IIB 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5852 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JULY 26, 2006 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs 
AN ACT 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enhance 
emergency communications at the Department of Home-
land Security, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘21st Century Emer-
gency Communications Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Homeland Security Act of 
2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new title: 
‘‘TITLE XVIII—EMERGENCY 
COMMUNICATIONS 
‘‘SEC. 1801. OFFICE OF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is in the Department an 
Office of Emergency Communications. 
‘‘(b) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The head of the office 
shall be the Assistant Secretary for Emergency Commu-
nications. 
‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Assistant Secretary 
for Emergency Communications shall— 
‘‘(1) assist the Secretary in developing and im-
plementing 
the 
program 
described 
in 
section 
7303(a)(1) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism 
Prevention Act of 2004 (6 U.S.C. 194(a)(1)), except 
as provided in section 314; 
‘‘(2) administer the Department’s responsibil-
ities and authorities relating to the SAFECOM Pro-
gram, excluding elements related to research, devel-
opment, testing, and evaluation and standards; 
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‘‘(3) administer the Department’s responsibil-
ities and authorities relating to the Integrated Wire-
less Network program; 
‘‘(4) coordinate, as appropriate, regarding the 
administration of the National Communications Sys-
tem; 
‘‘(5) conduct extensive, nationwide outreach and 
foster the development of interoperable emergency 
communications capabilities by State, regional, local, 
and tribal governments and public safety agencies; 
‘‘(6) provide technical assistance to State, re-
gional, local, and tribal officials with respect to use 
of interoperable emergency communications capabili-
ties; 
‘‘(7) facilitate the creation of Regional Emer-
gency 
Communications 
Coordination 
Working 
Groups under section 1805; 
‘‘(8) promote the development of best practices 
with respect to use of interoperable emergency com-
munications capabilities for incident response and 
facilitate the sharing of information on such best 
practices (including from governments abroad) for 
achieving, maintaining, and enhancing interoperable 
emergency communications capabilities for such re-
sponse; 
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‘‘(9) coordinate the establishment of a national 
response capability with initial and ongoing plan-
ning, implementation, and training for the deploy-
ment of backup communications services in the 
event of a catastrophic loss of local and regional 
emergency communications services; 
‘‘(10) assist the President, the National Secu-
rity Council, the Homeland Security Council, and 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budg-
et in ensuring the operability of the telecommuni-
cations functions and responsibilities of the Federal 
Government, excluding spectrum management; 
‘‘(11) establish, in coordination with the Direc-
tor of the Office of Interoperability and Compat-
ibility, requirements for total and nonproprietary 
interoperable emergency communications capabilities 
for all public safety radio and data communications 
systems and equipment purchased using homeland 
security assistance administered by the Department; 
‘‘(12) review, in consultation with the Assistant 
Secretary for Grants and Training, all interoperable 
emergency communications plans of Federal, State, 
local, and tribal governments, including Statewide 
and tactical interoperability plans, developed pursu-
ant to homeland security assistance administered by 
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the Department, but excluding spectrum allocation 
and management related to such plans. 
‘‘(d) PERFORMANCE OF PREVIOUSLY TRANSFERRED 
FUNCTIONS.—There is transferred to the Secretary the 
authority to administer, through the Assistant Secretary 
for Emergency Communications, the following: 
‘‘(1) The SAFECOM Program, excluding ele-
ments related to research, development, testing, and 
evaluation and standards. 
‘‘(2) The responsibilities of the Chief Informa-
tion Officer related to the implementation of the In-
tegrated Wireless Network. 
‘‘(3) The Interoperable Communications Tech-
nical Assistance Program. 
‘‘(e) COORDINATION.—The Assistant Secretary shall 
coordinate, as appropriate, with the Director of the Office 
for Interoperability and Compatibility with respect to the 
responsibilities described in section 314. 
‘‘(f) SUFFICIENCY OF RESOURCES PLAN.— 
‘‘(1) REPORT.—Not later than days 60 days 
after the enactment of this section, the Secretary 
shall submit to Congress a report on the resources 
and staff necessary to carry out the responsibilities 
under this subtitle. 
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‘‘(2) COMPTROLLER
GENERAL
REVIEW.—The 
Comptroller General shall review the validity of the 
report submitted by the Secretary under paragraph 
(1).
Not later than 30 days after the date on which 
such report is submitted, the Comptroller General 
shall submit to Congress a report containing the 
findings of such review. 
‘‘SEC. 1802. NATIONAL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS RE-
PORT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Assistant Secretary for Emergency Communications, 
shall, not later than one year after the completion of the 
baseline assessment under section 1803, and in coopera-
tion with State, local, and tribal governments, Federal de-
partments and agencies, emergency response providers, 
emergency support responders, and the private sector, de-
velop a National Emergency Communications Report to 
provide recommendations regarding how the United States 
can accelerate the deployment of interoperable emergency 
communications nationwide. 
‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The report shall— 
‘‘(1) include a national interoperable emergency 
communications inventory to be completed by the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of 
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Commerce, and the Chairman of the Federal Com-
munications Commission that— 
‘‘(A) identifies for each Federal depart-
ment and agency— 
‘‘(i) the channels and frequencies 
used; 
‘‘(ii) the nomenclature used to refer to 
each channel or frequency used; and 
‘‘(iii) the types of communications 
system and equipment used; 
‘‘(B) identifies the interoperable emergency 
communications systems in use for public safety 
systems in the United States; and 
‘‘(C) provides a listing of public safety mu-
tual aid channels in operation and their ability 
to connect to an interoperable communications 
system; 
‘‘(2) recommend, in consultation with the Fed-
eral Communications Commission and the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, a process for 
expediting national voluntary consensus-based emer-
gency communications equipment standards for the 
purchase and use by public safety agencies of inter-
operable emergency communications equipment and 
technologies; 
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‘‘(3) identify the appropriate interoperable 
emergency communications capabilities necessary for 
Federal, State, local, and tribal governments to op-
erate at all threat levels; 
‘‘(4) recommend both short-term and long-term 
solutions for deploying Federal, State, local, and 
tribal interoperable emergency communications sys-
tems nationwide, including through the provision of 
existing and emerging technologies that facilitate 
operability, interoperability, coordination, and inte-
gration among existing emergency communications 
systems; 
‘‘(5) identify how Federal Government depart-
ments and agencies that respond to acts of ter-
rorism, natural disasters, and other emergencies can 
work effectively with State, local, and tribal govern-
ments, in all States, and with other entities; 
‘‘(6) include recommendations to identify and 
overcome obstacles to deploying interoperable emer-
gency communications nationwide; and 
‘‘(7) recommend goals and timeframes for the 
deployment of an emergency, command-level commu-
nications system based on new and existing equip-
ment across the United States and develop a time-
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table for deploying interoperable emergency commu-
nications systems nationwide. 
‘‘SEC. 1803. ASSESSMENTS AND REPORTS. 
‘‘(a) BASELINE
OPERABILITY
AND
INTEROPER-
ABILITY ASSESSMENT.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this section and not less than 
every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary, acting through the 
Assistant Secretary for Emergency Communications, shall 
conduct an assessment of Federal, State, local, and tribal 
governments, to— 
‘‘(1) define the range of operable and interoper-
able emergency communications capabilities needed 
for specific events; 
‘‘(2) assess the current capabilities to meet 
such communications needs; and 
‘‘(3) identify the gap between such current ca-
pabilities and defined requirements. 
‘‘(b) PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not later than one year 
after the date of enactment of this section and annually 
thereafter, the Secretary, acting through the Assistant 
Secretary for Emergency Communications, shall submit to 
Congress a report on the progress of the Department in 
implementing and achieving the goals of this subtitle, in-
cluding— 
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‘‘(1) a description of the findings of the most 
recent baseline assessment conducted under sub-
section (a); 
‘‘(2) a determination of the degree to which 
interoperable emergency communications has been 
achieved to date and ascertain the gaps that remains 
for interoperability to be achieved; 
‘‘(3) an assessment of the ability of commu-
nities to provide and maintain interoperable emer-
gency communications among emergency managers, 
emergency response providers, emergency support 
providers, and government officials in the event of 
acts of terrorism, natural disasters, or other emer-
gencies, including Incidents of National Significance 
declared by the Secretary under the National Re-
sponse Plan, and where there is substantial damage 
to communications infrastructure; 
‘‘(4) a list of best practices among communities 
for providing and maintaining interoperable emer-
gency communications in the event of acts of ter-
rorism, natural disasters, or other emergencies; and 
‘‘(5) an evaluation of the feasibility and desir-
ability of the Department developing, on its own or 
in conjunction with the Department of Defense, a 
mobile communications capability, modeled on the 
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Army Signal Corps, that could be deployed to sup-
port emergency communications at the site of acts of 
terrorism, natural disasters, or other emergencies. 
‘‘SEC. 1804. COORDINATION OF DEPARTMENT EMERGENCY 
COMMUNICATIONS GRANT PROGRAMS. 
‘‘(a) COORDINATION OF GRANTS AND STANDARDS 
PROGRAMS.—The Secretary, acting through Assistant 
Secretary for Emergency Communications, shall ensure 
that grant guidelines for the use of homeland security as-
sistance administered by the Department relating to inter-
operable emergency communications are coordinated and 
consistent with the goals and recommendations in the Na-
tional Emergency Communications Report under section 
1802. 
‘‘(b) DENIAL OF ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 
through the Assistant Secretary for Grants and 
Planning, and in consultation with the Assistant 
Secretary for Emergency Communications, may pro-
hibit any State, local, or tribal government from 
using homeland security assistance administered by 
the Department to achieve, maintain, or enhance 
interoperable emergency communications capabili-
ties, if— 
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‘‘(A) such government has not complied 
with the requirement to submit a Statewide 
Interoperable Communications Plan as required 
by section 7303(f) of the Intelligence Reform 
and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (6 
U.S.C. 194(f)); 
‘‘(B) such government has proposed to up-
grade or purchase new equipment or systems 
that do not meet or exceed any applicable na-
tional voluntary consensus standards and has 
not provided a reasonable explanation of why 
such equipment or systems will serve the needs 
of the applicant better than equipment or sys-
tems that meet or exceed such standards; and 
‘‘(C) as of the date that is three years 
after the date of the enactment of this section, 
national voluntary consensus standards for 
interoperable emergency communications capa-
bilities have not been developed and promul-
gated. 
‘‘(2) STANDARDS.—The Secretary, in coordina-
tion with the Federal Communications Commission, 
the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
and other Federal departments and agencies with re-
sponsibility for standards, shall support the develop-
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