Lowey Calls for Action on Interoperability in Wake of Hurricane Katrina
LOWEY CALLS FOR ACTION ON INTEROPERABILITY IN WAKE OF HURRICANE KATRINA
September 8, 2005
CONGRESSWOMAN URGES DHS TO RELEASE LONG-DELAYED GUIDELINES ON FIRST RESPONDER COMMUNICATIONS
WASHINGTON, DC - Over the last decade, communications failures among first responders have contributed to some of the biggest disasters this nation has faced. In Oklahoma City in 1995, in Columbine in 1999 and in New York in 2001, emergency response efforts were impaired by the lack of interoperable radio communications. Last week, communications failures again arose during the response to Hurricane Katrina. Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-Westchester/Rockland) is working to prevent this from ever happening again by pushing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to act immediately to improve interoperable communications nationwide by releasing overdue guidelines for first responders.
"There is no excuse. We've known this is a problem for years - and since September 11th, we've known that this problem could cost lives. Yet this Administration and the Department of Homeland Security have failed to provide the leadership needed to improve interoperability," said Lowey. "While response to Hurricane Katrina must remain our top priority, DHS must also take immediate action to ensure that our first responders are prepared on the communications front in the event of additional potential emergencies."
Today, Lowey wrote to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff and urged him to immediately finalize and release federal consensus guidelines to assist local governments in achieving interoperability. The guidelines were mandated by Congress as part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 and were due in April of this year. To date, the guidelines have not been released.
"For four years, I've pushed the Administration and DHS to put the standards and funding in place to help local officials improve interoperability. I've been very frustrated and disappointed with the lack of attention to this issue," said Lowey. "We now have another case of communications failures - DHS must act before this happens yet again."
Congresswoman Lowey is the author of legislation to create a direct federal grant program to provide local officials with the funds needed to upgrade and coordinate radio communications. Her legislation, the Connecting the Operations of National Networks of Emergency Communications Technologies for First Responders Act, or CONNECT First Responders Act, would create a 5 year, $5 billion grant to assist local governments in improving interoperable communications equipment.
September 8, 2005
The Honorable Michael Chertoff
Secretary
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
Dear Secretary Chertoff:
As the relief and recovery mission along the Gulf Coast continues, our first concern must be assisting those who are in need of aid. However, we cannot forget about the problems that have plagued the initial response to the hurricane. It is not too soon to ask what went wrong so that we can avoid those missteps in the future.
As you evaluate the Department's response to Katrina, I would like to point out early reports indicating that, once again, our response teams were hampered with the inability to effectively communicate with one another. In Oklahoma City in 1995, Columbine in 1999, and then again in New York in 2001, our first responders were unable to communicate effectively during major emergencies. It is outrageous to see that this continues to be a pervasive problem for first responders.
Section 7303 of PL108-458, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, required DHS to submit a report to Congress no later than 120 days after enactment on plans to accelerate the development of national voluntary consensus standards for public safety interoperable communications, a schedule of milestones for such development, and achievements of such development. The report was due in April and has not been submitted. Without federal guidance, many public safety agencies are ill-equipped to develop a comprehensive communications plan.
In New Orleans, it appears as though the communication system survived the initial storm, but went down when the system's infrastructure lost its power supply. In addition, we knew that a major hurricane in New Orleans would lead to significant flooding, which, in this case, knocked out the natural gas supply to power the generator at the prime downtown transmitter site. Regardless of whether power loss, other circumstances unique to this situation, or a lack of preparedness and equipment caused these communication problems, it's clear that we must take action now to ensure that first responders have interoperable equipment in order to communicate with local, state, and federal officials.
While the response to Hurricane Katrina must be our top priority, I know you understand that we must continue our preparedness efforts for other potential emergencies. I respectfully request that you immediately release the overdue report to provide needed guidance to response agencies. I also hope that you will compile a separate report evaluating how a lack of interoperable communications hampered the Katrina relief effort as you assess the recent response to this unprecedented disaster.
Thank you for your attention to this critical issue.
Sincerely,
Nita Lowey
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ny18_lowey/comm090805.html