The House and Senate have agreed on sweeping port security legislation that will strengthen port security across the nation. As part of the port security legislation, Congress included provisions from the Warning, Alert, and Response Network (WARN) Act.
According to the Senate Commerce Committee:
WARN is a national system for the transmission of public safety alerts across a broad variety of communications technologies including wireless applications.
Essentially this action moves the Emergency Alert System out of the broadcast radio and television era and into the wireless age.
In addition to the threat posed by terrorist attacks, the system created by this amendment will give our emergency managers the ability to alert communities of other hazards such as natural disasters and manmade accidents.
The measure ensures that when disaster strikes, the wireless network will be used as a tool so that almost all Americans will be notified through radio, television and wireless communications devices, because there are over 200 million wireless subscribers in the United States.
Additionally, capabilities will allow other emergency managers to reach individuals away from their TVs or radios with specific life saving instructions.
