From ARRL News:
Emergency Communications Bill Includes Amateur Radio as Interoperability Agent
NEWINGTON, CT, Jul 27, 2006–A bill to enhance emergency communication at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) includes Amateur Radio operators as part of an overall effort to provide interoperability among responders. The 21st Century Emergency Communications Act of 2006 (HR 5852), an amendment to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, passed the US House this week on a 414-2 vote and has gone to the Senate. Its sponsor, Rep David G. Reichert (R-WA) — who chairs the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science and Technology — says his legislation is designed “to improve the ability of emergency responders to communicate with each other” — interoperability.
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His measure also would require the DHS to strengthen its efforts to improve emergency communications. HR 5852 calls for Amateur Radio operators to be part of a “Regional Emergency Communications Coordination Working Group” (RECC Working Group) that would be attached to each regional Department of Homeland Security office. The RECC Working Groups would advise federal and state homeland security officials.
Membership in the RECC Working Groups would include state and local officials; law enforcement, first responders such as fire departments; 911 centers; hospitals; ambulance services; communications equipment vendors, telephone, wireless satellite, broadband and cable service providers; public utilities; broadcasters; emergency evacuation transit services; state emergency managers, homeland security directors or representatives of state administrative agencies; local emergency managers or homeland security directors, and “other emergency response providers or emergency support providers as deemed appropriate.”
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According to the bill, the RECC Working Groups would function to assess the survivability, sustainability, and interoperability of local emergency communications systems to meet the goals of the National Emergency Communications Report. That report would be developed by the Assistant Secretary for Emergency Communications “to provide recommendations regarding how the United States can accelerate the deployment of interoperable emergency communications nationwide.”
So in other words, this will make it so FEMA can’t stop hams from doing what they were trained to do.
Interesting, but can’t they do better than just make us a group of advisors about the “survivability, sustainability, and interoperability” of local emergency communications? I’m not so sure that this verbiage says that we’ll actually be able to communicate with emergency services such as police and fire. Also, according to FCC Part 97 rules, hams CANNOT have interoperability with police and fire, unless in a dire emergency, in which case you can use any means at your disposal to call for help.
By the time it becomes “law”, if it hasn’t already, the wording will have changed at least a thousand times.
But yeah, there are problems with it.