In January, the Democrats took control of Congress with an ambitious agenda that included implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and improving first responder communications. Here's a quick update on related legislation that has been introduced so far:

HR1 - Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007
This bill was introduced by a number of House Democrats and, as its name implies, seeks to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Among its many other provisions, HR1 would require the DHS Secretary (Chertoff) to establish the "Improve Communications for Emergency Response Grant Program."

HR338 - Improving Communications Interoperability Grant Program Act
Requires DHS to establish the "Improve Communications for Emergency Response Grant Program"... which appears to be duplicative of what is already in HR1.

S4 - Improving America's Security by Implementing Unfinished Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007
S4 is described as "a bill to make the United States more secure by implementing unfinished recommendations of the 9/11 Commission to fight the war on terror more effectively, to improve homeland security, and for other purposes." This summary of changes (PDF) outlines what would be implemented if the Senate passes S.4, a companion bill with similar measures to that of H.1. (Thanks to "Eric's Corner: A Blog about Emergency Management," for passing this along.)

S385 - Interoperable Emergency Communications Act
Senators Inouye (D - HI) and Stevens (R - Alaska) introduced this bill to provide guidance to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which is overseeing the awarding of $1 billion in interoperability grants to first responders.

We're off to a great start, and it's looking more and more like 2007 just might live up to its billing as "the most important year for interoperability."

Now is the time for Congress and the Administration to set a "date certain" by which to achieve communications interoperability!

The FRC was interviewed late last year by Homeland Security Asia magazine about the state of interoperability efforts here in the States. Excluding the fact that DHS finally completed its National Interoperability Baseline Survey, the article still provides an accurate snapshot of where we are on interoperability and where we need to go.

Communication breakdown:

Five years after 9/11 and first responder wireless communication is still blighted by many of the same problems. Steven Jones, Executive Director of the First Response Coalition discusses how America can help its emergency services to communicate.

HSA. The recently-released report by the "July 7 Review Committee" indicates that rescue teams were unable to communicate properly between the sites of the explosions underground and with colleagues at ground level. Would you agree that this has parallels to the 9/11 Commission report?

SJ. There are some parallels sadly. The communication problems that were experienced on September 11 in New York City, related to the fact that first responders - fire department and the police officers - operated using different radio systems on different radio frequencies. When the police helicopter that was hovering overhead radioed down to the police command to say they saw the tower starting to collapse, the police issued the order to evacuate the building. That order was issued over police radios, but because the fire department operated on a different frequency and didn't carry police radios they never received the call to evacuate. Tragically it is estimated that of the 343 firefighters that lost their lives that day, about 120 died as a direct consequence of not being able to receive the evacuation order. Even though they operated within the same city, the two agencies operated using different technologies on different parts of the radio frequency spectrum and weren't able to directly communicate with one another. We saw similar challenges to the first responder communications in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Tragically, this is a problem that exists throughout America in cities and towns every day on 'routine' emergencies. But it shouldn't take a 9/11 or a Hurricane Katrina to remind us that this is a problem that first responders in America face practically on an every day basis.

HSA. What other communication problems blighted the 9/11 response?

SJ. There have been well-documented issues in New York about the inability of first responders to communicate between buildings, from buildings down to the ground level, and from the subway up to ground level. I believe that a lot of that has to do with the parts of the radio frequency spectrum that first responders occupy, and that is why we hear a lot of talk about 700MHz and why this part of the spectrum is good for first responders. Communications travelling on 700MHz airwaves travel farther and penetrate walls better than other frequencies. Because of these characteristics, 700MHz spectrum allows first responders to communicate better between buildings, from buildings down to the ground and from subways up to ground level, as well.

HSA. You mentioned that Hurricane Katrina highlighted that communications problems still exist. Five years after 9/11, has there been any progress at all?

SJ. Some advances been made, but not nearly enough. At the Federal level, the Department of Homeland Security and numerous other Federal initiatives have been developed, and they have made some important contributions, but much work remains to be done. The Department of Homeland Security has yet to complete its "National Interoperability Baseline Survey." The Survey is a statistical snapshot of where the country is with regards to first responder communications, and where improvements need to be made. It is, essentially, the first step towards solving the communications crisis, yet the survey is now over a year behind schedule. It is disappointing to see that, with respect to the National Interoperability Baseline Survey, DHS has yet to take this critical first step. In doing so, they have failed first responders.

Moreover, in this country there still is no national plan for achieving national interoperability. At the state level, at the local level, we see that some states and some locals are working better together, but you could point out that just as many state and local municipalities aren't working together. And that, I believe, is a direct consequence of not having a national plan to guide interoperability efforts at the state and local level.

HSA. What efforts at interoperability are notable?

SJ. Washington, DC has its Wireless Accelerated Responder Network (WARN), a wireless broadband network dedicated exclusively for public safety in the District of Columbia, and then it also has the Capital Wireless Integrated Network project (CapWIN). Both of those are fairly sophisticated and I would even say model interoperability systems. While there have been efforts to achieve interoperability in about 25 of the nation's largest cities deemed to be at highest risk for terrorist attack, that is just in 25 cities. First responder interoperability is still a problem that exists in cities and towns throughout America.

HSA. The UK is rolling out its Airwave system across its first responder community in the next two years. Does the Federal, State and local hierarchy mean that such an initiative would be problematic in the US?

SJ. I do think it will be difficult but I don't think it is unattainable. In fact, one of the things that the First Response Coalition has called upon the President to do is to set a hard date by which to achieve communications interoperability. And as a first step to achieving that hard date is to get academics, first responders, Government and industry together in the same room to sit down to work out a plan that establishes the steps that we need to take to achieve communications interoperability on a national scale, and by what date. We're disappointed to see that the President has not responded to our call to establish a "date certain" by which to solve the communications crisis.

HSA. How optimistic are you that the issue of first responder communications can be solved?

SJ. The whole interoperability problem revolves around a series of different challenges. It is not just a technical problem. It is also a matter of funding. But it is also a cultural problem. It is a political problem. And it is going to take a lot of coordination and collaboration among the many different agencies and the many different levels of government involved to really achieve national communications interoperability. While I am confident that we can solve the interoperability problem, it's going to take stronger leadership from our policymakers make sure first responders are provided with the reliable communications they need to protect our communities.

Did you know that first responders don't have a national day of recognition, but that catfish, frozen foods and ice cream do?

That's right, friends. More effort has been put into nationally recognizing a bottom-feeding, mud-sucking fish than the heroic men and women of the first responder community.

No offense to the catfish, but that's jacked up.

The First Response Coalition is working to right this wrong by calling on the Congress to establish September 25 as National First Responder Appreciation Day. In order to get their attention, we're calling on all concerned citizens, organizations, and anybody else who cares about first responders, to visit the FRC's website and sign the petition in support of a National First Responder Appreciation Day.

While there, be sure to tell as many people you know about the campaign. If catfish deserve a national day of recognition, then surely those who keep us safe and out of harm's way deserve at least the same.

Sign the petition now to let Congress know that the contributions and sacrifices made by all first responders should be recognized and celebrated with a national day of appreciation!

Here's a direct link to the "Tactical Interoperability Communication Scorecards" home page at the DHS. The tactical interoperable communications scorecard assesses the maturity of tactical interoperable communications capabilities in 75 urban/metropolitan areas.

The reviews focused on three main areas: Governance (leadership and strategic planning); Standard Operating Procedures (plans and procedures); and Usage (use of equipment).

Key findings include:

1. Policies for interoperable communications are now in place in all 75 urban and metropolitan areas.

2. Regular testing and exercises are needed to effectively link disparate systems and facilitate communications between multi-jurisdictional responders (including state and federal).

3. Cooperation among first responders in the field is strong, but formalized governance (leadership and strategic planning) across regions is not as advanced.

See dailywireless.org for further details.

"We are determined to ensure that the UASI cities, the major cities, have interoperable communications in effect by the end of this coming year." - Secy. Michael Chertoff, Nov. 28, 2006.

Late last year, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff committed his agency to achieving interoperability in "major cities"- i.e., those cities that fall under the Urban Area Security Initiative [UASI] grant initiative- by the end of 2007.

But it appears Chertoff is now backing his agency away from that commitment. The AP is reporting that Chertoff pledged today that 75 metropolitan areas would have advanced disaster communications systems by 2009 - conceivably a full two years later than his initial pledge.

Am I reading this right? Did DHS just delay interoperability by two years? This is not how I wanted to start 2007...

In response to the Department of Homeland Security's scorecard assessments of interoperable communications capabilities in 75 urban and metropolitan areas, the FRC today released the following statement:

Washington, D.C. - January 3, 2007: "The Department of Homeland Security's just-released Nationwide Interoperable Communications Assessment shows that while some cities may be making some progress on public safety communications interoperability, many have a long way to go. First responder communications are still compromised by inadequate planning, insufficient resources, and a lack of coordination. The findings in this DHS study and the dire warnings in many other government reports on interoperability failures cannot continue to go unheeded. It is time to put words into action. The FRC urges President Bush to immediately follow the release of this report with the establishment of a national strategy and target date within the next decade to achieve interoperable first responder communications so they can better protect our communities."

To view the press release for DHS's Nationwide Interoperable Communications Assessment, click here.