SEC. 2. IMPROVE COMMUNICATIONS FOR EMERGENCY RE-
SPONSE GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Title V of the Homeland Se-
curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 522. IMPROVE COMMUNICATIONS FOR EMERGENCY 
RESPONSE GRANT PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) 
ESTABLISHMENT.—The 
Secretary, 
acting 
through the Director of the Office of Grants and Training 
and in coordination with the Director for Emergency Com-
munications, shall establish the Improve Communications 
for Emergency Response Grant Program to make grants 
to States and regions to carry out initiatives to improve 
interoperable emergency communications for first re-
sponders for domestic preparedness and the collective re-
sponse to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other 
man-made disasters, including initiatives to achieve solu-
tions to statewide, regional, national, and, where appro-
priate, international interoperability. 
‘‘(b) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—A State or region re-
ceiving a grant under this section may use the grant for 
short-term or long-term goals for improving interoperable 
emergency communications, including interoperability 
within that State or region, and to assist with— 
‘‘(1) statewide or regional communications 
planning; 
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‘‘(2) design and engineering for interoperable 
emergency communications systems; 
‘‘(3) procurement and installation of interoper-
able emergency communications equipment; 
‘‘(4) interoperable emergency communications 
exercises; 
‘‘(5) modeling and simulation exercises for 
operational command and control functions; 
‘‘(6) technical assistance and training for inter-
operable emergency communications; and 
‘‘(7) other activities determined by the Sec-
retary to be integral to interoperable emergency 
communications. 
‘‘(c) REGION DEFINED.—For the purposes of this 
section, the term ‘region’ means any combination of con-
tiguous local government units, including such a combina-
tion established by law or mutual aid agreement between 
two or more local governments or governmental agen-
cies.’’. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Home-
land Security for grants under section 522 of the Home-
land Security Act of 2002, as added by subsection (a)— 
(1) such sums as may be necessary for the first 
fiscal year that begins after the later of— 
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(A) the date on which the Secretary of 
Homeland Security completes and submits to 
Congress the National Emergency Communica-
tions Plan required under section 1802 of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 572); 
(B) the date on which the Secretary of 
Homeland Security completes and submits to 
Congress the first baseline interoperability as-
sessment required under section 1803 of such 
Act (6 U.S.C. 573); or 
(C) the date on which the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, after consultation with the 
Director of Emergency Communications, deter-
mines and notifies Congress that substantial 
progress has been made towards the develop-
ment and promulgation of voluntary consensus- 
based interoperable communications standards 
pursuant to section 1801(c)(11) of such Act (6 
U.S.C. 571(c)(11)); and 
(2) such sums as may be necessary for each 
subsequent fiscal year. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of that Act is amended by inserting after 
the item relating to section 521 the following: 
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‘‘Sec. 522. Improve Communications for Emergency Response Grant Pro-
gram.’’. 
Æ 
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