I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2331 
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act to support efforts by local or regional television or radio broadcasters 
to provide essential public information programming in the event of 
a major disaster, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 15, 2007 
Mr. MELANCON (for himself and Mr. PICKERING) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act to support efforts by local or re-
gional television or radio broadcasters to provide essential 
public information programming in the event of a major 
disaster, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘First Response Broad-
casters Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:25 May 17, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2331.IH
H2331
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS
(1) in the periods before, during, and after 
major disasters that occurred not long before the 
date of enactment of this Act (including Hurricane 
Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and the terrorist attacks of 
September 11, 2001), local media organizations (in-
cluding newspapers, public and private broadcasters, 
and online publications) provided a valuable public 
service by transmitting and publishing disaster-re-
lated information, guidance, and assistance; 
(2) local broadcasters, public and private, pro-
vided a particularly valuable public service by trans-
mitting evacuation instructions, warnings of impend-
ing threats, timely response status updates, and 
other essential information related to such major 
disasters to listeners and viewers to whom other 
forms of media were often unavailable or inacces-
sible; 
(3) an inability to access a disaster area may 
impede the ability of local media organizations to 
provide such public services; 
(4) according to the report by the Committee 
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 
the Senate, titled ‘‘Hurricane Katrina: A Nation 
Still Unprepared’’, dated May 2006, ‘‘It is essential 
that the news media receive accurate disaster infor-
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:25 May 17, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2331.IH
H2331
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS
mation to circulate to the public. News media can 
also help inform the public by reporting on rumors 
and soliciting evidence and comment on their plausi-
bility, if any’’; 
(5) according to testimony provided on Sep-
tember 22, 2005, to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate, an esti-
mated 100 Gulf Coast broadcast stations were un-
able to broadcast as a result of Hurricane Katrina, 
with approximately 28 percent of television stations 
and approximately 35 percent of radio stations un-
able to broadcast in the area affected by Hurricane 
Katrina; 
(6) according to testimony provided on Sep-
tember 7, 2005, to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce of the House of Representatives, fol-
lowing Hurricane Katrina only 4 of the 41 radio 
broadcast stations in the New Orleans metropolitan 
area remained on the air in the immediate aftermath 
of that hurricane; 
(7) the only television station in New Orleans 
to continue transmitting its over-the-air signal unin-
terrupted during and after Hurricane Katrina was 
able to do so only as a direct result of steps taken 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:25 May 17, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2331.IH
H2331
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS
to better protect its transmitter and provide redun-
dant production facilities in the region; 
(8) fuel and other supply shortages inhibit the 
ability of a broadcaster to stay on the air and pro-
vide essential public information following a major 
disaster; 
(9) according to the report by the Committee 
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 
the Senate, titled ‘‘Hurricane Katrina: A Nation 
Still Unprepared’’, dated May 2006, there were in-
stances of Federal authorities confiscating privately- 
purchased fuel supplies in the area affected by Hur-
ricane Katrina; 
(10) the ability of several broadcasters in Mis-
sissippi to remain on the air was unduly com-
promised by the confiscation of their privately-pur-
chased fuel supplies; 
(11) practices put in place following Hurricane 
Andrew to involve broadcasters in disaster response 
and expedite access by broadcast engineers to dis-
aster areas for the purpose of repairing critical-to- 
air facilities and infrastructure has significantly in-
creased the ability of broadcasters in Florida to con-
tinue transmitting essential public information dur-
ing subsequent major disasters; 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:25 May 17, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2331.IH
H2331
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS
(12) a June 12, 2006, report to the Federal 
Communications Commission from the Independent 
Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina 
on Communications Networks recommends that 
cable and broadcasting infrastructure providers, and 
their contracted workers, be afforded emergency re-
sponder status under the Robert T. Stafford Dis-
aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) and that this designation would 
remedy many of the access and fuel sharing issues 
that hampered industry efforts to quickly repair in-
frastructure following Hurricane Katrina; 
(13) the partnership of competing radio broad-
casters in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, casting 
aside commercial interests to provide uninterrupted, 
redundant public information programming from 
multiple transmission facilities, served the public 
well and for many hurricane victims was the only 
source of disaster-related information for many days; 
(14) other similar models for regional broad-
caster cooperation nationwide, such as the initiative 
by 3 public and private radio groups to cooperatively 
produce essential disaster-related programming in 
eastern and central Maine, will further prepare the 
industry to effectively respond to major disasters; 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:25 May 17, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2331.IH
H2331
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS