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As Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Chairman of the
Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces and Chairman of the former
Procurement and Research Subcommittees, I know first-hand, the powerful enabling
technologies enjoyed by the Department of Defense that provide for real-time and
precise communications, positioning and command and control. As a former
volunteer fire chief and founder of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, I am
completely dismayed with the nationwide inability of our domestic responding
agencies to merely talk to each other. As evident by our recent military
actions, advanced technology is available, but we continue to handicap ourselves
and first responders needlessly. The solution before us is very clear, we need
adequate spectrum to be reserved for public safety and a national plan to
standardize and manage public safety communications. The first step is the
Homeland Emergency Response Operations (HERO) Act.
Interoperability is the ability for different jurisdictions to communicate
with each other. This nationwide problem arises due to the use of non-compatible
radio systems, on various networks, using disparate spectrum frequencies. There
are not only different systems for different agencies within each community, but
different jurisdictions maintain their own systems, as well. In fact, the larger
the incident, the greater the probability that different branches of the
emergency services cannot communicate with each other.
Cell phone use does not work when the system becomes gridlocked during
emergencies, open communications such as CB Radio become chaotic and responders
often must hope for the good will of cellular companies to roll in mobile cell
phone towers and disperse new hardware connected to alternate networks. Most
likely, during an emergency, first responders resort to what they have done
during Hurricane Andrew, the shooting at Littleton, Colorado, the Oklahoma City
bombing and both World Trade Center attacks in 1993 and 2001, which is wasting
valuable firemen and emergency technicians by converting them into runners --
passing handwritten notes between various command centers. In fact, during the
Ohio River flooding in Indiana in 1995, jurisdictions on each side of the river
were reduced to yelling across the river to communicate. This is unacceptable.
This practice should anger each and everyone of you and all of Congress, because
when a crisis occurs, American citizens are not able to be protected in a manner
that our current technologies and abilities can provide.
This is not a new problem. Five years before 9/11, the Public Safety Wireless
Advisory Committee (PSWAC) reported that "unless immediate measures are
taken to alleviate spectrum shortfall and promote interoperability, public
safety will not be able to adequately discharge their obligation to protect life
and property in a safe, efficient, and cost-effective manner." Since that
report, we have paid the price for inaction with the loss of lives.
The 24 MHz of spectrum planned for emergency and public safety use is still
occupied by commercial broadcasters and may not be available until sometime
after 2006, when at least 85% of households use digital television. The
probability that less than 15% of homes use the current, cheaper televisions
three years from now is a pipe dream at best, given the high costs of digital
televisions and the uncertainty with digital conversion. With this in mind, and
considering the likelihood of continued natural, accidental and terrorist
attacks in the future, Congress has no choice but to require this spectrum to be
available no later than 2007, regardless of the status of digital television.
The HERO Act sets aside the needed 24 MHz desired by all public safety
associations. This spectrum is adequate for broadband use and should be
sufficient to minimize congestion and interference. With this bill signed into
law, we can begin a national plan with standardized equipment and an organized
strategy that combines wireless interoperability, common language, unified
command, joint training, standard operation procedures and radio discipline.
Mr. Chairman, America's heroes will continue to risk their lives by running
into hazardous situations without sufficient communications to direct their
actions or alert them of dangers. We must not remain dormant and fail to provide
the minimal tools necessary for our nation's first responders to do their job
effectively and safely. Thank you for your leadership in recognizing the need
for spectrum allocation and addressing how important communication is for
homeland security.
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