|
As we saw with the recent hurricanes, the ability to
communicate is of critical importance to save lives
and keep people safe. It is therefore vital that we
address the state of our public safety
communications to ensure they are available and
working properly during times of our greatest need.
There are three main components to emergency
communications. The first is the 911 emergency phone
system that we are all familiar with; the second is
the Emergency Alert System- a tool that can be used
to warn the public about emergency situations; and
the third is radio and television station news and
updates. They all must operate effectively in order
for the public to achieve a successful response to
an emergency.
Unfortunately, when Hurricane Katrina hit,
followed by severe flooding, all major forms of mass
communications - radio, television, Internet - were
rendered useless due to lack of power and destroyed
facilities. Personal communications such as wireless
phones were also unusable, leaving millions without
the ability to dial 9-1-1 or contact family members.
We must examine these vulnerabilities and determine
what steps are necessary to prevent such a
wide-spread breakdown of our communications system
from happening in the future.
The recent disaster also highlighted our lack of
public safety communications interoperability. This
is far from a new problem, however. The tragedies of
9/11 and the Oklahoma City bombings demonstrated the
overwhelming need for public safety organizations at
all levels of government to be able to communicate
with one another. Time and time again, we find that
firemen need to talk to policemen; policemen need to
talk to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA);
FEMA needs to talk to the National Guard.
Unfortunately, the patchwork of equipment and radio
frequencies continue to prevent integrated
communications from becoming a reality.
The first responders did a tremendous job without
a working communications system in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. The Coast
Guard in particular played an essential role in New
Orleans earlier this month. They saved over 33,544
lives - eight to ten times more than in an average
year. However, lack of reliable communications was
the Coast Guard’s number one complaint - they could
have been even more effective if they had been able
to access a reliable communications system to
quickly get to those in need.
Not surprisingly, improved communications are a
centerpiece of the Coast Guard’s much needed
Deepwater recapitalization program. Once completed,
this program will allow the Coast Guard to reach
other public safety organizations during times of
crisis. I have long fought to accelerate Deepwater-
and in the wake of the disaster in the Gulf, we
clearly need to make this a national priority.
Once a digital television transition is complete,
a significant portion of the broadcasters’ analog
spectrum will be available for public safety’s use.
Furthermore, estimates of the revenue that will be
received from the auction of the remaining analog
will allow us to set some of these funds aside for
public safety to upgrade equipment. As the Commerce
Committee addresses the digital television
transition this fall, I will ensure that our public
safety needs are at the forefront of the debate.
In order to guarantee that we are able to operate
as efficiently and effectively as possible when
disaster strikes, we must improve our communications
systems. There is no excuse for not being prepared
for future catastrophes now that we have witnessed
such tremendous shortcomings. I pledge to continue
the fight for increased communications reliability
because from here on out, we must make sure that we
are prepared and able to communicate with one
another during times of emergency.
|
