[Pages H5856-H5859]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS ACT

Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 4289) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to
require the Under Secretary for Management of the Department of
Homeland Security to take administrative action to achieve and maintain
interoperable

[[Page H5857]]

communications capabilities among the components of the Department of
Homeland Security, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 4289

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Department of Homeland
Security Interoperable Communications Act'' or the ``DHS
Interoperable Communications Act''.

SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICATIONS
CAPABILITIES IN RESPONSIBILITIES OF UNDER
SECRETARY FOR MANAGEMENT.

Section 701 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C.
341) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (4) of subsection (a), by inserting before
the period at the end the following: ``, including policies
and directives to achieve and maintain interoperable
communications among the components of the Department''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(d) Interoperable Communications Defined.--In this
section, the term `interoperable communications' means the
ability of components of the Department to communicate with
each other as necessary, utilizing information technology
systems and radio communications systems to exchange voice,
data, and video in real time, as necessary, for acts of
terrorism, daily operations, planned events, and
emergencies.''.

SEC. 3. STRATEGY.

(a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary for Management
of the Department of Homeland Security shall submit to the
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate a strategy, which shall be
updated as necessary, for achieving and maintaining
interoperable communications (as such term is defined in
subsection (d) of section 701 of the Homeland Security Act of
2002, as added by section 2 of this Act) among the components
of the Department of Homeland Security, including for daily
operations, planned events, and emergencies, with
corresponding milestones, that includes, at a minimum the
following:
(1) An assessment of interoperability gaps in radio
communications among the components of the Department, as of
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) Information on efforts and activities, including
current and planned policies, directives, and training, of
the Department since November 1, 2012, to achieve and
maintain interoperable communications among the components of
the Department, and planned efforts and activities of the
Department to achieve and maintain such interoperable
communications.
(3) An assessment of obstacles and challenges to achieving
and maintaining interoperable communications among the
components of the Department.
(4) Information on, and an assessment of, the adequacy of
mechanisms available to the Under Secretary for Management to
enforce and compel compliance with interoperable
communications policies and directives of the Department.
(5) Guidance provided to the components of the Department
to implement interoperable communications policies and
directives of the Department.
(6) The total amount of funds expended by the Department
since November 1, 2012, and projected future expenditures, to
achieve interoperable communications, including on equipment,
infrastructure, and maintenance.
(7) Dates upon which Department-wide interoperability is
projected to be achieved for voice, data, and video
communications, respectively, and interim milestones that
correspond to the achievement of each such mode of
communication.
(b) Supplementary Material.--Together with the strategy
required under subsection (a), the Under Secretary for
Management shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate information
on any intra-agency effort or task force that has been
delegated certain responsibilities by the Under Secretary
relating to achieving and maintaining interoperable
communications among the components of the Department by the
dates referred to in paragraph (9) of subsection (a), and on
who, within each such component, is responsible for
implementing policies and directives issued by the Under
Secretary to so achieve and maintain such interoperable
communications.

SEC. 4. REPORT.

Not later than 220 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act and biannually thereafter, the Under Secretary for
Management shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on
the status of efforts, since the issuance of the strategy
required under section 3, to implement such strategy,
including the following:
(1) Progress on each interim milestone referred to in
paragraph (9) of subsection (a) toward achieving and
maintaining interoperable communications among the components
of the Department.
(2) Information on any policies, directives, guidance, and
training established by the Under Secretary.
(3) An assessment of the level of compliance, adoption, and
participation among the components of the Department with the
policies, directives, guidance, and training established by
the Under Secretary to achieve and maintain interoperable
communications among such components.
(4) Information on any additional resources or authorities
needed by the Under Secretary.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Indiana (Mrs. Brooks) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Indiana.

General Leave

Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Indiana?
There was no objection.
Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4289, the Department of
Homeland Security Interoperable Communications Act, introduced by the
gentleman from New Jersey and the ranking member of the Subcommittee on
Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications, Mr. Payne. I am
happy to be an original cosponsor of this important legislation, which
the Committee on Homeland Security also approved last month by a
bipartisan voice vote.
This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to include, among
the responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security's Under
Secretary for Management, achieving and maintaining interoperable
communications among the Department's components.
H.R. 4289 addresses the findings and recommendations of a November
2012 DHS Office of Inspector General report, which stated that the
Department does not have the appropriate oversight or governance
structure to ensure communications interoperability among its own
components.
The Department has been in the forefront on working with stakeholders
to provide our Nation's first responders with the resources and tools
needed to have effective interoperable communications. Now the
Department needs to practice what they preach. It is vital that the
Department's own components are able to effectively communicate day to
day and, most importantly, during emergencies.
In order to ensure the Department is taking the necessary steps to
achieve and maintain interoperable communications capabilities, H.R.
4289 requires the Department's Under Secretary for Management to submit
an interoperable communications strategy to the Department of Homeland
Security no later than 120 days after enactment.
I applaud the ranking member for his work and leadership on bringing
this to the floor.
I urge all Members to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in strong support of H.R. 4289, the Department of Homeland
Security Interoperable Communications Act.
Mr. Speaker, when I began my work on this subcommittee last year, I
was shocked to learn how much money had been spent on interoperable
communications since the September 11 terrorist attacks. Nationwide, we
have spent over $13 billion to achieve interoperable communications at
the State and local level, and we are not there yet.
Given the degree of attention that the Federal Government, in
general, and DHS, in particular, have devoted to interoperability, I
was surprised to learn that DHS has not achieved Department-wide
interoperability.
Police officers and firefighters from Newark to Jersey City and
across the

[[Page H5858]]

10th Congressional District of New Jersey never leave my office without
reminding me how important interoperable communications are.
Nevertheless, according to a November 2012 inspector general report,
DHS has invested over $430 million into communications capabilities for
its 123,000 radio users since 2003, but Department ``personnel do not
have reliable interoperable communications for daily operations,
planned events, and emergencies.''
Indeed, the inspector general testified before the committee in May
that in 2012 it asked 479 DHS field radio users to access and use the
specified channel to communicate. Only one of those 479 radio users--
one of 479--could get on the common channel. That is a 99.8 percent
failure rate.
The problem is not technology. Instead, the inspector general found
that the Department had not established and implemented protocols to
ensure that components put practices in place to achieve
interoperability.
H.R. 4289, the DHS Interoperable Communications Act, which I
introduced with my colleague on the Emergency Preparedness
Subcommittee, Chairwoman Brooks, requires that certain actions be taken
by DHS leadership to drive components in the field towards
interoperability. The legislation directs the Under Secretary for
Management to issue policies and directives related to
interoperability, develop a strategy to achieve DHS-wide
interoperability, and report to Congress biannually on the Department's
progress.
Interoperable communications capabilities are critical to the mission
DHS carries out and to first responders across the United States. DHS
must lead by example.
Toward that end, I was encouraged that the Department's acting Under
Secretary for Management, Chris Cummiskey, expressed his commitment to
addressing this issue when he appeared before the subcommittee last
month. It is my hope that this legislation will bolster his efforts and
make it clear to everyone in the Department that Congress is looking to
DHS to achieve interoperability.
Before reserving my time, I would like to thank Subcommittee
Chairwoman Brooks for working with me on this measure. We have found
that there are many issues in terms of this matter, and we have worked
in a bipartisan manner to make sure that interoperability is achieved.
I would also like to thank Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member
Thompson for their help in addressing this issue.
Mr. Speaker, we have looked at this issue. We continue to talk to
first responders throughout my district and throughout the Nation. We
know that these issues around homeland security are bipartisan, and we
have been able to work on this committee in a manner which we all have
the same goal, which is to make sure this Nation is safe and the
homeland is secure.
I urge my colleagues to support improving the interoperable
communications at DHS by voting for H.R. 4289. Our communities are
safer when DHS has the capabilities necessary to effectively carry out
its mission. Mr. Speaker, we always have to make sure that we keep our
first responders safe.
Mr. Speaker, interoperable communications capabilities are essential
to DHS' ability to carry out its mission on a day-to-day basis when
disaster strikes. H.R. 4289 would put DHS on the path to achieving
cross-component interoperable communications, and I urge my colleagues
to support this measure. We must protect our protectors. Our first
responders deserve the ability to communicate with each other.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, it is vital that the various component agencies of the
Department of Homeland Security are able to communicate on a daily
basis, and particularly in times of crisis. As the ranking member has
pointed out, it is not only our first responders, but all of our
Federal agencies that deal with crisis daily.
Right now, numerous components, including being led in part by ICE,
FEMA, and CBP, are working together to respond to the influx of
unaccompanied alien children across our southern border. They must
communicate together with one another. It is so important as they
address this crisis. This is just one example of the latest reason why
communications interoperability must be achieved and maintained between
and among Department of Homeland Security's components.
I urge all Members to join the ranking member and myself in
supporting this very important bipartisan legislation.

{time} 1730

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Will the gentlewoman yield?
Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana. I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Let me just indicate that I have just arrived and I
wanted to support all of the bills, including yours.
If I might just make one comment about the preclearance bill, which
we have all worked very hard on. I want to thank Mr. Payne and Mrs.
Brooks for their leadership, and just make the point that we have
worked in a bipartisan manner in Homeland Security very effectively.
I also wanted to make mention in particular of the bill that I worked
on extensively, H.R. 3488, the Preclearance Authorization Act, and to
indicate that this is a bill in which the Secretary of Homeland
Security may establish and conduct preclearance operations. It is
imperative, as we seek to push out our Nation's borders.
So we have had a vigorous discussion about how you utilize these
preclearance sites. I think it comes to mind with some of the sites in
the Middle East. And in light of where we are today, with TSA having to
put in place new requirements because of the potential threat, I think
this is a very positive step, as I do of all the bills, including ones
dealing with interoperability, which we dealt with during the tragedy
of 9/11.
I want to again thank Ranking Member Payne and the full committee
chair and ranking member for their leadership.
Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana. Reclaiming my time, I reiterate that I urge
all Members to join Ranking Member Payne and I in supporting this
bipartisan legislation.
The gentlewoman from Texas has been very involved as well on the
issues involving the unaccompanied alien children and interoperable
communications issues. I appreciate her comments, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my
support for H.R. 4289, the ``Department of Homeland Security
Interoperable Communications Act.''
One of the major lessons of the September 11th attacks was that
operable and interoperable communications are imperative to an
effective response.
Simply put, when law enforcement and other first responders have
interoperable communications during an incident or disaster, lives are
saved.
As a Nation, we have invested over $13 billion on interoperable
communications. However, the goal of achieving interoperability
continues to evade us--even at the Department of Homeland Security, the
Federal agency that is in charge of driving efforts to achieve
interoperability at the Federal, State, and local levels.
In November 2012, the Office of the Inspector General reported that
DHS' interoperable communications capability was deficient.
For example, of the radios examined during the OIG's audit, only 20
percent of them were set up to use the common channel.
The Inspector General recommended that stronger Departmental
governance be established to ensure communications policies are fully
implemented.
At the time, DHS explicitly rejected the OIG recommendation that a
stronger governing structure be established and, instead, insisted that
its existing structures were sufficient.
Nevertheless, the interoperability problem at DHS persists to this
day.
This past May, Inspector General John Roth appeared before the
Committee on Homeland Security and said: ``I am frankly concerned that
as we speak today a Secret Service agent in New York can't get on his
radio and talk to a Federal Protective Service officer in New York or a
CBP officer in El Paso can't talk to a Homeland Security Investigations
Agent in the same city.''
H.R. 4289 would require the Department to undertake the planning and
oversight necessary to ensure that achievement of interoperability
within DHS.

[[Page H5859]]

I would like to congratulate Subcommittee Ranking Member Payne, Jr.
and Chairwoman Brooks for their commitment to addressing this critical
issue. I wish them success in their efforts and urge my colleagues to
support H.R. 4289.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Homeland
Security Committee, I rise in support of H.R. 4289, the ``Department of
Homeland Security Interoperable Communications Act,'' which will help
ensure the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) achieves cross-
component interoperability.
This bill implements several recommendations contained in a 2012
report of the DHS Inspector General on the status and quality of
interoperable radio communications.
A major finding of the report is that DHS has spent over $430 million
in the past 9 years for communication purposes but it still does not
``have interoperable communications for daily operations, planned
events, and emergencies.''
The IG report also found that 99% (478 out of 479) of radio users
surveyed could not find the DHS common channel because the components
did not ``effectively inform them'' of the correct channel.
That is why it is important that we vote today to implement the
following specific recommendations from the report:
1. Create a structure with the necessary authority to ensure that the
components achieve interoperability.
2. Create a structure with the necessary authority to ensure that the
components achieve interoperability.
Because the mission of DHS is to ensure that our homeland is safe,
secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards, effective
communication within the organization is crucial.
According to the IG, the reason for this lack of communication is
that DHS's efforts to achieve department-wide interoperable
communications capability have been undermined by excessive reliance
upon on Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) and voluntary participation by
communications task forces and working groups.
This means that various agencies within DHS do not have a
standardized set of policies regarding radios and the department's
leadership has not been successful in enforcing adherence to those
policies by all department components.
Although the IG urged DHS to implement a stronger enforcement
structure, DHS has not adopted this recommendation, insisting instead
that its existing structure is effective.
Plainly, it is not.
H.R. 4289 follows the recommendation from the report and ensures that
DHS can achieve cross-component interoperability by:
Directing the Undersecretary to submit to Congress a strategy for
achieving Department-wide interoperability within 120 days of
enactment.
Report to Congress within 220 days, and biannually thereafter, on the
progress of efforts to implement the Department-wide interoperability
strategy.
Since its founding, the Department of Homeland Security has overcome
many challenges as an organization but much more progress must be made
regarding effective inter-operable communication between the federal,
state, and local agencies.
Athough not a panacea, H.R. 4289 is a step in the right direction
because it will help improve DHS' overall functions so that it can more
effectively protect our people.
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important
legislation.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Brooks) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 4289.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and
nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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