Emergency Communications: Actions Needed to Better Coordinate Federal Efforts in the National Capital Region
Released: 2016-03-10T00:00:00


Highlights: section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: The NCR is considered at high risk for various threats and hazards. Federal, state, and local agencies in the NCR continue to face challenges with emergency communications interoperability—that is, the ability to use radios to communicate across entities when needed. The federal government has taken actions to improve interoperability in the NCR including allocating almost $720 million through a DHS grant program to enhance regional preparedness since fiscal year 2002, and establishing the ONCRC to coordinate NCR entities on homeland security activities, including interoperability.

GAO was asked to review federal efforts to improve emergency communications interoperability in the NCR. This report examines (1) actions the ONCRC has taken to help improve emergency communications interoperability in the NCR and (2) status of the ONCRC's efforts to coordinate with federal agencies to help improve emergency preparedness in the NCR, including communications interoperability. GAO reviewed documentation from the ONCRC and interviewed DHS officials and emergency managers from the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.

section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: The Office of National Capital Region Coordination (ONCRC), within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has taken various actions, mainly through coordination with state and local agencies, to help improve emergency communications interoperability in the National Capital Region (NCR), a legally-designated area including Washington, D.C. and nearby parts of Virginia and Maryland. For example:

The ONCRC participates in several committees that are involved in planning and carrying out efforts to build preparedness and response capabilities of the region. In particular, the Director of the ONCRC is a member of the NCR's Senior Policy Group, which coordinates these efforts. The ONCRC staff helped develop the NCR's 2013 Homeland Security Strategic Plan . One of the goals of the plan is to ensure interoperable communications capabilities. The Strategic Plan identified a number of NCR initiatives to achieve this goal, including supporting the establishment and maintenance of radio interoperability and managing and coordinating radio upgrades across jurisdictions.

As part of the responsibility to serve as a liaison with entities in the NCR, the ONCRC has collaborated with the NCR's Emergency Preparedness Council (an NCR advisory body) to facilitate state and local agencies access to the DHS's Urban Area Security Initiative grant program—the primary source of federal homeland security funding for the NCR. In fiscal year 2014, DHS allocated $53 million in grant funding to the NCR to enhance the region's homeland security and preparedness capabilities. Almost $7 million of this amount was to fund activities, such as purchasing radios and other equipment, aimed at achieving the NCR Strategic Plan's goal to ensure interoperable communications capabilities.

A key role of the ONCRC is to coordinate with federal, state, and local NCR entities on emergency preparedness and homeland security activities. However, the ONCRC currently does not have a formal mechanism in place to coordinate with federal agencies. From 2002 through 2014, the Joint Federal Committee (JFC) was the ONCRC's primary means of coordinating with federal agencies in the NCR. The ONCRC has not convened the JFC since 2014 and plans to restructure it. Officials explained that the JFC was not efficient and effective as a coordinating body and that they plan to strengthen its coordination capabilities. However, written plans were not available. When the JFC existed, its operation was not fully aligned with interagency collaboration mechanisms that GAO has identified. In particular, the JFC's charter did not specify the roles and responsibilities of participating agencies or how they were to work together across agency boundaries. Addressing these interagency collaborative mechanisms in the planned restructuring of the JFC could provide greater clarity on roles and responsibilities and enhance its ability to coordinate federal efforts in the region.

section_title: What GAO Recommends
paragraphs: GAO recommends that ONCRC, as part of its efforts to restructure the JFC, clearly articulate in a written agreement the roles and responsibilities of participating agencies and specify how they are to work together across agency boundaries. ONCRC concurred with this recommendation.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: The National Capital Region (NCR) is one of the most complex multi- jurisdictional regions in the country, and is considered at high risk for  various threats and hazards. It is home to the Nation’s capital; about 270  federal agencies and departments from three branches of the federal  government; 11 jurisdictions in the state of Maryland and the  Commonwealth of Virginia; and the District of Columbia (District). It is  critical that first responders (e.g., law enforcement officers, firefighters,  and emergency medical service personnel) and emergency preparedness  and management officials in the NCR have emergency communications  interoperability— that is, the ability to use radios and other equipment to  communicate with each other across agencies and jurisdictions when  needed and as authorized. We reported over the years and most  recently in 2015 that the lack of such interoperability can affect mission  operations and put first responders and the public at risk when  responding officials cannot communicate with one another.

Challenges with emergency communications interoperability during the  September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at the Pentagon hampered rescue  efforts and raised questions about the overall effectiveness of federal,  state, and local agencies’ response efforts in the NCR.  After these  attacks, various federal actions, including substantial budgetary  investment, were taken to address the limitations of the emergency  communications used by the first responders in the NCR. For example,  from fiscal years 2002 through 2015, the Department of Homeland  Security (DHS) allocated almost $723 million through the Urban Area  Security Initiative (UASI) grant program to the NCR to build, sustain, and  enhance regional emergency preparedness activities, including  emergency communications interoperability. In 2002, in response to the  lack of a coordinated approach by federal, state, and local agencies to the  attacks, the Office of National Capital Region Coordination (ONCRC),  was established by law, within DHS, to oversee and coordinate federal  programs for and relationships with federal, state, local, and regional  authorities in the NCR. The NCR is the only region in the country that  has a statutorily created and federally funded office devoted to  coordinating homeland security activities. The Federal Communications  Commission (FCC) and the Department of Commerce’s National  Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) have  allocated radio frequency spectrum to federal, state, and local agencies in  the NCR to help facilitate reliable mission critical voice communications.

However, more than 10 years after the bipartisan 9/11 Commission  reported that improvements to interoperable communications at all levels  of the government need to be addressed, the NCR continues to face  challenges in achieving  emergency communications interoperability  within and among federal, state, and local agencies despite substantial  investment by the federal government to improve interoperability in the  NCR. For example, an after-action-report prepared by the District’s  Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) about the September 2013 Navy  Yard shooting in Washington, D.C., which resulted in 13 fatalities,  identified problems with radio communications among first responders,  including interoperability. The report states that although MPD’s radios  worked on the scene and within the building where the shootings  occurred, some federal law enforcement agencies that assisted in the  response experienced problems with their emergency communications  that hampered interoperability during the response. Specifically, the MPD  noted that using the same designated radio channel would have  enhanced interoperability of radio communications among law  enforcement personnel. A separate report by the Department of the Navy  found that the Navy’s emergency response personnel did not have  interoperable radio communications with other agencies because of a  lack of understanding of equipment capabilities and incorrectly  programmed Navy radios. Moreover, the District’s Homeland Security  Emergency Management Agency and Fire Department after action  reports on the 2015 fatal fire in the L’Enfant Plaza Metrorail station in the  District, noted that problems with radio communications at the station  affected the overall response efforts. In response to these problems, in  2015, the Mayor of the District required first responders to revise their  emergency communications protocols to facilitate interoperability.

You asked us to review federal efforts to improve the interoperability of  emergency communications in the NCR. This report examines (1) the  actions the ONCRC has taken to help improve emergency  communications interoperability in the NCR and (2) the status of the  ONCRC’s efforts to coordinate with federal agencies to help improve  emergency preparedness in the NCR, including emergency  communications interoperability.

To address our objectives, we reviewed documentation from the ONCRC  and other DHS components with responsibility for emergency  communications interoperability in the NCR. We examined actions from  2013 to 2015 and selected this timeframe because it represents the most  current information available. For example, we reviewed ONCRC’s 2013  to 2015 reports to Congress, the NCR’s 2013 Homeland Security  Strategic Plan, DHS’s Interoperability Continuum guidance, and DHS’s  2014 National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP), all of which are  designed to assist emergency response agencies and policy makers with  identifying and implementing solutions for enhancing interoperability. To  further inform our assessment, we reviewed selected after-action reports  on incidents in the NCR from 2013 through 2015, particularly incidents  that involved federal, state, and local first responders who needed to  coordinate their responses.

We also reviewed prior GAO reports on interagency collaboration that  identified leading practices in these areas. Based on this review, we  selected certain key considerations for implementing interagency  collaboration mechanisms and compared them with ONCRC’s efforts to  collaborate with federal agencies in the NCR to help improve emergency  preparedness, including interoperability. Specifically, we selected (1)  whether the agencies documented an agreement on how they will be  collaborating and (2) defined and agreed on respective roles and  responsibilities. We selected these key considerations because they are  most applicable to the ONCRC’s coordination responsibilities.

We interviewed ONCRC and DHS officials about actions taken and any  challenges they face coordinating efforts to improve emergency  communications interoperability in the NCR. In addition, we interviewed  officials from FCC, NTIA, the District’s Department of Homeland Security  and Emergency Management Agency, Maryland’s Emergency  Management Agency, Virginia’s Department of Emergency Management,  and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG)  regarding efforts to improve interoperability in the NCR.

We conducted this performance audit from March 2015 to February 2016  in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.  Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain  sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our  findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that  the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and  conclusions based on our audit objectives.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: Emergency communications interoperability refers to the ability of first  responders and emergency preparedness and management officials to  use their radios and other equipment to communicate with each other  across agencies and jurisdictions when needed and as authorized, as  shown in our hypothetical example of response to a fire in a federal  building in figure 1.

According to DHS’s NECP, emergency communications interoperability is  one of the components of an effective emergency preparedness and  management structure. DHS’s Interoperability Continuum states that first  responders need interoperability during day-to-day incidents as well as  large scale emergencies.  For example, interoperability is important in  responding to localized emergency incidents, such as a vehicle collision  on an interstate highway, and in regional incident management, such as  in responding to a disaster.  It also facilitates first responder  communications during planned events such as sporting events, State of  the Union addresses, or presidential Inaugurations that involve multiple  responding agencies.

The NCR is a legally-designated geographic region that includes the  District, and local jurisdictions in the state of Maryland and the  Commonwealth of Virginia, as shown in figure 2.

There is no single operational authority for emergency response in the  NCR because the responsibilities reside with state and local jurisdictions.  Instead, the NCR is supported by a network of committees that were  created by the jurisdictions and include representatives from the District,  Maryland, Virginia, as well as the federal government, and private and  nonprofit entities such as MWCOG. These committees work together to  improve the region’s ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from  hazards. For example, key committees include:

The Senior Policy Group which is comprised of senior emergency  management officials from the District, Maryland, Virginia, and the  ONCRC and coordinates efforts to increase regional preparedness,  mitigation, and response capabilities in the NCR. The Senior Policy  Group also oversees the allocation and implementation of UASI  funding and determines priority actions for increasing the region’s  preparedness and response capabilities as well as reducing  vulnerability to terrorist attacks.

The Emergency Preparedness Council (Council) which is an advisory  body of representatives from the District, Maryland, Virginia, and  private, and non-profit entities that reports to the MWCOG Board of  Directors. This Council provides oversight of the regional emergency  coordination and strategic plans to identify and address gaps in  readiness in the NCR.  It also is the federally-required working group  with oversight responsibility for the UASI grant program. In this  capacity, the Council coordinates with the Senior Policy Group with  the aim of ensuring that grant funds are used to support projects that  will build an enhanced and sustainable capacity to prevent, protect  against, and recover from threats or acts of terrorism. The UASI grant  funds can be used to invest in technology, equipment, training,  exercises, and management.

GAO, Emergency Communications: Various Challenges Likely to Slow Implementation  of a Public Safety Broadband Network, GAO-12-343 (Washington, D.C.; Feb. 22, 2012). handheld portable radios (typically carried by emergency responders); mobile radios (often located in vehicles); base station radios (located in a fixed position such as a dispatch  repeaters (towers that increase the communication range of handheld  portable radios and base station radios by retransmitting received  signals).

LMR systems are designed to provide rapid voice call set-up and group- calling capabilities. Group calling is important for first responders because  it enables one individual to simultaneously communicate to every member  of a group, such as all firefighters in the interior of a burning building.  According to DHS’s 2014 NECP, because LMR systems will remain the  primary tool for mission critical voice communications for many years to  come, they have to meet a high standard for reliability, redundancy,  capacity, and flexibility.  Thus, according to the 2014 NECP, for many  public safety agencies maintaining their LMR systems and improving  interoperability continues to be their top communications priority.

According to the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (HSA), the ONCRC,  located within DHS’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),  is required, among other things, to:  coordinate the activities of DHS relating to the NCR;  coordinate on terrorism preparedness with federal, state, local, and  regional agencies, and private sector entities in the NCR to ensure  adequate planning, information sharing, training, and execution of  domestic preparedness activities among these agencies and entities;  serve as a liaison between the federal government and state, local,  and regional authorities, and private sector entities in the NCR to  facilitate access to federal grants and other programs; and provide state, local, and regional authorities in the NCR with regular  information, research, and technical support to assist the efforts of  state, local, and regional authorities in securing the homeland.

The HSA also requires that the ONCRC to submit an annual report to  Congress that includes:  identifying resources required to fully implement homeland  security efforts in the NCR; an assessment of the progress made by the entities in  implementing homeland security efforts (including emergency  communications interoperability); and   recommendations to Congress regarding the additional resources  needed to fully implement homeland security efforts.

The Director of the ONCRC is also a member of the NCR’s Senior Policy  Group. In fiscal year 2015, ONCRC’s budget was $3.4 million, and it is  currently authorized at 20 full- time equivalent staff in Washington, D.C.

DHS’s Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) was, established  pursuant to statute in 2006, in response to the September 11th terrorist  attacks and the 2005 Hurricane Katrina. The OEC’s mission is to support  and promote communications systems used by first responders and  government officials to keep America safe, secure, and resilient. Among  other things, OEC is responsible for leading the nation’s interoperable  public safety, national security, and emergency-preparedness, and  communications efforts.  The OEC also is responsible for providing  training, workshops, and guidance to help federal, state and local  agencies and the private sector develop their emergency communications  efforts.

section_title: ONCRC Has Taken Various Actions to Help Improve Emergency Communications Interoperability in the NCR
paragraphs: The ONCRC has worked with both state and local entities and other DHS  components on various efforts aimed at improving emergency  preparedness in the NCR, including emergency communications  interoperability. In particular, the ONCRC’s 2013 report to Congress notes  that one of its principal mechanisms to assist state and local agencies in  the region with emergency communications interoperability is through its  participation on several committees that are involved in planning and  carrying out efforts to build and sustain preparedness capabilities.  For  example, ONCRC staff helped revise the NCR’s 2013 Homeland Security  Strategic Plan (NCR Strategic Plan). The NCR Strategic Plan  represents the region’s strategy for improving preparedness to address  various hazards.  According to the Director of ONCRC, the ONCRC  works with state and local agencies in the NCR to support their activities  aimed at achieving the plan’s goals. One of the goals of the plan is to  ensure interoperable communications capabilities. The plan identified a  number of NCR’s initiatives to achieve this goal including: ensuring communications interoperability across agencies, managing and coordinating radio upgrades across jurisdictions, maintaining a cache of extra radios,  conducting training to improve the ability of all NCR partners to  access and use communications systems effectively, and encourage participation in biannual communication exercises that test  all regional communication platforms.

In addition, the ONCRC has worked with NCR agencies to continue  developing the National Capital Region Network (NCRNet) which is a  secure, non-commercial, fiber optic network. As part of the interoperable  communications infrastructure, the NCRNet is designed to address the  NCR’s need for a web-based capability for secure data communications  and should allow for more efficient, flexible, and secure data exchange  particularly among state and local jurisdictions within the NCR. According  to the ONCRC’s 2014 report to Congress, most of the local jurisdictions in  the region are connected via the NCRNet, but other NCR agencies are  not. In comments on a draft of this report, ONCRC officials said that, as of  December 2015, all of the jurisdictions in NCR are connected to NCRNet  and efforts are underway to include federal agencies in the NCRNet.

According to the Director of ONCRC, although NCR agencies and entities  are not required to implement the NCR’s Strategic Plan, they are  committed to implementing it because they helped develop the plan and  are stewards of public trust and resources. In its 2014 and 2015 reports to  Congress, the ONCRC states that, as a result of the NCR’s Strategic  Plan, state and local agencies have a framework for sustaining current  emergency communications capabilities, such as interoperability, and  building new ones. The reports also noted that achieving the plan’s goals  will improve the region’s preparedness to address critical risk in the NCR.

As noted previously, one of the ONCRC’s responsibilities is to serve as a  liaison with entities in the NCR to facilitate access to federal grants. The  ONCRC officials told us that the ONCRC (as a member of the Senior  Policy Group) has collaborated with the NCR’s Emergency Preparedness  Council to facilitate state and local agencies access to the DHS’s UASI  grant program. The UASI grant program is the primary source of federal  homeland security funding for the NCR. In fiscal year 2014, DHS  allocated $53 million through the UASI grant program to the NCR to  enhance the region’s homeland security and preparedness capabilities.   Almost $7 million of the $53 million was to fund projects aimed at the  NCR Strategic Plan’s goal to ensure interoperable communications  capabilities, such as purchasing radios and other equipment as well as  developing a strategic plan for radio encryption. Regarding other types  of grants for homeland security, we found in 2013 that officials in the NCR  do not have access to comprehensive information on federal-funding  sources for homeland security and emergency-management capabilities  other than UASI grants and recommended that the ONCRC collect and  maintain information on all such federal funding sources for NCR  jurisdictions.  Although the ONCRC initially agreed with this  recommendation, officials currently state they do not plan to implement it,  in part, because it is the responsibility of the NCR’s Project Management  Office.

The ONCRC also helps support emergency communications  interoperability in the NCR by coordinating with FEMA’s Region III’s  Regional Emergency Communications Coordination Working Groups to  share information with NCR agencies about interoperability, including  lessons learned and best practices such as from the 2015 papal visit, the  2010 earthquake, and snowstorms in the NCR.  In addition, the ONCRC   staff said that, in 2008, when the FCC directed reconfiguration of the 800  MHz band radios—used by police, firefighters, and emergency service  personnel— the ONCRC assisted federal agencies in the NCR with  ensuring that their 800 MHz band radios were included as part of the local  jurisdictions’ reconfiguration plans. Further, according to ONCRC officials,  FEMA maintains a cache of extra radios that can be distributed during an  emergency to other NCR agencies’ first responders whose radios may  not be interoperable with each other. For example, when the U.S. Capitol  Police requested additional radios during the 2013 State of the Union  address, the ONCRC issued the radios to them, according to ONCRC  officials.

The ONCRC has coordinated with a number of other DHS’s components  in their efforts to improve emergency communications interoperability  across the country, including in the NCR, according to ONCRC officials.  For example, officials noted that the ONCRC worked closely with DHS’  OEC in the development of DHS’s 2014 National Emergency  Communications Plan (NECP) which establishes a national strategy for  improving emergency communications (including interoperability) across  all levels of government and increasing coordination across the  emergency response community. In the 2014 NECP, the Secretary of  Homeland Security, states that ensuring interoperable communications  among responders during all threats and hazards is paramount to the  safety and security of all Americans. The 2014 NECP aims to improve  communications capabilities of first responders’ at all levels of the  government and states that one of DHS’s top priorities is to identify and  prioritize areas for improvement in first responders LMR systems. To do  so, the NECP has five goals that include enhancing decision making,  coordination, and planning for emergency communications and improving  first responders’ ability to communicate through training and exercise  programs.

The ONCRC also coordinated with OEC to develop the Interoperability  Continuum (Continuum), which is designed to assist first responders and  policy makers across the country with planning and implementing  interoperability solutions for emergency communications.  For example,  the Continuum identifies the five elements that public safety agencies  should address to achieve interoperability. The five elements are to: establish a governance structure; develop standard operating procedures; acquire and implement technology that meets user needs; provide training and exercise programs; and ensure that interoperable communications technologies are used.

The Interoperability Continuum can also be used by jurisdictions to track  progress in strengthening interoperable communications. While the  Interoperability Continuum is guidance, emergency management officials  from the District, Maryland, and Virginia have incorporated the  Interoperability Continuum’s five elements in their 2013 Statewide  Communications Interoperability Plans (SCIP).  Specifically, the District,  Maryland, and Virginia’s 2013 SCIP have aligned their strategic goals for  interoperability—governance, standard operating procedures, technology,  training and exercises, and usage— with the Interoperability Continuum’s  five elements.  The SCIPs identified several initiatives aimed at achieving  these goals. For example, regarding governance, Maryland states that  one of its initiatives is to codify its existing governance structure through  legislation. The District and Virginia plans note that refining the purpose  and membership of their statewide interoperability executive committees  is one of their initiatives related to governance. To ensure that first  responders’ technological needs are met the District, Maryland, and  Virginia plan to add nationwide interoperability channels, conduct  vulnerability assessments of critical communications infrastructure, and  maintain and upgrade existing technologies.

Furthermore, the ONCRC worked closely with OEC on developing  emergency communications grants guidance, according to ONCRC  officials. The guidance aims to provide state and local grant recipients  with information on emergency communications policies, eligible costs,  best practices, and technical standards for investing federal funds in  emergency communications projects. The guidance also recognizes the  need to sustain current LMR systems and encourages grant recipients to  participate, support, and invest in planning activities that will help them  prepare for deployment of new emergency communications systems or  technologies. For example, grant recipients should continue developing  plans and standard operating procedures, conducting training and  exercises, and investing in standards-based equipment to sustain LMR  capabilities.

Overall, emergency management officials in the District, Maryland, and  Virginia we spoke to were generally satisfied with ONCRC’s efforts to  coordinate with them to help ensure interoperability of emergency  communications. However, these officials also said that achieving  interoperability of emergency communications among all NCR agencies  and entities when needed will continue to be a challenge, in part, because  of the size and complexity of the region.

As noted previously, the ONCRC is required to report to Congress  annually on the progress of emergency preparedness in the region,  including the state of emergency communications interoperability.  In the  2014 and 2015 reports to Congress, the ONCRC states that achieving the  goals in the NCR’s Strategic Plan will improve the region’s preparedness  to address risk in the NCR.  However, these reports do not include  performance measures that would indicate the extent to which those  goals have been achieved.  We found in 2013 that, while NCR agencies  had taken steps to develop measures to assess the region’s performance  in improving emergency preparedness, more could be done to assist in  these efforts.  We recommended that the ONCRC assist NCR agencies in  developing performance measures to better assess the implementation of  the NCR’s Strategic Plan. ONCRC agreed with this recommendation and  ONCRC officials told us that they are working on implementing it but did  not provide a timeframe for completion. In the interim, without  performance measures as we recommended for monitoring and  assessing regional efforts to enhance interoperability, ONCRC’s ability to  provide Congress with comprehensive information on the extent to which  first responders in the NCR have emergency communications  interoperability when needed and authorized is hampered. For example,  in the 2013 through 2015 reports to Congress, the ONCRC reports that  NCR agencies continue to make progress towards achieving  interoperable communications, but does not report on the extent to which  emergency communications interoperability exists in the region.

section_title: The ONCRC’s Ability to Coordinate with Federal Agencies to Help Improve Emergency Preparedness, Including Communications Interoperability, in the NCR is Currently Limited
paragraphs: As discussed in the previous section, the ONCRC coordinates with state  and local agencies in the NCR primarily through its participation on NCR  committees including the Senior Policy Group and the Emergency  Preparedness Council. However, the ONCRC currently does not have a  formal mechanism in place to coordinate with federal agencies and is  making some effort to improve how it coordinates with them. According to  ONCRC’s 2015 report to Congress, over 270 federal agencies exist in the  NCR, and ONCRC officials are trying to identify those that should be  involved in these coordination efforts. For example, as demonstrated in  examples cited previously, federal entities—such as DHS, the Navy, and  the U.S. Capitol Police—have responsibilities related to emergency  preparedness and incident response in the NCR.  We noted in 2012 that  many of the meaningful results that the federal government seeks to  achieve—such as those related to providing homeland security—require  the coordinated efforts of more than one federal agency.

From the establishment of the ONCRC in 2002 through 2014, the Joint  Federal Committee (JFC) was the ONCRC’s primary means of  coordinating federal efforts with state and local agencies in the NCR. The  JFC’s charter states that it was established to provide a forum for policy  discussions, information sharing, and issue resolution regarding federal  preparedness activities in the NCR. It was chaired by the Director of  ONCRC who was to preside over all meetings, ensure the development  of a meeting agenda, and ensure that the JFC’s responsibilities and  activities were carried out. Membership in the JFC was open to all federal  departments and agencies with offices in the NCR and meetings were to  be held at least quarterly. However, the ONCRC officials said that the  JFC has not convened since 2014. In its 2014 report to Congress, the  ONCRC stated that the JFC is not operating effectively and efficiently to  accomplish its mission and would be restructured. The report also noted  that federal agencies commented that the JFC lacked the authority,  organization, and ability to focus on specific issues to be effective.

According to ONCRC officials, during its existence, the JFC focused on  information sharing, and they plan to restructure it into a federal  coordinating body that will assist in the interagency and  intergovernmental coordination of homeland security within the NCR. In  addition, they said that once restructured, the JFC would produce  guidance (such as standard operating procedures) and identify lessons  learned. The Director of the ONCRC told us that in the absence of the  JFC, the ONCRC has held informal meetings with some federal agencies  in the NCR, such as the Secret Service during the 2015 papal visit, but  said that this was not a sufficient mechanism for coordinating with federal  agencies in the NCR. The Director also stated there is value to having a  coordination mechanism in the NCR, such as the JFC, in part, because it  would help federal agencies in the NCR to better coordinate the federal  response to future incidents in the region.  The Director said that the  ONCRC was in the early stages of restructuring the JFC and estimated  that it should be reconvened by 2017. However, according to ONCRC  officials, written plans or documents for the specific elements of the  restructuring were not available.

For many years, we have reported about the importance of collaboration  between and among federal agencies.  For example, we have noted  that interagency mechanisms or strategies to coordinate programs that  address crosscutting issues may reduce potentially duplicative,  overlapping, and fragmented efforts. When the JFC existed, it did not fully  operate in a manner that was consistent with key considerations for  implementing interagency collaboration mechanisms that we have  previously identified. According to our prior work on collaboration,  agencies can strengthen their commitment to working collaboratively by  having written agreements. Our work has also shown that when  implementing collaborative mechanisms, clearly articulating agency roles  and responsibilities and how agencies will collaborate, including how they  will operate across agency boundaries, into a written document can be a  powerful tool for collaboration and doing so can provide a clear  understanding of those roles and responsibilities. Our body of work has  also shown that written agreements are most effective when they are  regularly updated and monitored. The JFC did not have a written  agreement that defined the general processes and procedures it used to  carry out its responsibilities. Instead, the JFC had a high level charter  which was last updated in 2009. The charter stated that membership shall  be open to all departments and agencies of the three branches of the  federal government. However, the charter did not provide information on  (1) the roles, responsibilities, structure, and functions of its members; or  (2) how its members were to work together across agency boundaries. It  may be difficult for the JFC, once restructured, to enhance interagency  understanding, coordination, and collaboration among federal agencies in  the NCR without such a written agreement. Addressing the above key  considerations for implementing collaborative mechanisms in the planned  restructuring of the JFC could provide greater clarity to its members on  their roles and responsibilities, particularly when responding to incidents,  as well as improve the ONCRC’s ability to carry out its statutory  responsibilities for coordinating federal homeland security and  emergency-management activities in the NCR.

section_title: Conclusions
paragraphs: The ONCRC’s statutory responsibility for overseeing and coordinating  emergency preparedness, including emergency communications  interoperability in the NCR is important for helping to ensure that federal,  state, and local agencies can communicate and share information with  each other across agencies and jurisdictions when needed and as  authorized. However, until the ONCRC implements our  recommendation—to assist NCR agencies in developing performance  measures to better assess the implementation of the NCR Strategic  Plan—the ONCRC has limited ability to monitor and report to Congress  on progress in achieving emergency communications interoperability in  the region.  Moreover, the ONCRC’s primary means of coordinating with  federal agencies in the NCR (the JFC) has not convened since 2014 and  was not operating in a manner that is fully consistent with some of our key  considerations for implementing interagency collaborative mechanisms,  such as clearly articulating roles and responsibilities into a written  document. According to the Director of ONCRC, efforts are underway to  restructure the JFC. Incorporating these key considerations would be an  important step toward improving interagency collaboration, particularly  among federal agencies, in the NCR. In particular, revising the JFC’s  charter to describe in general how the JFC will operate and, in particular,  each member’s role and responsibilities would better enable the JFC to  assist the ONCRC with coordinating federal agencies’ efforts to help  enhance emergency preparedness, including interoperability in the NCR.

section_title: Recommendation for Executive Action
paragraphs: To further build on the efforts to improve emergency communications  interoperability in the NCR, we recommend that the FEMA Administrator  direct the Director of ONCRC to take the following action: as part of its efforts to restructure the JFC, clearly articulate in a  written agreement the roles and responsibilities of the participating  agencies and specify how these  agencies are to work together  across agency boundaries.

section_title: Agency Comments
paragraphs: We provided a draft of this report to DHS for comment. On March 2,  2016, DHS provided written comments, which are reprinted in appendix I  and provided technical comments, which we incorporated as appropriate.  DHS concurred with our recommendation and described action under  way to address it. Specifically, the ONCRC has formed a temporary  working group comprised of volunteers from various federal agencies.  That group, among other things, will be responsible for determining the  JFC’s mission, functions, deliverables, and membership requirements as  well as drafting a new charter to clearly state members’ roles and  responsibilities. The ONCRC estimated a completion date of March 31,  2017.

We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional  committees, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Administrator of  FEMA, the Director of ONCRC, and other interested parties. In addition,  this report is available at no charge on the GAO website at  http://www/gao.gov.

If you or your staff has any questions about this report, please contact  me at (202) 512-2834 or goldsteinm@gao.gov. Contact points for our  Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on  the last page of this report. GAO staff who made key contributions to this  report are listed in appendix II.

section_title: Appendix I: DHS Management Response

section_title: Appendix II: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
subsections: section_title: GAO Contact

section_title: Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: In addition to the contact named above, Tammy Conquest, Assistant  Director; Melissa Bodeau; Antoine Clark; Sharon Dyer; Rich Hung; Sara  Ann Moessbauer; Josh Ormond; Cheryl Peterson; and Lisa Shibata made  key contributions to this report.


Question-summary annotations: questions: question: What is the purpose of the committees the ONCRC participates in?
answer: The ONCRC participates in several committees that are involved in planning and carrying out efforts to build preparedness and response capabilities of the region.
child_questions: question: Specifically, what is the Director of the ONCRC a part of?
answer: In particular, the Director of the ONCRC is a member of the NCR's Senior Policy Group, which coordinates these efforts.

question: What did the staff of the ONCRC help develop in 2013?
answer: The ONCRC staff helped develop the NCR's 2013 Homeland Security Strategic Plan .
child_questions: question: What was one goal of the Homeland Security Strategic Plan?
answer: One of the goals of the plan is to ensure interoperable communications capabilities.
child_questions: question: How does the Strategic Plan achieve its goal?
answer: The Strategic Plan identified a number of NCR initiatives to achieve this goal, including supporting the establishment and maintenance of radio interoperability and managing and coordinating radio upgrades across jurisdictions.

questions: question: What have the ONCRC and the NCR’s Emergency Preparedness Council collaborated to do?
answer: As part of the responsibility to serve as a liaison with entities in the NCR, the ONCRC has collaborated with the NCR's Emergency Preparedness Council (an NCR advisory body) to facilitate state and local agencies access to the DHS's Urban Area Security Initiative grant program—the primary source of federal homeland security funding for the NCR.

question: What quantity of money did DHS allocate in 2014 to the NCR for homeland security and preparedness capabilities?
answer: In fiscal year 2014, DHS allocated $53 million in grant funding to the NCR to enhance the region's homeland security and preparedness capabilities.
child_questions: question: How was the NCR grant spent to enhance security and preparedness?
answer: Almost $7 million of this amount was to fund activities, such as purchasing radios and other equipment, aimed at achieving the NCR Strategic Plan's goal to ensure interoperable communications capabilities.

questions: question: What is a key role of the ONCRC?
answer: A key role of the ONCRC is to coordinate with federal, state, and local NCR entities on emergency preparedness and homeland security activities.
child_questions: question: What formal mechanism, which would help with this role, is currently lacking?
answer: However, the ONCRC currently does not have a formal mechanism in place to coordinate with federal agencies.

question: How did the ONCRC coordinate with the NCR?
answer: From 2002 through 2014, the Joint Federal Committee (JFC) was the ONCRC's primary means of coordinating with federal agencies in the NCR.
child_questions: question: What problems did officials explain regarding the JFC?
answer: The ONCRC has not convened the JFC since 2014 and plans to restructure it. Officials explained that the JFC was not efficient and effective as a coordinating body and that they plan to strengthen its coordination capabilities.

question: What concerns existed regarding the time when the JFC existed?
answer: When the JFC existed, its operation was not fully aligned with interagency collaboration mechanisms that GAO has identified. In particular, the JFC's charter did not specify the roles and responsibilities of participating agencies or how they were to work together across agency boundaries.
child_questions: question: Why is addressing interagency collaborative mechanisms so important?
answer: Addressing these interagency collaborative mechanisms in the planned restructuring of the JFC could provide greater clarity on roles and responsibilities and enhance its ability to coordinate federal efforts in the region.

questions: question: For what is the NCR considered high risk?
answer: The NCR is considered at high risk for various threats and hazards.

question: What is emergency communications interoperability?
answer: Federal, state, and local agencies in the NCR continue to face challenges with emergency communications interoperability—that is, the ability to use radios to communicate across entities when needed.

question: How did the federal action improve interoperability in the NCR?
answer: The federal government has taken actions to improve interoperability in the NCR including allocating almost $720 million through a DHS grant program to enhance regional preparedness since fiscal year 2002, and establishing the ONCRC to coordinate NCR entities on homeland security activities, including interoperability.

questions: question: What was asked of the GAO?
answer: GAO was asked to review federal efforts to improve emergency communications interoperability in the NCR.
child_questions: question: What did the GAO's federal effort review of the NCR focus on?
answer: This report examines (1) actions the ONCRC has taken to help improve emergency communications interoperability in the NCR and (2) status of the ONCRC's efforts to coordinate with federal agencies to help improve emergency preparedness in the NCR, including communications interoperability.

question: What documentation did GAO review while working on this report?
answer: GAO reviewed documentation from the ONCRC and interviewed DHS officials and emergency managers from the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.