White House Opposes Democrats’ Proposal for NTIA
The White House is unhappy at network interoperability provisions in a bill (S-4) set for a Senate vote next week. Implementing changes proposed for NTIA’s $1 billion interoperability fund would “undermine the Administration’s ability to implement the most effective program,” said a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) on S-4, an omnibus measure encompassing 9/11 Commission recommendations that appears headed for trouble with the Administration.
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Senate Republicans are threatening to block the bill with a filibuster, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Fri. in a statement. “It is time for Republicans to stop carrying water for the President and start working to make America more secure,” he said. The White House statement condemned an amendment to change handling of an interoperability program set up by the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act.
That change, combined with the Sept. 30 deadline set by Congress to allocate $1 billion in grants for communications interoperability, would hinder management of the program, the SAP said. Instead, NTIA and the Dept. of Homeland Security should have the “flexibility that is needed to allocate funds based on technical merit” to promote a workable program, the statement said. The Administration opposes the “duplication within the Dept. of Commerce of existing DHS communications interoperability initiatives,” it said. Senate Commerce Committee officials weren’t available Fri. to explain the problem.
The bill would direct NTIA to rely on grant guidance by DHS’s Safecom program to boost consistency in grant evaluation criteria. Safecom is an emergency communications program. The measure would expand grant eligibility to all proposals designed to improve emergency communications interoperability, erasing restrictions on systems or equipment using reallocated public safety spectrum.
NTIA could allocate up to $100 million to a reserve for improving emergency workers’ communications capabilities when addressing disasters, the bill says. The FCC would have to report on the feasibility of a backup system for emergency communications during system failures. And the Commerce Dept. inspector general would be required each year to assess NTIA handling of the interoperability grant program.
The bill would clarify FCC and NTIA authority in regard to preserving life and property through use of communications. It would encourage NTIA to make use of existing federal resources in carrying out the program.
An amendment to the bill that the Senate approved Fri. would expand reporting requirements for interoperable communications, by requiring the State Dept. to report on the status of radio licensing between the U.S. and Canada. Offered by Sen. Sununu (R-N.H.), the amendment is part of an effort to ease cross-border public safety communications. The bill contains another Sununu-sponsored amendment that would require the FCC to examine the applications process for public safety radio licenses near borders.