Committees Battle Over Interoperability Program
Old jealousies over committee handling of matters related to interoperability flared Tues. as the House took up the 9/11 Commission bill (HR-1). Rep. Stupak (D-Mich.) voiced concern at proposals in the bill he said would cause an overlap of jurisdictional interest “in a number of areas.” Homeland Security Committee Chmn. Thompson (D-Miss.) agrees committees should work together, he said.
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At issue is the bill’s provision to create an interoperability program run under the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS). This would be separate from an NTIA program funded with $1 billion allocated from the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act. The Commerce Committee oversees NTIA; the Homeland Security Committee oversees DHS. Many safety groups want the interoperability program consolidated within DHS.
The White House called a new interoperability program “unnecessary and potentially detrimental to existing grant programs” because it could sap existing programs. Praising House desire to improve first responder interoperability, the White House said interoperable communications gets the highest allocation of federal funds granted states and urban areas and is among the Administration’s highest priorities.
In 2006 Democrats sought $5.8 billion in interoperability money; Republicans resisted the effort. The proposal in the new bill, by Speaker Pelosi (D-Cal.), doesn’t set a funding level. Pelosi declined to set a price tag when introducing the package.
Meanwhile, interoperability funding advocates told the Senate Homeland Security Committee that the govt. should do better at organizing and funding public safety programs. N.Y. Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged the committee to press the U.S. to pay for his city’s wireless emergency communications system, which under current rules doesn’t qualify for aid.