3359 
Secretary shall report to the Congress on De-
partment of Homeland Security plans for ac-
celerating the development of national vol-
untary consensus standards for public safety 
interoperable communications, a schedule of 
milestones 
for 
such 
development, 
and 
achievements of such development. 
ø(c) RAPID
INTEROPERABLE
COMMUNICA-
TIONS CAPABILITIES FOR HIGH RISK JURISDIC-
TIONS.—The Secretary, in consultation with 
other relevant Federal, State, and local gov-
ernment agencies, shall provide technical, 
training, and other assistance as appropriate 
to support the rapid establishment of con-
sistent, secure, and effective interoperable 
communications capabilities for emergency 
response providers in jurisdictions deter-
mined by the Secretary to be at consistently 
high levels of risk of terrorist attack. 
ø(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
ø(1) 
INTEROPERABLE
COMMUNICA-
TIONS.—The term ‘‘interoperable commu-
nications’’ means the ability of emer-
gency response providers and relevant 
Federal, State, and local government
3360 
agencies to communicate with each other 
as necessary, through a dedicated public 
safety 
network 
utilizing 
information 
technology systems and radio commu-
nications systems, and to exchange voice, 
data, or video with one another on de-
mand, in real time, as necessary. 
ø(2) 
EMERGENCY
RESPONSE
PRO-
VIDERS.—The term ‘‘emergency response 
providers’’ has the meaning that term has 
under section 2 of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101) 
ø(e) CLARIFICATION OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR 
INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS.— 
ø(1) UNDER SECRETARY FOR EMERGENCY 
PREPAREDNESS
AND
RESPONSE.—Section 
502(7) of the Homeland Security Act of 
2002 (6 U.S.C. 312(7)) is amended— 
ø(A) by striking ‘‘developing com-
prehensive programs for developing 
interoperative communications tech-
nology, and’’; and 
ø(B) by striking ‘‘such’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘interoperable communications’’.
3361 
ø(2) OFFICE FOR DOMESTIC PREPARED-
NESS.—Section 430(c) of such Act (6 U.S.C. 
238(c)) is amended— 
ø(A) in paragraph (7) by striking 
‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 
ø(B) in paragraph (8) by striking 
the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
ø(C) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
ø‘‘(9) helping to ensure the acquisi-
tion 
of 
interoperable 
communication 
technology by State and local govern-
ments 
and 
emergency 
response 
pro-
viders.’’. 
øSEC. 5132. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE INCI-
DENT COMMAND SYSTEM. 
ø(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 
ø(1) in Homeland Security Presi-
dential Directive-5, the President di-
rected the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity to develop an incident command sys-
tem to be known as the National Incident 
Management System (NIMS), and di-
rected all Federal agencies to make the 
adoption of NIMS a condition for the re-
3362 
ceipt of Federal emergency preparedness 
assistance by States, territories, tribes, 
and local governments beginning in fiscal 
year 2005; 
ø(2) in March 2004, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security established NIMS, 
which 
provides 
a 
unified 
structural 
framework for Federal, State, territorial, 
tribal, and local governments to ensure 
coordination of command, operations, 
planning, logistics, finance, and adminis-
tration 
during 
emergencies 
involving 
multiple jurisdictions or agencies; and 
ø(3) the National Commission on Ter-
rorist Attacks Upon the United States 
strongly supports the adoption of NIMS 
by emergency response agencies nation-
wide, and the decision by the President 
to condition Federal emergency pre-
paredness assistance upon the adoption 
of NIMS. 
ø(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
the Congress that all levels of government 
should adopt NIMS, and that the regular use 
of and training in NIMS by States, territories,
3363 
tribes, and local governments should be a con-
dition for receiving Federal preparedness as-
sistance. 
øSEC. 5133. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING UNITED 
STATES NORTHERN COMMAND PLANS AND 
STRATEGIES. 
øIt is the sense of Congress that the Sec-
retary of Defense should regularly assess the 
adequacy of United States Northern Com-
mand’s plans and strategies with a view to en-
suring that the United States Northern Com-
mand is prepared to respond effectively to all 
military and paramilitary threats within the 
United States.¿
Union Calendar No. 453 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 10 
[Report No. 108–724, Parts I, II, III, IV, and V] 
A BILL 
To provide for reform of the intelligence commu-
nity, terrorism prevention and prosecution, bor-
der security, and international cooperation and 
coordination, and for other purposes. 
OCTOBER 4, 2004 
Reported from the Permanent Select Committee on Intel-
ligence with an amendment; Reported from the Com-
mittee on Armed Services with amendments; Reported 
from the Committee on Financial Services with an 
amendment; Referral to the Committees on Education 
and the Workforce, Energy and Commerce, Govern-
ment Reform, International Relations, the Judiciary, 
Rules, Science, Transportation and Infrastructure, 
Ways and Means, and the Select Committee on Home-
land Security extended for a period ending not later 
than October 5, 2004 
OCTOBER 5, 2004 
Reported from the Committee on Government Reform 
with an amendment; Reported from the Committee on 
the Judiciary with an amendment; Committees on 
Education and the Workforce, Energy and Commerce, 
International Relations, Rules, Science, Transportation 
and Infrastructure, Ways and Means, and the Select 
Committee on Homeland Security discharged; com-
mitted to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
State of the Union and ordered to be printed