Lawmakers steam over delays in public-safety grant program

The House Homeland Security Committee asked the Bush administration to explain why implementation of a $1 billion public-safety wireless interoperability grant program continues to be delayed, with lawmakers expressing particular concern about Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff’s admission that his department and the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration will not meet a Sept. 30-mandated deadline for dispersing first-responder funds to cities and states.
In their letter to Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and ranking member Peter King (R-N.Y.) said they were especially annoyed by the lack of responsiveness at NTIA.
“Last June, the committee staff was briefed by representatives of the NTIA and told that a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security was forthcoming and would be completed by Sept. 30, 2006. To date, the MOU has not been completed and neither department has provided this committee with an explanation for the delay. After repeated requests, NTIA informed the committee staff on Feb. 1 that the Department of Commerce is still in the midst of ‘ongoing discussions’ with the Department of Homeland Security regarding the implementation of the program and adherence to the Sept. 30, 2007 deadline,” the letter stated.
“NTIA will respond to the letter from Congress about the Public Safety Interoperable Communications grant program soon,” said NTIA spokesman Todd Sedmak. “We recently told Congress that NTIA expects to make grant awards no later than Sept. 30, 2007, as required by the Call Home Act of 2006.”
The Department of Homeland Security was not immediately available for comment.
“The delay in the coordination of the grant program flies in the face of two acts of Congress and the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission,” Thompson and King stated. “Meanwhile, first responders are left in limbo while federal agencies and departments delay on establishing the billion-dollar interoperability grant program.”
The two lawmakers directed Chertoff and Gutierrez to provide answers to several questions by next Monday, the same day Chertoff pledged to have the MOU between DHS and Commerce completed. Chertoff also has vowed to have public-safety interoperability in place throughout the country by the end of 2008.
Meantime, the Senate Commerce Committee today approved a bill providing guidance to NTIA on the administration of the $1 billion grant program for interoperable public-safety communications.