Congress Prepares to Scrutinize Hawaii False Ballistic Missile Warning Incident
Lawmakers in both houses are gearing up to scrutinize the false alarm about a possible ballistic missile headed for Hawaii that caused panic there Saturday. Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, told us Wednesday he's strongly considering legislation aimed at fixing faults in the emergency alert system. The Senate Commerce Committee is aiming for a hearing next week focused on the incident, two Capitol Hill aides said. The House Communications Subcommittee also is planning a to-be-scheduled hearing that will examine the false alert in the context of other public safety telecom issues. The FCC is investigating, as are Hawaii officials (see 1801160054).
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Schatz told us he's working with Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and several members of the Senate Homeland Security Committee on legislation aimed at developing “best practices that cities and states can use” to improve their emergency alert processes. “There were a number of unacceptable mistakes being made but the foundational problem is that this program doesn't exist, and we ought to get it right,” he said. “In the process of getting it right, I hope we can provide best practices and a model for states and cities.” The framework process under consideration may not be “statutory because you want to be able to” adjust it to account for changing technology, “geographic, cultural and other differences,” Schatz said.
Schatz said he was convening a meeting after our deadline Wednesday with officials from the FCC, the departments of Defense and Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other federal agencies “to start” the process of developing that legislation. “We think it should be done legislatively but I don't know that for sure yet,” he said. Schatz also invited other members of Hawaii's congressional delegation to participate in the meeting, so they can “continue to understand what went wrong,” a Hill aide said. Hawaii's two House members -- Democrats Tulsi Gabbard and Colleen Hanabusa -- formally requested a congressional investigation Tuesday. “The chain of failures must be immediately corrected, and those responsible must be held accountable so that this never happens again in Hawaiʻi or anywhere else,” Gabbard tweeted.
Senate Commerce is aiming for a hearing Jan. 25 on the incident and Schatz may hold a February field hearing in Hawaii, two Hill aides said. Both panels likely will help shape any response from Schatz and other senators since “the key here is to first figure out what happened and how it happened and then figure out if there are best practices or gaps in the process that can be improved,” one Hill aide said. “I'm not sure what the answer to any of those questions is.” A Senate Commerce spokesman confirmed the committee “may hold a hearing on the subject.”
A planned House Communications hearing will focus partially on the incident but it will be only one of the issues the subcommittee plans to explore, House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., told reporters. “We're all interested in what went wrong there and figure out how to make sure it doesn't happen again,” he said: “It was sort of shocking to me that one person” could “trigger something that I would say would be more a national sort of alert.” It's “good for us to know how all of that works,” Walden said. He confirmed the panel is inviting FCC commissioners to the hearing. A House Commerce announcement released Tuesday didn't clarify which FCC officials would testify.
Walden questioned whether legislation “is even needed” in response to the false missile alert, but is “happy to work with” Schatz on possible legislation if the hearings identify a specific need. “We just haven't gotten into the weeds yet,” he said: “I don't know if they need any new authority” to address problems with the alerts process. Walden noted that “we used to enter into all these agreements at the local level” when he owned Columbia Gorge Broadcasting.