[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5852 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
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 Homeland Security, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``21st Century Emergency
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 Communications.
``(c) Responsibilities.--The Assistant Secretary for Emergency
Communications shall--
``(1) assist the Secretary in developing and implementing
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 responsibilities and
authorities relating to the SAFECOM Program, excluding elements
related to research, development, testing, and evaluation and
standards;
``(3) administer the Department's responsibilities and
authorities relating to the Integrated Wireless Network
program;
``(4) coordinate, as appropriate, regarding the
administration of the National Communications System;
``(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, regional,
local, and tribal officials with respect to use of
interoperable emergency communications capabilities;
``(7) facilitate the creation of Regional Emergency
Communications Coordination Working Groups under section 1805;
``(8) promote the development of best practices with
respect to use of interoperable emergency communications
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
response;
``(9) coordinate the establishment of a national response
capability with initial and ongoing planning, implementation,
and training for the deployment of backup communications
services in the event of a catastrophic loss of local and
regional emergency communications services;
``(10) assist the President, the National Security Council,
the Homeland Security Council, and the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget in ensuring the operability of the
telecommunications functions and responsibilities of the
Federal Government, excluding spectrum management;
``(11) establish, in coordination with the Director of the
Office of Interoperability and Compatibility, 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 pursuant to homeland security assistance
administered by 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 elements related to
research, development, testing, and evaluation and standards.
``(2) The responsibilities of the Chief Information Officer
related to the implementation of the Integrated Wireless
Network.
``(3) The Interoperable Communications Technical 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.
``(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 REPORT.
``(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 cooperation with State, local, and tribal governments, Federal
departments and agencies, emergency response providers, emergency
support responders, and the private sector, develop 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 Commerce, and the Chairman
of the Federal Communications Commission that--
``(A) identifies for each Federal department 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 mutual
aid channels in operation and their ability to connect
to an interoperable communications system;
``(2) recommend, in consultation with the Federal
Communications Commission and the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, a process for expediting national
voluntary consensus-based emergency communications equipment
standards for the purchase and use by public safety agencies of
interoperable emergency communications equipment and
technologies;
``(3) identify the appropriate interoperable emergency
communications capabilities necessary for Federal, State,
local, and tribal governments to operate at all threat levels;
``(4) recommend both short-term and long-term solutions for
deploying Federal, State, local, and tribal interoperable
emergency communications systems nationwide, including through
the provision of existing and emerging technologies that
facilitate operability, interoperability, coordination, and
integration among existing emergency communications systems;
``(5) identify how Federal Government departments and
agencies that respond to acts of terrorism, natural disasters,
and other emergencies can work effectively with State, local,
and tribal governments, in all States, and with other entities;
``(6) include recommendations to identify and overcome
obstacles to deploying interoperable emergency communications
nationwide; and
``(7) recommend goals and timeframes for the deployment of
an emergency, command-level communications system based on new
and existing equipment across the United States and develop a
timetable for deploying interoperable emergency communications
systems nationwide.
``SEC. 1803. ASSESSMENTS AND REPORTS.
``(a) Baseline Operability and Interoperability 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 interoperable
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 capabilities
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, including--
``(1) a description of the findings of the most recent
baseline assessment conducted under subsection (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 communities to
provide and maintain interoperable emergency communications
among emergency managers, emergency response providers,
emergency support providers, and government officials in the
event of acts of terrorism, natural disasters, or other
emergencies, including Incidents of National Significance
declared by the Secretary under the National Response Plan, and
where there is substantial damage to communications
infrastructure;
``(4) a list of best practices among communities for
providing and maintaining interoperable emergency
communications in the event of acts of terrorism, natural
disasters, or other emergencies; and
``(5) an evaluation of the feasibility and desirability of
the Department developing, on its own or in conjunction with
the Department of Defense, a mobile communications capability,
modeled on the Army Signal Corps, that could be deployed to
support 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 assistance administered by the Department relating to
interoperable emergency communications are coordinated and consistent
with the goals and recommendations in the National 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 prohibit any State, local, or tribal
government from using homeland security assistance administered
by the Department to achieve, maintain, or enhance
interoperable emergency communications capabilities, if--
``(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 upgrade or
purchase new equipment or systems that do not meet or
exceed any applicable national 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 systems 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 capabilities have not been
developed and promulgated.
``(2) Standards.--The Secretary, in coordination with the
Federal Communications Commission, the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, and other Federal departments and
agencies with responsibility for standards, shall support the
development, promulgation, and updating as necessary of
national voluntary consensus standards for interoperable
emergency communications with the goal of having such standards
in place to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1)(C).
``SEC. 1805. REGIONAL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATION.
``(a) In General.--There is in each Regional Office a Regional
Emergency Communications Coordination Working Group (in this section
referred to as an `RECC Working Group').
``(b) Subject Matter Experts.--The RECC Working Group shall consist
of the following:
``(1) Non-federal.--Organizations representing the
interests of the following:
``(A) State officials.
``(B) Local officials, including sheriffs.
``(C) State police departments.
``(D) Local police departments.
``(E) Local fire departments.
``(F) Public safety answering points (9-1-1
services).
``(G) Communications equipment vendors (including
broadband data service providers).
``(H) Hospitals.
``(I) Public utility services.
``(J) Local exchange carriers.
``(K) Local broadcast media.
``(L) Wireless carriers.
``(M) Satellite communications services.
``(N) Emergency evacuation transit services.
``(O) Ambulance services.
``(P) HAM and amateur radio operators.
``(Q) State emergency managers, homeland security
directors, or representatives of State Administrative
Agencies.
``(R) Local emergency managers or homeland security
directors.
``(S) Cable operators.
``(T) Other emergency response providers or
emergency support providers as deemed appropriate.
``(2) Federal.--Representatives from the Department and
other Federal departments and agencies with responsibility for
coordinating interoperable emergency communications with or
providing emergency support services to State, local, and
tribal governments.
``(c) Duties.--The duties of each RECC Working Group shall
include--
``(1) assessing the survivability, sustainability, and
interoperability of local emergency communications systems to
meet the goals of the National Emergency Communications Report;
``(2) reporting annually to the Assistant Secretary for
Emergency Communications on the status of its region in
building robust and sustainable interoperable voice and data
emergency communications networks and on the progress of the
region in meeting the goals of the National Emergency
Communications Report under section 1802 when such Report is
complete;
``(3) ensuring a process for the coordination of the
establishment of effective multijurisdictional, multi-agency
emergency communications networks for use during acts of
terrorism, natural disasters, and other emergencies through the
expanded use of emergency management and public safety
communications mutual aid agreements; and
``(4) coordinating the establishment of Federal, State,
local, and tribal support services and networks designed to
address the immediate and critical human needs in responding to
acts of terrorism, natural disasters, and other emergencies.
``SEC. 1806. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS PREPAREDNESS CENTER.
``(a) Establishment.--There is established the Emergency
Communications Preparedness Center (in this section referred to as the
`Center').
``(b) Operation.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary, the Chairman of the
Federal Communications Commission, the Secretary of Defense,
the Secretary of Commerce, the Attorney General, and the heads
of other Federal departments and agencies or their designees
shall jointly operate the Center in accordance with the
Memorandum of Understanding entitled, `Emergency Communications
Preparedness Center (ECPC) Charter'.
``(2) Chair.--The Chair of the Center shall rotate every
two years between the Secretary of Homeland Security, the
Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, the Attorney
General, and the Chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission.
``(c) Functions.--The Center shall--
``(1) serve as the focal point for interagency efforts to
address operable and interoperable communications;
``(2) serve as a clearinghouse with respect to all relevant
information regarding intergovernmental efforts to achieve
nationwide interoperable emergency communications capabilities;
``(3) ensure cooperation among the relevant Federal
Government departments and agencies to improve effectiveness in
the communication and implementation of the goals recommended
in the National Emergency Communications Report under section
1802, including specifically by working to avoid duplication,
hindrances, and counteractive efforts among the participating
Federal departments and agencies;
``(4) prepare and submit to Congress, on an annual basis, a
strategic assessment regarding the efforts of Federal
departments and agencies to implement the National Emergency
Communications Report under section 1802; and
``(5) perform such other functions as are provided in the
ECPC Charter under subsection (b)(1).
``(d) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this section, the Chair shall transmit to the Congress a
report regarding the implementation of this section, including a
description of the staffing and resource needs of the Center.
``SEC. 1807. URBAN AND OTHER HIGH RISK AREA COMMUNICATIONS
CAPABILITIES.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with the Chairman
of the Federal Communications Commission and the Secretary of Defense,
and with appropriate State, local, and tribal government officials,
shall provide technical guidance, training, and other assistance, as
appropriate, to support the rapid establishment of consistent, secure,
and effective interoperable emergency communications capabilities in
the event of an emergency in urban and other areas determined by the
Secretary to be at consistently high levels of risk from acts of
terrorism, natural disasters, and other emergencies.
``(b) Minimum Capabilities.--The interoperable emergency
communications capabilities established under subsection (a) shall
ensure the ability of all levels of government, emergency response
providers, emergency support providers, the private sector, and other
organizations with emergency response capabilities--
``(1) to communicate with each other in the event of an
emergency;
``(2) to have appropriate and timely access to the
Information Sharing Environment described in section 1016 of
the National Security Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 (6 U.S.C.
321); and
``(3) to be consistent with any applicable State or Urban
Area homeland strategy or plan.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of
such Act is amended by adding at the end the following:
``TITLE XVIII--EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
``Sec. 1801. Office of Emergency Communications.
``Sec. 1802. National Emergency Communications Report.
``Sec. 1803. Assessments and reports.
``Sec. 1804. Coordination of Federal emergency communications
grant programs.
``Sec. 1805. Regional emergency communications coordination.
``Sec. 1806. Emergency Communications Preparedness Center.
``Sec. 1807. Urban and other high risk area communications
capabilities.
SEC. 3. OFFICE OF INTEROPERABILITY AND COMPATIBILITY.
(a) In General.--Title III of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6
U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 314. OFFICE OF INTEROPERABILITY AND COMPATIBILITY.
``(a) Clarification of Responsibilities.--The Director of the
Office of Interoperability and Compatibility shall--
``(1) assist the Secretary in developing and implementing
the science and technology aspects of the program described in
subparagraphs (D), (E), (F), and (G) of section 7303(a)(1) of
the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (6
U.S.C. 194(a)(1));
``(2) support the creation of national voluntary consensus
standards for interoperable emergency communications;
``(3) establish a comprehensive research, development,
testing, and evaluation program for improving interoperable
emergency communications;
``(4) establish, in coordination with the Assistant
Secretary for Emergency Communications, 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;
``(5) carry out the Department's responsibilities and
authorities relating to research, development, testing,
evaluation, or standards-related elements of the SAFECOM
Program;
``(6) evaluate and assess new technology in real-world
environments to achieve interoperable emergency communications
capabilities;
``(7) encourage more efficient use of existing resources,
including equipment, to achieve interoperable emergency
communications capabilities;
``(8) test public safety communications systems that are
less prone to failure, support new nonvoice services, use
spectrum more efficiently, and cost less than existing systems;
and
``(9) coordinate with the private sector to develop
solutions to improve emergency communications capabilities and
achieve interoperable emergency communications capabilities.
``(b) Coordination.--The Director shall coordinate with the
Assistant Secretary for Emergency Communications with respect to the
SAFECOM program.
``(c) Sufficiency of Resources.--The Secretary shall provide the
Office for Interoperability and Compatibility the resources and staff
necessary to carry out the responsibilities under this section.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of
such Act is amended by inserting at the end of the items relating to
title III the following:
``Sec. 314. Office of Interoperability and Compatibility.''.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE PROJECT 25 CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT
PROJECT.
It is the sense of Congress that in carrying out the
responsibilities and authorities of the Department of Homeland Security
relating to the SAFECOM Program, the Assistant Secretary of Homeland
Security for Emergency Communications and the Director of the Office of
Interoperability and Compatibility should work with the National
Institute of Standards and Technology for the purpose of implementing,
as soon as possible, the Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program.
Passed the House of Representatives July 25, 2006.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.