Joint Subcommittee Hearing: First Responder Technologies: Ensuring a Prioritized Approach for Homeland Security Research and Development

Chairman Bilirakis on the hearing:

"We must work in a collaborative way at all levels of government and with the private sector to ensure that first responders have the tools and technology they need to achieve their missions.  This hearing will provide Members with an opportunity to assess efforts at the Federal level to work with the first responder community to research, develop, and deploy these vital technologies."

Chairman Lungren on the hearing: 

“First responders are an integral part of the Homeland Security Enterprise.  These personnel rush to scenes of emergency and disaster, and deserve the best technologies when responding to such situations.  In the homeland security context, the need for reliable equipment that will function in hazardous environments and support mass casualty events is paramount.  We are holding this hearing to ensure that, ten years since the response to 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate is effectively incorporating first responder priorities into its research and development efforts, and that first responders are equipped with the tools they need to be successful.”