Death of bin Laden could sway public-safety debate

The death of Osama bin Laden could sway the debate over an expensive communications network for police and firefighters, analysts say.

Public-safety advocates welcomed President Obama's announcement of bin Laden’s death and reiterated their calls for Congress to swiftly devote a valuable chunk of airwaves to an emergency network that they say would have prevented the deaths of many first responders in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), who has made the communications network his top priority this year, called for a renewed focus on making sure public-safety agencies get speedy broadband so they can talk to each other in the event of similar attacks. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Pete King (R-NY) said the network might be even more vital after bin Laden's death than before. Charles Dowd, communications chief for the New York Police Department (NYPD), said the news of bin Laden's death should spur Congress to act this year. The Public Safety Alliance, a collection of influential advocacy groups, also drew on the occasion of bin Laden’s death to push for the network.