Department Of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2008
Floor Speech
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 -- (Senate - July 25, 2007)
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Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, first, let me thank the committee chairman, Senator Lieberman, for his graciousness in yielding to me.
I am pleased to be a cosponsor of Senator Lieberman's amendment to add $100 million for an interoperability communications grant program. Last year, the Homeland Security Committee spent 8 months investigating the flawed response to Hurricane Katrina.
It was very disappointing for the committee to learn that the same kinds of problems in the ability of emergency first responders to communicate with one another that were evident in the response on 9/11 still existed that many years later and hampered the response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
When the 9/11 Commission reviewed all that went up to the attacks on our country on 9/11 and evaluated the response, it identified the tragic truth that many firefighters, police officers, and other emergency responders lost their lives on 9/11 because their communications equipment was incompatible. The police could not talk to the firefighters, who could not, in turn, talk to the emergency medical personnel.
We found exactly that same problem existing years later in the response to Hurricane Katrina. In fact, we found that within the same parish of New Orleans, police and firefighters often had incompatible communications equipment. It should be evident if our first responders cannot talk to one another in the midst of an emergency, the response is going to be greatly hampered, and in some cases that means additional loss of life. That is just unacceptable.
State and local governments recognize their problems with emergency communications, which is why the Department of Homeland Security receives more requests for funding to upgrade and purchase compatible emergency communications equipment under the State Homeland Security Grant Program and the Urban Areas Security Initiative than for any other allowable use.
The experts tell us the only way we are ever going to get a handle on this problem is if we dedicate funding for this purpose. The Homeland Security bill that is about to emerge from conference would establish a multiyear program to achieve that goal. But we need to make a downpayment on that program through this appropriations bill.
I know the leaders of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security have worked very hard, and there are many demands on the money that is available. But I would urge them to take a look at our proposal.
Creating an interoperability emergency communications network is a complicated, expensive, and lengthy process. It is the type of multiyear project that requires States to know how much money they will be getting each year for several years in order to come up with the kind of regional plan that is needed to address this problem.
Even the most effective preincident planning will prove ineffective if first responders are unable to communicate with each other effectively in real time, on demand, during an actual incident, and in the immediate aftermath.
I would point out that Senator Lieberman and I also sponsored an amendment when the budget was on the Senate floor, which was adopted just 4 short months ago, that provided $400 million for this critical purpose. Yet, unfortunately, the appropriations bill before us contains no funding for interoperability communications grants.
Now, we recognize the competing demands, and that is why the Senator from Connecticut and I are proposing a modest program of only $100 million rather than the $400 million that was adopted during consideration of the budget resolution.
I urge my colleagues to join Senator Lieberman and me in supporting funding for interoperability emergency communications. This is a high priority for our first responder community, for those who are on the front lines when disaster strikes.
I yield to the Senator from Connecticut.
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