WASHINGTON-After years of fighting and lobbying, public safety scored a major victory late last year with the passage of the Enhanced 911 Act, but it now appears to be a hollow victory.
When President George W. Bush presented his budget request to Congress Feb. 7 there was no money for the E911 grants-authorized for $250 million-or to fund a joint program office.
The creation of the joint program office, seen by many in public safety as the key to the advancement of E911, appears to be in slow motion. As negotiated in Congress, the joint program office would be part of both the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in the Department of Commerce and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the Department of Transportation.
“The joint program office, authorized for the first time on Dec. 23, is a priority for NTIA. We understand the importance of the E911 Act, and we believe the joint program office will improve public safety and homeland security. The first step in implementation, as required in the act, is the development of a management plan for the program. We are working with NHTSA to complete that plan,” said NTIA spokesman Clyde Ensslin.
NHTSA did have some 911 funding in the fiscal year 2006 budget request listed as a “new initiative” but it now appears it is actually money being spent this year. The National Association of Emergency Medical Services Physicians sent out an invitation on Jan. 31-a week before the Bush budget request was presented to Congress-to begin the process of spending the $10 million listed in the NHTSA budget as a new initiative.
An NHTSA spokeswoman was unaware of the joint program office, suggesting that Congress was dealing with the funding.
Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), co-chairman of the Congressional E911 Caucus, told an Internet summit last week that E911 remains a priority but when asked later what he thought about it not being in the budget, he refused to comment.
E911 advocates tried to put a positive spin on the situation, noting the bill wasn’t signed until Dec. 23-well into the budget cycle.
“The bill was passed late in the congressional cycle. Therefore, the White House didn’t have time to react to it during the budget cycle so we are going to work with Congress to make sure it gets funded,” said Stephen Seitz, director of government affairs for the National Emergency Number Association.
But Gregory Rhode, former assistant Commerce secretary for communications and information in the Clinton administration and now executive director of the E911 Institute, perhaps had the real answer. The Bush administration opposed the 911 bill.
Requests for comment from the White House were unsuccessful.
During the fight to get the bill passed, the White House had said it was unnecessary, and that public-safety answering points could get money for E911 upgrades from homeland-security grants. This would appear to be difficult since first-responder grants were slashed in the Bush budget request.
“I will work to ensure that there is adequate funding for first responders and local agencies to protect their communities. The president’s budget falls short in that regard,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
Harry Stoffer, Washington bureau chief for RCR’s sister publication Automotive News, contributed to this report.
