FEMA Overhaul Debate Stalls Funds for Interoperable Radios

FEMA OVERHAUL DEBATE STALLS FUNDS FOR INTEROPERABLE RADIOS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Spencer S. Hsu]
House Republicans are blocking an attempt to spend $3.1 billion to help the nation's police and fire agencies communicate in emergencies as Congress debates a proposed overhaul of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. As both parties intensified the election-season rhetoric over national security, Democrats accused GOP leaders of shortchanging the well-documented need to improve communication among first responders. Republicans acknowledged that they do not want to spend billions prematurely, saying more planning and coordination are needed. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff rebuffed calls for dedicated federal grants to upgrade equipment, coordinate plans, train emergency workers and adapt common technology standards. Instead, he said, state and local leaders must first agree on radio codes and protocols. "This is not, frankly, a technology issue," Chertoff told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Tuesday. "This is an issue of having community leaders come to an agreement." The inability of police and firefighters to talk by radio was a critical factor after the 2001 World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, according to the Sept. 11 commission.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/13/AR2006091302027.html
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