Since September 11, 2001, successive Congresses have passed legislation regarding technology, funding, spectrum access and other areas critical to emergency communications. Congress first addressed interoperability in the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( P.L. 107-296 ). 108-458 ) that expanded its requirements for action in improving interoperability and public safety communications. Also in response to a recommendation by the 9/11 Commission, Congress set a firm deadline for the release of radio frequency spectrum needed for public safety radios as part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 ( P.L. 109-171 ). These laws provide the base from which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can develop a national public safety communications capability as required by the Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2007 ( P.L. Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act

Acting on recommendations made by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission), Congress included several sections regarding improvements in communications capacity—including clarifications to the Homeland Security Act—in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act ( P.L. 108-458 ). The Secretary of Homeland Security, with the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), was required to prepare a study on strategies to meet public safety and homeland security needs for first responders and all other emergency response providers. Provisions in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 planned for the release of spectrum by February 18, 2009 and created a fund to receive spectrum auction proceeds and disburse designated sums to the Treasury and for other purposes. The funding program has been modified slightly to conform to provisions established in P.L. 110-53 . 109-295 ). 7303 (a) (1) [6 U.S.C. Actions in the 110th Congress

The passage of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 ( P.L. Title XXII revised provisions of the Deficit Reduction Act regarding the nature of programs eligible for grants from the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund, making funds generally available for planning, system designing, and purchasing decisions related to achieving interoperability. National Emergency Communications Plan

Title III of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act established new guidelines for funding, tightened requirements for meeting state and national planning goals, and set a deadline by which interoperable communications must be achieved as part of the National Emergency Communications Plan required by Title VI Subtitle D of P.L. 109-295 . The bill also contains a requirement for the immediate release of the 24 MHz of spectrum for public safety use, now scheduled for 2009, discussed above. Also in the Senate, Senator Charles E. Schumer introduced a bill to ensure adequate funding for high-threat areas ( S. 74 ). The Reliable, Effective, and Sustained Procurement of New Devices for Emergency Responders (RESPONDER) Act of 2008 ( S. 3465 , Wicker) would create a First Responders Interoperable Device Availability Trust Fund to provide grants to purchase interoperable radios for the new public safety network proposed for some of the channels being released in the transition to digital TV. In the House, H.R. Among its provisions, H.R. 130 would create an Advisory Council on First Responders and would also require the Under Secretary of Science and Technology within DHS to conduct a study evaluating the need to assign additional spectrum for use by public safety. 3116 , Representative Stupak) would establish a separate fund within the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund that would be used for public safety communications grants.
Since September 11, 2001, several bills introduced in the U.S. Congress have included provisions to assist emergency communications. Key provisions from a number of these bills have become law.
Legislation addressing communications among first responders focused first on interoperability—the capability of different systems to connect—with provisions in the Homeland Security Act (P.L. 107-296). The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (P.L. 108-458) provided more comprehensive language that included requirements for developing a national approach to achieving interoperability. Some of the legislative requirements were based on recommendations made by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission). Also in response to a 9/11 Commission recommendation regarding the availability of spectrum for radio operations, Congress set a date to release needed radio frequency spectrum by early 2009, as part of the Deficit Reduction Act (P.L. 109-171). The act also provided funding for public safety and for the improvement of 911 systems through a Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund. In a section of the Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2007 (P.L. 109-295, Title VI, Subtitle D), Congress revisited the needs of an effective communications capacity for first responders and other emergency personnel and expanded the provisions of P.L. 108-458. The 109th Congress also passed provisions to improve emergency alerts, incorporated in the Port Security Improvement Act (P.L. 109-347).
In the 110th Congress, the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-53) was passed in the 1st Session. Sections in the act modified and expanded provisions for emergency communications passed in P.L. 109-171 and P.L. 109-295. Among introduced bills that would fund public safety are: S. 74 (Senator Schumer), to ensure adequate funding for high-threat areas; S. 345 (Senator Biden), that would provide funding and includes a requirement for the immediate release of spectrum for public safety use, now scheduled for 2009; S. 3465 (Senator Wicker), to create a First Responders Interoperable Device Availability Trust Fund that would provide grants to purchase interoperable radios for the new public safety network proposed for some of the spectrum made available by the transition to digital TV; H.R. 3116 (Representative Stupak), creating a Public Safety Communications Trust Fund to receive, among other sources of funding, the uncommitted balance remaining in the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund; and H.R. 130, a funding bill for first responders (Representative Frelinghuysen), with a provision that would require the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a study evaluating the need to assign additional spectrum for use by public safety. The bills that carry provisions regarding spectrum are referring, for the most part, to licenses at 700 MHz that were auctioned in January-March 2008; some of the licenses have been assigned to public safety. The proceeds from the auction are to be deposited in the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund, from which mandated disbursements will be made by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The auction grossed approximately $19.6 billion.