U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations oversees the
Department of Homeland Security appropriation process in the Senate.

The highlights can give you a good rundown on the current bill. The overall bill summary and status gives you all the background you need to follow the process.

The more you know about the process and background the better you will be equipped to fight the future cuts that are surely to occur.

Firefighter and emergency medical first responders should immediately review Senator Akaka's new amendment to the Department of Homeland Security's 2006 appropriation bill. The amendment increases funding by $587 million. The senator's office notes the following points covered by the amendment:
1. Increase the State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP)/Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) funding (they are combined in the FY 06 bill as "state and local assistance" but were separate in FY 05) by $467M, or from $1.518B to $1.985B. The state and local assistance grants provide funds for training, equipment, exercises, and technical assistance to improve readiness for potential terrorism incidents. After the state minimum, which this amendment does not alter, is dispensed, all funds will be allocated by the Secretary based on risk and threat.
2. Increase Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS) by $20M, or from $10M to $30M. The MMRS is a program of contracts with major cities to assist the coordination of local government entities in preparedness. The goal of MMRS is to coordinate the efforts of local law enforcement, firefighters, HAZMAT teams, EMS, hospital, public health and other personnel to improve all-hazards response capabilities.
3. Increase FIRE Act by $100M, or from $550M to $650M. FIRE Act grants provide federal grants directly to local fire departments and unaffiliated Emergency Medical Services (EMS) organizations to help address a variety of equipment, training, and other firefighter-related and EMS needs.

If you decide to alert your legislative networks, you had better move fast. You know how fast things happen in Washington this time of the year. Let's see how fast you can respond this time.

Today I returned from the unexpected illness and hospitalization of a loved one. All worked out for the best and a rapid recovery made everyone breathe a lot easier and sooner than anticipated.

The extra time I had to spend in the small rural town led me to the local firehouse and to a second stop at the volunteer ambulance station.

After asking them the usual questions about their equipment and personnel, I asked a few questions about what they thought was happening in Washington, D.C.

It was as if D.C. was on another planet. Topics like interoperability, spectrum clearance, national associations, conferences, were met with the shrug of a shoulder.

Frustration with deadlines for grant applications and the complexities of the process and delays in awards reflected the lack of hope they felt that most small rural departments would be successful in the national grant process.

But still they plodded ahead.

The whine off the interstate in the distance reminded me that this small department had the responsibility as first due on a ten or so mile stretch of that pike. The outmoded tools and the antiquated radio system would not be touched for years to come.

The early post 911 funding had gone to departments that had the ability to understand the process and benefit from the budget increases. This department like many rural departments didn't have that expertise.

Whoever needed their help and services out on the interstate tonight or in the local town would be met with the equipment and communications from a pre-911 world.

How much of the nation is like that? I don't know.

I do know it looks like national funding will continue to rapidly diminish. Personnel will slowly dwindle as recruitment ebbs. The volunteers' median age will rise. The local fundraising time will have to increase. And Washington, D.C. will continue to drift further and further away.

The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program application period is still open However, only one week remains until the Tuesday, June 28, 5 p.m. EDT filing deadline.

For those of you who may have just learned about the existence of the SAFER program, you should quickly make yourself familiar with its main purpose.

"The purpose of Safer grants is to award grants directly to volunteer, combination, and career fire departments to help the departments increase their cadre of firefighters. Ultimately, the goal is for SAFER grantees to enhance their ability to attain 24-hour staffing and thus assuring their communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. The SAFER grants have two activities that will help grantees attain this goal: 1) hiring of firefighters and 2) recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters."

Whether you are just starting or have been working at this for a month or so, make sure you visit the application tutorial.

Use the next seven days wisely and you just might be successful in securing a beneficial grant for your department.

The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI), the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCC), the Major County Sheriffs' Association (MCSA), the National Association of Counties (NACo), the National League of Cities (NLC), and the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA) have given their support to the DTV transition bill introduced by Senator McCain.

The June 14,2005
press release states:

"We applaud today's introduction of the 'Spectrum Availability for Emergency-Response and Law-Enforcement to Improve Vital Emergency Services' (Save Lives Act of 2005). This important legislation is critical to meet the requirements of our nation's first responders."

The funding section of the bill opens up the auction proceeds for the funding of communications needs nationwide. Section 5 states,

"Authorization of Appropriations. - To the extent that proceeds from the auction of licenses for recovered analog spectrum under section 309(j)(14) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(14)) are available and exceed the amount required to carry out the program described in section 4, there are authorized to be appropriated from such proceeds such sums as are available to fund the grant program established under this section."

The estimates of the funding that this may provide will be interesting to see. Hope they will be enough to cover interoperability nationwide.

Senator John McCain may be going the extra mile with the introduction of the Save Lives Act of 2005.

The senator's floor statement says the bill gives Congress a pathway to give public safety more spectrum.

"In addition to setting a date certain, this bill would authorize funds for public safety agencies to purchase emergency communications equipment and ensure that Congress has the ability to consider whether additional spectrum should be provided for public safety communications prior to the recovered spectrum being auctioned."

The January 1, 2009 transition date will also be helped by the bill's other aspects.

"The bill contains significant language concerning consumer education of the digital television transition. The bill would mandate that warning labels be displayed on analog television sets sold prior to the transition, require warning language to be displayed at television retailers, command the distribution at retailers of brochures describing the television set options available, and call on broadcasters to air informational programs to better prepare consumers for the digital transition."

The FCC has acted on the "DTV tuner requirement." In the
FCC order issued on Thursday, the Commission moved the timetable forward in order to advance the sales of televisions with the DTV tuners.


EE Times reports:

"The Federal Communications Commission moved Thursday (June 9) to speed up the U.S. digital TV transition by refusing to delay the introduction of digital tuners in new TV receivers.

Consumer electronics manufacturers were seeking to delay the date by which set makers would be required to build digital TV tuners into half of all new mid-size TV receivers measuring 25 to 36 inches. Instead, the FCC said it has moved up by four months the date for full compliance with the rule to March 1, 2006."

The 2005 holiday season and the 2006 Super Bowl consumer purchasing window are important tv purchasing times and presented an opportunity to make sure that the opportunity was not lost to increase the number of sets with dtv reception capability.

Interesting order.

Senator John McCain will introduce his DTV transition bill next Tuesday, June 14. Heather Forsgren Weaver of RCR Wireless today reports that:

"Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and frequent critic of the TV broadcast lobby, will introduce a bill ... that will set the hard date for the completion of the digital TV transition at Jan. 1, 2009.

The McCain bill will be similar to legislation known as the Save Lives Act (the Spectrum Availability for Emergency Response and Law Enforcement to Improve Vital Emergency Services), which he introduced last year, but will reduce the set-top box subsidy to $463 million plus administrative costs. This amount is expected to cover the 9.2 million low-income homes that receive their TV signals from free-over-the-air broadcasting. Low income is defined as 200 percent below the poverty line."

The article details what could be the next step forward for the transition. Don't miss it.

As the DTV transition legislation progresses it is good for first responders to be aware of various points interested parties are making. and the financial universe that the public safety spectrum fits into.

Telecomweb reports:

"The approximate market value of the 60 megahertz of unauctioned spectrum at 700 MHz, to be freed by the transition from analog to digital television, could be worth between $20 billion and $24 billion, according to a new study released by the High Tech DTV Coalition (a group of 19 trade associations and technology companies).

The 20-page research work - conducted by Coleman Bazelon, vice president of consulting firm Analysis Group and commissioned by coalition member Intel Corporation - also suggested there between $233 billion and $473 billion in "social value" connected with the transition by combining an estimated producer surplus, consumer surplus, public-safety benefits and federal financing effects."

Drew Clark in National Journal's Insider Update notes that:

"If draft legislation unveiled by House Energy and Commerce Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, becomes law, the High Tech DTV Coalition says $28 billion could be generated by the sale of the 60 megahertz the bill would make available for auction by the end of 2008.

That estimate is based on a 12-page study by the Brattle Group, which developed its projections from three recent spectrum valuations -- including one in February. That study was done for Qualcomm Inc., one of the members of the High Tech DTV Coalition..."

It is also good to know how public safety spectrum fits into the overall spectrum picture. As Mr. Clark continues,

"The House Energy and Commerce Committee draft would relocate television stations with channel numbers from 52 to 69 to lower channels. While the legislation would require broadcasters to vacate 108 Mhz, only 60 Mhz would be available for auction because 24 Mhz already have been allocated to public safety, 18 Mhz already have been purchased at auction, and six Mhz are to be used as "guard bands" separating broadcasters from other services."

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Furthermore, one has to always remember that the transition involves all the products that receive the digital signals.

The Consumer Electronics Association overview states:

"The analog to digital television (DTV) transition is going strong. TV manufacturers are still leading the DTV charge, offering more than 450 models of DTV products including integrated sets, digital monitors and set-top receivers at affordable prices. CEA research shows a remarkable level of satisfaction with the product with, as expected, the biggest disappointment being the relative dearth of HDTV programming. We're making progress in the transition and we're now in the home stretch."

Lot of money, lot of intersts. First responders have to know who there friends are and who can be helpful in advancing public safety's interests.

The ongoing effort to attain interoperable communications among first responders has generated a large number of research programs across the country. One of these efforts is in Dallas, Texas. Funded by the Department of Homeland Security, it has been called the "holy grail" of interoperability by FCW.com. Michael Arnone writing in the June 6 installment of FCW.com states,

"Agency officials plan to make an announcement this week in Dallas about the implementation of new software that lets existing and new communications equipment interoperate securely.

The new protocol is designed to overcome the communications difficulties that plagued first responders during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Police, firefighters and other first responders were often unable to communicate because of differences in the equipment they used, which contributed to the deaths of some firefighters in the World Trade Center.

The Cryptographic Overlay Mesh Protocol (COMP) allows radios, mobile phones, laptop computers and other equipment to communicate with one another, said Mark Tucker, chief executive officer of CoCo Communications, which developed the protocol.
COMP connects land-based telephone lines, radio systems, wireless networks, satellite transmissions, peer-to-peer networks and mobile phone systems, Tucker said. Through proxy programs, it is also "100 percent backward-compatible, back to analog," he said.

DHS has a strong interest in the project, said Kerry Thomas, director of national preparedness programs in DHS' Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness.

The department's Information Technology Evaluation Program, which cultivates promising information-sharing technologies, provided a $979,100 grant to pay for a pilot program in Dallas.

The Dallas Love Field Wireless Integration Project will connect all law enforcement agents and first responders who cover the city's airport. The project will serve as a model for eventual statewide and national adoption of the technology."

More information will be made available by DHS later this week. Let's hope COMP is as complete as it is said to be.

The National Fire Protection Association World Safety Conference and Exposition meets in Las Vegas from June 6 - 10. Most folks can't attend but you will eventually see the results as the new standards and changes eventually emerge in everyday life.

The forty-two NFPA technical report sessions will deal with everything from vehicular alternative fuel systems and standards for fire service professional qualifications accreditation to metal dust and combustibility and material fire tests.

The Fire Protection Research Foundation will conduct two special symposia. One will be on tunnel fixed fire suppression systems and one will be on hydrogen safety.

The Uniform Fire Code Association will also conduct their annual meeting. The National Institute of Standards and Technology will present a special report on its findings on the collapse of the World Trade Center.

Even if you never have the opportunity to go to such a conference you can visit the NFPA site . It will open up a world of learning opportunities at your home or station.

When I think of the subsidy program being developed for the DTV transition, my mind wanders back to the days when the government used to give out surplus cheese. Long lines of folks would appear on various mornings at government approved food kitchens and distribution centers for a block of cheese.

Now we're going to see folks lining up for converter boxes for the top of their TV sets. I am sure that whatever program is finally developed will have as many holes in it as Swiss cheese and it may smell as bad as Limburger. I'm sure someone will ask if illegal aliens should receive subsidy vouchers and that will launch a huge debate.

The Government Accountability Office gave their testimony on subsidies at the DTV hearings and put the highlights up on the web.

"Several administrative options could be used to provide a government subsidy to help households obtain DTV equipment, including a refundable tax credit, government distribution of equipment, a voucher program, and a rebate program. The suitability of any of these methods depends on aspects of the subsidy's design, such as which entity is most appropriate to administer the subsidy and who is eligible to receive the benefit."

How does all this relate to first responders?

We have to make sure that the debates and arguments that occur over which subsidy path to take do not delay the date for the transition.

(p.s. I bet this is the first time you have seen spectrum and cheese in the same blog entry anywhere on the web.)