Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues, Senators Lieberman, Collins, and Levin, in introducing the Improve Interoperable Communications for First Responders Act of 2005 (the ICOM Act), which will strengthen the interoperability of first responder communications across the country.
Since September 11th, federal, state, and local authorities have grappled with the challenge of achieving interoperable communications for emergency response personnel. This should not be a difficult task since the necessary technology exists. But as with many public policy challenges, achieving interoperability comes down to organization and funding.
The 9-11 Commission found that the inability of first responders to communicate at the three September 11th crash sites demonstrated "that compatible and adequate communications among public safety organizations at the local, state, and federal levels remains a important problem." In my home state of Hawaii, for example, first responders are unable to communicate by radio over 25 percent of the Island of Hawaii because of inadequate infrastructure and diverse geography. The Commission recommended that federal funding of local interoperability programs be given a high priority.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimated it would cost $40 billion to modernize communications equipment for the nation's 2.5 million public safety first responders. In 2003, an independent task force sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations recommended investing $6.8 billion over five years to ensure dependable, interoperable first responder communications, a need which they describe as "so central to any kind of terrorist attack response."
However, funding alone will not solve this urgent problem. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that DHS leadership is critical to utilizing effectively interoperability technologies. In an April 2005 report, "Technology Assessment: Protecting Structures and Improving Communications during Wildland Fires," GAO stated that even if two neighboring jurisdictions have the funding to purchase an interconnection device, such as an audio switch, organizational challenges remain. GAO stated, "To effectively employ the device, they must also jointly decide how to share its cost, ownership, and management; agree on the operating procedures for when and how to deploy it; and train individuals to configure, maintain, and use it." Achieving such planning and coordination will require federal leadership.
According to GAO, the federal government has increase interoperability planning and coordination efforts in recent years. However the Wireless Public Safety Interoperable Communications Program (SAFECOM), which is run out of the Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) in DHS, has made limited progress in achieving communications interoperability among entities at all levels of government.
The ICOM Act will increase federal coordination and provide dedicated funding for interoperability. Our bill will increase the resources and authority of the OIC, which was established by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. Specifically, the OIC will be tasked with creating a national strategy and national architecture, facilitating the creation of regional task forces, and conducting pilot programs to evaluate new technology concepts. The OIC will be responsible not only for short-term solutions, but also for simultaneously pursuing a long-term interoperability strategy, something that has been lacking from federal efforts to date.
The ICOM Act will also create an interoperability grant program and authorize $3.3 billion over five years for the program. Recognizing that achieving interoperability is crucial to every state's emergency response capabilities, the bill gives each state a baseline amount of .55 percent of the funding.
The ICOM Act also requires the Secretary to look to at the unique geographic barriers in each state which may impede interoperability when awarding grants. This is key to states like Hawaii that may require additional transmitter towers and other types of equipment to overcome the obstacles that come with being a mountainous or island state.
Last year, Senators Lieberman, Collins, and I introduced S. 2701, the Homeland Security Interagency and Interjurisdictional Information Sharing Act of 2004. Many of the provisions in S. 2701 were incorporated into the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act. However, there still continue to be problems in terms of leadership and funding in federal interoperability policy. I ask my colleagues to not wait another year to begin to fill this hole. I urge support this important piece of legislation. Thank you Mr. President.
