and se17 cured for first responders; 

18 ‘‘(B) ensure communications connectivity 

19 between the New York Police Department and 

20 the Fire Department of New York; 

21 ‘‘(C) identify the means of communication 

22 that work best in New York’s tunnels, sky23 scrapers, and subways to maintain communica24 tions redundancy; and 
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1 ‘‘(D) serve as a model for other major met2 ropolitan areas across the Nation. 

3 ‘‘(3) TEAM CAPTAINS.—The Mayor of New 

4 York City shall appoint team captains to command 

5 communications companies drawn from the per6 sonnel described in paragraph (1). 

7 ‘‘(4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Signal 

8 Corps Headquarters, located in Fort Monmouth, 

9 New Jersey, shall provide technical assistance to the 

10 demonstration signal corps. 

11 ‘‘(f) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 1 

12 year after the date of enactment of this section, and annu13 ally thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report, to the 

14 Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Committee on 

15 Intelligence of the Senate and the Committee on the Judi16 ciary and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 

17 of the House of Representatives, which outlines the 

18 progress of the Signal Corps in the preceding year and 

19 describes any problems, issues, or other impediments to 

20 effective communication between first responders in the 

21 event of a terrorist attack or a national crisis. 

22 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) DEMONSTRATION SIGNAL CORPS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for 

25 fiscal year 2005 to carry out subsection (e). 
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1 ‘‘(2) FISCAL YEARS 2006 THROUGH 2009.—

2 There are authorized to be appropriated 

3 $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 

4 through 2009— 

5 ‘‘(A) to create signal corps in high ter6 rorism threat areas throughout the United 

7 States; and 

8 ‘‘(B) to carry out the mission of the Signal 

9 Corps to assist Federal, State, and local law en10 forcement agencies to effectively communicate 

11 with each other during a terrorism event or a 

12 national crisis.’’. 

13 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 1(b) of the 

14 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–296) 

15 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

16 509 the following:

‘‘Sec. 510. Homeland Security Signal Corps.’’.

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