The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will auction for private use the segment of the 700 MHz frequency band known as the D Block, once intended for public emergency use only, and will recommend that Congress fund a public service safety network. FCC representatives announced their Public Safety and Homeland Security component, ahead of the release of the entire National Broadband Plan, in March.
The D Block failed to sell during an extended auction in early 2008 to a private company, which would have had to create a public service safety network. The minimum cost and the terms established by the FCC and its consultants were considered excessive by the private sector. The FCC has held the D Block since then but has abandoned the original plan as unworkable. “The private sector simply is not going to build a nationwide, state-of-the-art, interoperable broadband network for public safety on its own dime,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.
The FCC’s broadband team instead recommended auctioning the D Block and ensuring the public safety sector access to the entire band through roaming and priority access arrangements. The Broadband Plan also recommends that Congress consider significant public funding—$12 to $16 billion during 10 years—for the creation of a federal grant program to help support network construction and funding for the operation and evolution of the broadband network.
The plan includes an Emergency Response Interoperability Center at the FCC to establish a technical framework that will guarantee nationwide interoperability, including nationwide coverage, reserve capacity, needed redundancy and reliability through roaming and priority access on commercial broadband networks.
Genachowski’s comments are at hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-296504A1.pdf. Comments by Ret. Rear Admiral James Arden Barnett Jr., chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission, are at hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-296532A1.pdf.
Responder funding mixed in president’s proposed budget
Several fire service programs faced reduced funding under President Barack Obama’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2011, sent to Congress, marking the beginning of the federal budget process. The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
- The president proposed to fund the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response at $305 million each, less than the $390 million and $420 million, respectively, the programs were appropriated for in 2010.
- Urban Search and Rescue Teams would be reduced from $32.5 to $28 million.
- Rural Fire Assistance would be reduced from $6 to $3 million.
- The FLAME Fund—aimed to fight catastrophic wildfires—would be reduced from $474 to $345 million and would be used after a fully funded, inflation-adjusted 10-year average of suppression costs is exhausted.
Program areas that would receive increased funding include:
- The U.S. Fire Administration budget would be increased slightly, from $45.59 million to $45.93 million.
- The Urban Areas Security Initiative would increase from $887 million to $1.1 billion. This includes $50 million for Operation Stonegarden, a U.S. border protection preparedness program.
- The State Homeland Security Grant Program would increase to $1.05 billion, up from $950 million.
- Emergency Management Performance Grants would increase by $5 million, to $345 million.
In addition, a new program, the Presidential Wildland Fire Contingency Reserve, would be funded at $357 million.
EMS funding is also mixed. Programs that would see their budgets remain steady include:
- EMS for Children at $21.5 million.
- Traumatic Brain Injury at $9.93 million.
- Rural Hospital Flex Grants at $41.2 million.
- Enhance 9-1-1 Activities at $1.25 million.
- Preventive Block Grants at $102 million.
- Hospital Preparedness Cooperative Grants at $426 million.
- Rural and Community Access to Emergency Devices at $2.52 million.
Programs that would see their budgets increase, though some only slightly, would be:
- Rural Outreach Grants, from $56 million to $57.2 million.
- Public Health and Social Services Preparedness and Emergency Operations, from $33 million to $44.1 million.
- The National Disaster Medical System, from $56 million to $56.5 million.
- The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, from $340 million to $476 million.
- Pandemic and Influenza Preparedness, from $341 million to $395 million.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s EMS Division, from $2.144 million to $2.174 million.
- BioWatch, from $89.5 million to $173.5 million.
- NEMSIS implementation, from $1.5 million to $1.8 million.
Programs that would lose funding compared to the current fiscal year include:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Injury Prevention and Control program, from $148.6 million to $147.5 million.
- The CDC’s Terrorism Preparedness and Response program, from $1.549 billion to $1.465 billion.
- The National Biosurveillance Integration System, from $13 million to $7 million.
Each house of Congress will produce its own budget, which must be reconciled before a final congressional budget is sent to the president for approval.
Framework for Homeland Security future
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) delivered the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR) Report to Congress on Feb. 1, as required by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended. The purpose of the QHSR is to provide the strategic framework to guide the activities of all participants in homeland security toward a common end.
The document offers a vision for a secure homeland and outlines goals required under each mission area. The mission priorities will guide a review of the DHS to align its programmatic activities and organizational structure with the framework established in the QHSR. The final step in the process will result in the DHS fiscal year 2012 budget submission.
The five homeland security missions, each with associated goals detailed in the QHSR, are:
- Preventing terrorism and enhancing security.
- Securing and managing our borders.
- Enforcing and administering U.S. immigration laws.
- Safeguarding and securing cyberspace.
- Ensuring resilience to disasters.
These missions are enterprise-wide and not limited solely to the DHS, according to the document, which is at dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/qhsr_report.pdf.
Draft recovery framework release
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has released a draft of the National Disaster Recovery Framework, which is designed to establish a common understanding of roles, responsibilities and resources available for effective recovery. Designed for anyone involved in disaster recovery, the document is produced in conjunction with the interagency Long Term Disaster Recovery Working Group and presents resources, capabilities and best practices for recovering from disaster.
The draft is based on ideas from all levels of government, the academic and emergency management communities, the private sector, and various associations and organizations. It reflects core principles as significant themes and makes the following recommendations, among others:
- Local governments should have primary responsibility for disaster recovery in their community.
- Preparation for recovery is critical and is an ongoing responsibility for all levels of government, individuals, businesses and community organizations.
- Communities should implement mitigation and resilience strategies that minimize their risk to hazards.
Ideas were collected through nationwide meetings, online engagement and video teleconferences in five key cities. The draft document was also published on the Internet for public and additional stakeholder comment during the month of February.
The Working Group is composed of approximately 20 federal agencies and offices and will advise President Barack Obama on ways to improve the capabilities of individuals, communities and the nation’s economy to withstand and recover from disasters.
The draft document is at disasterrecoveryworkinggroup.gov/ndrf.pdf.
People against driving distracted
The creation of the first national nonprofit organization devoted to raising awareness about the dangers of distracted driving, FocusDriven, was announced by the Department of Transportation (DOT) secretary and the National Safety Council president.
FocusDriven is an outgrowth of the DOT-sponsored September 2009 national Distracted Driving Summit in Washington, D.C., which brought together affected families, law enforcement members, researchers, public officials and others. The new organization is modeled on Mothers Against Drunk Driving and will work to change societal attitudes toward driving while distracted through the use of education, advocacy and the evaluation of new technologies. Find out more information at focusdriven.org.
The official government anti-distracted driving website at the DOT is distraction.gov. The site offers statistics, sample laws for use by states to ban cell phone use and texting while driving, and other information.
