Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions - S. 2701

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

By Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Ms. Collins, Mr. Akaka, and Mrs. Clinton):

S. 2701. A bill to provide incentives for the sharing of homeland security information, promote the development of an information sharing network, provide grants and other support to achieve communications interoperability, and establish an Office of Information Sharing, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.

Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I am very pleased to join my good friend, the Senator from Connecticut, Mr. Lieberman, in introducing legislation that will strengthen our capabilities to prevent and respond to acts of terrorism. The bill we are introducing will improve communications among the various levels of Government and will assist our State and local first responders in upgrading their communications equipment. I thank Senator Lieberman and his staff for their efforts in putting together this very important legislation and for working with me to make this bill a bipartisan effort.

In the immediate aftermath of September 11, the phrase "connect the dots" gained a prominent place in our national lexicon. The agencies charged with intelligence gathering, analysis, and enforcement did not have structures in place that would have enabled them to effectively share information and coordinate responses. The dots were there, but our intelligence and law enforcement personnel were, in far too many cases, unable to connect them.

The heroism of our first responders on September 11 will never be forgotten. Their devotion to duty, their courage, and their training saved a great many lives that terrible day. Yet we now know that the lack of a unified command structure, the uneven and in some cases outright absence of interdepartmental coordination and incompatible communications equipment may have prevented them from saving even more lives, and it cost many first responders their own lives.

Throughout the Nation on that day, there was another problem. False reports of car bombings and other terrorist acts spread quickly, overwhelming the immediate efforts and response, preventing a full comprehension of what had actually occurred, and causing needless fear. Our frontline civilian and military agencies struggled to improvise a defense against an
attack of unknown nature and scope. As the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the 9/11 Commission:

We fought many phantoms that day.

The enemy we are fighting is no phantom. It is real, and it is deadly. From the agencies of the Federal Government down to the State and local levels, we have dedicated personnel who can defeat that enemy. We must enable them to work together more effectively in this great cause. We cannot expect them to connect the dots if so many dots are hidden from view.

Although the Department of Homeland Security has made remarkable progress in forging cohesive strategies, State and local officials still tell Senator Lieberman and they still tell me that they have difficulty in obtaining needed information from Federal agencies and that they lack a reliable way to convey their own information to Federal officials.

Turf battles, unfortunately, are still being fought among some agencies. There still is no effective system in place for State and local governments to share information with one another.

From computer systems to emergency radios, the technology that should allow these different levels of government to communicate with each other too often is silenced by incompatibility. Clearly, the barrier to a truly unified effort against terrorism is a matter of both culture and equipment. This legislation will help break down that barrier.

A General Accounting Office report on interoperable communications released last week notes that the lives of first responders and those they are trying to assist can be lost when first responders cannot communicate effectively. That is the crux of the matter that the Lieberman-Collins bill seeks to address. A substantial barrier to effective communications, according to the GAO, is the use of incompatible wireless equipment by many agencies and levels of government when they are responding to a major emergency.

Among the GAO recommendations are that Federal grants be used to encourage States to develop and implement plans to improve interoperable communications and that the Department of Homeland Security needs to establish a long-term program to coordinate these same communications upgrades throughout the Federal Government. Our legislation would do much to implement these sensible recommendations.

It is vitally important that we assist the States in getting the right communications technology into the hands of their first responders. That would be accomplished by the interoperability grant program in this legislation. I believe that grant program is the most important feature of our legislation.

At a homeland security conference held in my home State of Maine in May, one of the most persistent messages that I heard from Maine's first responders concerned the lack of compatibility in communications equipment. It remains a substantial impediment to their ability to respond effectively in the event of a terrorist attack. For a State like mine that has three deepwater cargo ports, two international airports, key defense installations, hundreds of miles of coastline, and a long international border, compatible communications equipment is essential. Yet it remains an illusive goal.

Maine's firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical personnel do an amazing job in providing aid when a neighboring town is in need. Fires, floods, and accidents are local matters in which they have great expertise and experience.
Their defense of the front lines in the war against terrorism, however, is a national matter. Maine's first responders, along with first responders across the country, are doing their part, but they need and deserve Federal help.

The grant program established by our bill would guarantee every State a share of interoperability funding and makes additional funding available for States with special needs and vulnerabilities. It is designed to get this vital funding to first responders quickly, in coordination with a statewide plan.

At that Maine conference, I was joined by Under Secretary Asa Hutchinson. He, perhaps, best described the mutual responsibilities of this Federal-State partnership when he said:

We cannot secure the homeland of America from Washington, D.C.

In other words, we have to rely on State and local officials and on our first responders.

There is no question, however, that the security of the homeland requires the involvement, leadership, and expertise of Washington, DC, and, yes, it also requires our financial commitment.

As Senator Lieberman mentioned, a recent study by the Council on Foreign Relations estimates the total cost of nationwide communications compatibility at $6.8 billion. Our legislation authorizes $3.3 billion over 5 years. That is a reasonable and necessary contribution by the Federal Government to this important partnership.

The legislation will also help to foster a culture of information sharing through all levels of government and across all boundaries.

It directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a homeland security information-sharing network that will expedite the gathering, analysis, and distribution of information that is relevant to preventing or responding to terrorism anywhere in the Nation. The council established by this legislation will bring together representatives from all the relevant Federal agencies, and from State and local governments as well, to develop, monitor, and update procedures to enhance information sharing.

This bill would make an important contribution to the security of our Nation and the safety of our people. It would help us clear the barriers that now prevent agencies at all levels of government from cooperating and communicating to the fullest extent, whether those barriers are due to a lack of coordination or whether they are due to technology and incompatible equipment.

At the risk of piling one cliché on top of another, it is apparent to me that in order to connect the dots, we must think outside the box. Our enemy is cunning and remorseless. We must be clever and resourceful. This legislation is designed to foster innovative thinking by rewarding it, through a program that provides cash awards or other forms of recognition to agency employees who solve a homeland security problem. We already use pay-for-performance awards to recognize Federal employees who devise ways to deliver Government services more effectively and efficiently. We certainly can do the same for employees who think up ways to make our country safer.

The new Office of Information Sharing this legislation would establish in the Department of Homeland Security will continue the substantial progress being made by addressing specific issues related to improving cooperation among the various levels of government. A key element of improved cooperation will be getting technology, computer systems and communications equipment in particular, to work across the frontiers of government agencies.

The security of our Nation and the safety of our people require that we clear the barriers that prevent agencies at all levels of government from cooperating and communicating to the fullest extent. There is an additional reason why this is important.

Effective information-sharing is the best way in which we can protect ourselves from harm as we protect the civil liberties we cherish. We need borders that are closed to our enemies, but that remain open to our friends. We need to be able to travel safely, but also freely. We need to be able to protect ourselves against threats from abroad, but we also need to engage in open and vigorous trade. The greatest threats to these freedoms are the fear, suspicion and doubt that come from not knowing as much as we can about the enemy and from having the best, most coordinated defense possible.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation to build a better and stronger homeland security partnership.

I hope the legislation that Senator LIEBERMAN and I have introduced will enjoy widespread support.