Public Safety Officials See No Room for Compromise as House Takes Up D-Block
A House Communications Subcommittee markup of spectrum legislation appears likely to get pushed into next week, with no markup scheduled so far, public safety officials said during a press conference Monday. A markup was expected Tuesday or Wednesday (CD Sept 28 p13). The bill before the subcommittee does not allocate the 700 MHz D-block to public safety, a top goal of many public safety officials.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
"We don’t know,” said Chief Chris Moore of the San Jose, Calif., Police Department. “We know it’s not going to be tomorrow. It’s highly unlikely it’s going to be Wednesday. It might be next week.” Whenever the hearing happens, first responders plan to attend in force, Moore said. Moore said he remains optimistic that Congress will approve legislation this year launching a national wireless public safety network in the 700 MHz band and giving first responders control of the D-block.
Moore said he has never, in his 30 years as a police officer, seen public safety as united on one issue as it is on public safety legislation. “Although it has taken us longer, and there is always some concern until legislation is passed, I am confident that it is that important of an issue and Congress knows that,” he said.
Tom Ridge, the first Secretary of Homeland Security, said “it’s about time” Congress acts on spectrum legislation and gives first responders the D-block. “This problem pre-existed long before Sept. 11, 2001,” Ridge said. “What is really rather remarkable is it took a horrific, dramatic event, that caught the entire nation unaware, to learn about … the tragedy associated with first responders being unable to communicate within the building and from tower to tower.” The technology has long existed to improve emergency communications, Ridge said. “It’s not a matter of technology. It’s a matter of political will.” Ridge said he regrets that the “sense of urgency” and “sense of disbelief” people felt when they learned first responder lives “were unquestionably lost” Sept. 11 because of communications issues has been lost in the ensuing years.
"I believe that we're just watching the process work and that at the end of the day the special interests will take second place to public safety,” said Chief Jeff Johnson, executive director of the Western Fire Chiefs Association. Whatever happens, “we won’t go away,” he said. “Public safety will not leave this alone. … We're going to notice where our support comes form and we're going to notice where our support does not come from.”
"When all is said and done, Congress will act and will do the right thing,” said Charles Ramsey, chief of the Philadelphia Police Department. “The need is definitely there.” Ramsey said he does not see any room for compromise on the D-block. “This is something we can’t afford to lose,” he said. “The American public can’t afford for us not to get this D-block.” Ramsey also urged members of Congress to “rise above partisan politics” since “there’s a lot at stake here.”