Transcripts For CSPAN2 First Responder Communications 20171013

And your attendance here today and we look forward to hearing from you. The subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness response medications will come to order. The subcommittee is meeting today to receive testimony on the state of First Responders medications. I now recognize myself for an Opening Statement. I want to welcome all witnesses here this morning on an issue that is vital to our Homeland Security. The ability of our First Responders to communicate. As noted in the 2006 National Baseline survey, there is a direct correlation between effective medications, interoperability and First Responders ability to save lives. In my hometown of new york city, we know ther this all too well. Both the first, both the office of emergency medications and First Responder network of authority were established in the wake of the medications failures of 911 and later in hurricane katrina. We have made a great deal of progress since those fateful disasters. States and localities have invested billions of dollars in their Communication Networks, including governance, training and equipment. The office of Emergency Communications has completed two National Emergency medications plans and has provided guidance and Technical Assistance to state and local stakeholders. This year, we have reached another milestone. First net, in its fifth year since its establishment in the middle class tax relief and job creation act awarded a contract to at t to build out the nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network and to date, nearly half of the states and territories have committed to opt into that network. We know this work is making a difference. In contrast to 911 in hurricane katrina, First Responder networks, for the most part remained operable during the response to super storm sandy. Even while commercial networks experienced outages. It is my understanding that First Responder networks were largely able to withstand the impacts of Hurricane Harvey and irma. Im interested in hearing from our witnesses and their assessments of how these networks fared during the recent hurricanes. Despite these advancements, challenges remain. Earlier this year, the subcommittee joined with the subcommittee on Cyber Security and Infrastructure Protection to hold a roundtable on cyber risks to emergency medication networks. Weve seen the evolution of communications technology, providing enhanced capabilities for First Responders, but with these benefits come the risk of Cyber Security vulnerabilities , as many of these systems and applications are ipbased and interconnected. We must ensure our nations First Responders are aware of Cyber Security threats and can work to address them. As we prepare for First Responders to have access to the nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, we cannot forget that First Responders will continue to to depend on land mobile radio. Im concerned about a requirement that First Responder Radio Networks operating on the tv and must migrate off that spectrum by 2021. This will have Significant Impact on a number of major metropolitan areas including new york city. Studies have suggested there isnt sufficient alternative for these jurisdictions to use. In taking steps forward, with the Public Safety Broadband Networks, we must ensure we are and not taking steps backward, a missioncritical Voice Network on which First Responders rely on. Im looking forward to our witnesses assessment of the current state of First Responders medications and what more needs to be done to ensure First Responders have the conductivity and information to continue to serve our communities. The chair now recognizes the gentleman from new jersey, my friend mr. Payne for an Opening Statement that he may have. The morning mr. Chairman. We will try to accommodate you so when your voice is leaving you,. It has left. Youve been on cnn and nbc in the past several days and i would assume your voice would be going. I want to thank you, first for holding todays hearing on First Responders medication. This is the subcommittees first hearing on Emergency Communications since the 113th congress. I am eager to hear about the progress both the office of emergency medications and first not have made in advancing interoperable Emergency Committee case and efforts. Since i joined this committee in 2013, i have been a strong advocate to improve interoperable emergency medication capabilities. From ensuring communication capability among the components of the department of Homeland Security to helping bolster state and regional governance structures that inform emergency to medication plans and procedures. That said, i have been concerned to learn that the dwindling number of dedicated fulltime statewide coordinators or swigs, i am concerned about the reduction in fulltime swigs and the disturbing, and the disbanding of other governance structures might undermine progress made toward improving emergency medication capabilities since 911. The related government structures have been integral in ensuring emergency medication plans are correlated, uptodat uptodate, and exercise. Every First Responder i have ever spoken to has told me that the key to interoperability is not technology, its governance. Im interested to know why states are no longer funding fulltime swick, and what congress can do to help mitigate the impact of last robust governance. I am pleased that new jersey was among the first states to opt into first net. I am encouraged by the potential it holds for First Responders and look forward to seeing it revolutionize emergency medications. The capabilities and promises will save lives if the network is built and managed properly. That said, i am concerned about requirement that First Responders in certain major metropolitan areas, like newark and jersey city vacate the tbn by 2023. Unless congress acts, First Responders in my district will get kicked off their spectrum and be forced to relocate. Before i close, mr. Chairman, i would like to send my thoughts to those suffering in puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands. As Ranking Member of Emergency Preparedness, it is clear to me that something in our National Preparedness doctrine has failed. I look forward to having the opportunity for this subcommittee to examine what went wrong in puerto rico and the virgin islands, and why so we can make sure people in our country never suffer like this again. With that and i think the witnesses for being here today and i yield back the balance of my time. The gentleman yields, if any other members attend, they will be reminded that Opening Statements may be submitted for the record. We are pleased to have a distinguished panel before us on this important topic. Admiral ronald served as the director of the department of Homeland Security office of emergency medication, a position which he has held since november of 2012. Prior to joining oec, the admiral served as the United States coast guard commandant to Human Resources and for command, control medications, computers and Information Technology which is the coast guards chief information officer. They have a great coast guard presence on staten island. We love our coast is. Thank you. Mr. Ed parkinson serves as the director of Government Affairs for the First Responder Network Authority first met. They are responsible for intergovernmental relations with local, state and federal organizations. Prior to joining first net, mr. Parkinson served for five years as a professional staff member for the house Homeland Security committee. With his primary area of responsibility in the field of First Responder communications , ad, welcome back. Mr. Mark goldstein serves as a director of physical infrastructure issues at the Government Accountability office where he is responsible for the gao work in the areas of Government Property and telecommunications. Prior to joining gao, mr. Goldstein held positions with the district of columbia, financial control board, the Internal Revenue service and the committee on Homeland Security and governmental affairs. Welcome. The witnesses full written statement will appear in the record and now the chair recognizes the admiral for five minutes. Thank you chairman donovan, Ranking Member pain and distinguish members of the subcommittee. It is a pleasure for me to be here today to provide you an overview of what the office of Emergency Communications has done since our creation ten years ago. And more specifically, within the last three years since the previous hearing to improve Emergency Committee case and interoperability nationwide. Public Safety Communications is going through unprecedented change with the deployment of first not nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, next generation 911, cellular alert and Warning Systems to ensure all the systems work seamlessly together, we promulgated the 2014 national Emergency Communications plan. It is the roadmap to ensuring interoperability. The plan was developed by sitcom, a group comprised of Public Safety leaders, representing the nations First Responder community and government leaders who support Public Safety. To implement the goals and objectives of the 2014 plan, we assist states and territories with developing and implementing their states communication operability plans which are aligned to the national plan. It is essential that state and territory plans cover all Public Safety Communications Systems to ensure information seamlessly flows between them. There have been obstacles in doing so. The majority of the state ride interoperability coordinators, which we refer to as swick are responsible for just land mobile radio and it has been difficult to develop governance structures that conclude state officials were responsible for the other Public Safety medication systems. Additionally we are seeing many swigs being assigned multiple roles. To address these issues, we partnered with the National Governors association to conduct the policy academy on improving Emergency Communications interoperability in five states. Recommendations from the policy academy included empower swick to ensure nation with first net point of contact and 911 administrator. Reinvigorate an active governance body, revitalize the statewide medications interoperability plan and engage state legislators to promote understanding and support of the plan. We will continue to work with nga to help address the policy academy recommendations. We are also working with safe, to upgrade the Communications Unit within the incident command system. It is the common way all responders organize and operate during an event or disaster. Currently Communications Unit is responsible for radio interoperability. Were updating it to include cellula cellular which will support first net capability. To date we have trained over 7000 medications leaders across the country. Once we update the program to include broadband system, we will provide Refresher Training that provides new material. They not only provide new capabilities but also new risks. Todays citizens cannot send a picture to their 911 center of their lost child or loved one nor can it be sent out to Public Safety or citizens to help search for that person, but with oecs efforts to drive interoperability across all Public Safety medications which include land radio, nexgen 911 and Public Safety Broadband Network and next generation alert and system, this capability will be available to citizens across the nation as the systems are deployed. This is just one of many that examine interoperable multiple media to medications for Public Safety and citizens. By achieving the goals and objections of the medications plan, these lifesaving benefits will become a reality this subcommittee and committee have been excellent partners in this effort and i look forward to continuing the conversation about how best to carry out our national effort. Once again, thank you chairman donovan, Ranking Member pain and distinguish members of this committee to testify here today. Thank you tour servic for your service to this nation. Now recognize mr. Parkinson for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Its a pleasure to be here and thank you for inviting me to testify before the committee today. My name is edward parkinson. On the government director of Public Affairs and in my previous life i was sitting behind these members so its different for me to be sitting on the side but im looking forward to hearing. Since i last testified before the subcommittee in novembe november 2014, we have made a numbe enormous amount progress since then. Over the past three years theyve developed a clear path forward to the successful deployment of the national Public Safety Broadband Network. Having consulted with all 56 states and territories and the district of columbia, met with many tribal nations, successfully completed an open transparent and competitive procurement, selected a publicprivate partner in the shape of at t, and delivered state plans and began the opt in process. While enormous amount of work has gone into the past few years, we have much to yet accomplish. The men and women at first net remain allocated to delivering the network for nations First Responders as quickly as possible. As storms have brought devastation to texas, florida and puerto rico, and the inconceivable tragedy that took place in las vegas they all show us that communication is now considered by all of us, and not just Public Safety , as much a necessity as power or other utility. What was known prior to 911 and what is abundantly clear today is that we need to get the best possible tools into the hands of the men and women who protect us and keep us safe. The First Net Network has been able to withstand, must be able to withstand natural and manmade disasters so that when lawenforcement officers are running into harms way or when a firefighter is running into a fire, they can trust the technology that we put in their hands. One of the reasons why the process was so thorough was that we are not only looking for the best deals but were looking for that partner who understood the high bar that we were setting and was willing to step up for Public Safety, at t was that partner. We were very encouraged by the early work of what we have achieved with at t and given the length of the contract i would also like to acknowledge our partners in the state. We are deepening our partnership to interact with local Public Safety users who will ultimately be the end users of the network. They will allow for Public Safety to take advantage of of the evolving nature of medications. First responders medication needs are more critical day by day they will work handinhand with Public Safety and our partners in the state to ensure it meets their needs today, tomorrow and the next 25 years. While there has been much success, there is still much to do. We have to strive for more, to do a better job. Tribal consultation is also a key part of our planning. As part of the commitment to engaging with the 567 federally recognized tribes, they have adopted the tribal consultation policy to ensure that tribal Emergency Responders are able to access the benefits of this nationwide system once we have opt in from the governors. Ultimately, the most important action is to continue to work everyday with the First Responders and always listen to Public Safety. After all, this is their network. We are dedicated to delivering what congress has challenged us to achieve, the delivery of a nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, something that has never been done before specific to Public Safety. Its fair to say that the hard things are hard, but we are up for the challenge and so i ask of you here today that Going Forward, and judge us by our record. So far, i can speak for all of us when i say we are proud of what we have achieved, but we also know we have much to go. Thank you again for your support and i look forward to answering any questions you may have. Thank you. We now recognize mr. Goldstein for five minutes. Thank you chairman donovan. Ranking member pain and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss our june 2017 report. We have previously reported and testified on first net, most recently in july 2017 on the latest report during the hearing held by the Senate Commerce committee. My remarks today are based on our june 2017 report which examine the effort to establish and finance the network, describe stakeholder views on network reliability, security and interoperability challenges, assess the plan to oversee the deployment of the network by the network contractor. First net agreed with our recommendations and its september 2017 report on actions they are taking to implement them. Among the findings of the following. They have conducted key efforts to establish the network, the request for the proposal in awarding the contract to at t. They will be responsible for the overall design, operation and evolution. State officials gao contacts were generally satisfied with the efforts to engage them however tribal stake holders express concern that they are not fully engaged in effective medication with tribes and individuals with firsthand knowledge are not able to represent tribal views directly. As a result of our report, the person that fully intends to explore stakeholder concerns by adopting tribal wide consultation policy as mr. Parkinson reference. According to stakeholders, first net faces various challenges to ensure the Network Viability and interoperability. For example, stakeholders raise concerns related to providing coverage to rural areas and buildings underground ensuring the Networks Overall resilience and Cyber Security, and managing frameworks for user identity, credentialing abusers and Access Management and prioritization on the network. First net has taken action to address these challenges, such as by opening a test lab to test Public Safety devices and applications before deploying them on the network. The majority of stakeholders were satisfied but many noted much uncertainty remains and its overall viability. Substantial unknowns regarding how many Public Safety users will adopt and the extent to which at t will be successful in monetizing it to maintain revenue from commercial users and the extent to which it will be sufficient or appropriate in relation to the capital needed to build, operate and maintain the network. Third, they established offices to oversee at t, develop policies and procedures to guide administration including management and oversight and is receiving assistance from another federal agency with contracted ministration experience. First net plans to assume full responsibility in the future. For example they established the Program Network office to oversee contract deliverables. Although this office to perform functions they lacked reasonable assurance that they will have resources to handle increases in responsibilities over time. Planning for and assigning adequate resources, including people, and assessing resource needs is a key practice for planning and executing effective contract oversight. As a result of a report they tend to perform along staffing assessment so that it can be in a better position to respond to staffing changes and that it assumes full responsibility. First nets continued oversight of at t performance will be important given the scope of the network in the 25 year duration of the contract. This concludes my Opening Statements. I now recognize myself for five minutes for questions to the panel. They establish that first net requires auctioning the tbn spectrum and requires First Responders use the network and to be clear of that network by 2021. Eleven major metropolitan areas including new york city rely heavily on it for their Radio Networks. They found there is insufficient alternative for these jurisdictions to move onto. You share my concern about the tbn giving back requirements and the impact it could have on major responding operators in major cities like new york . Thank you chairman. The tbn auctioning has been a major concern for the safe, group that i have mentioned earlier which is a group of associations of all Public Safety and particular, boston, chicago, los angeles, new york and philadelphia, it doesnt look like there is spectrum to move to based on that report and so with that we would enjoy working with you and your staff if you would like to look at options. We are reviewing it and working with fcc who is required to do that and find out what flexibility they have but we would love to work with you in looking at solutions. As the admiral mentioned, this is the jurisdiction of the fcc. They have the responsibility to find a solution on this. Our focus is on the Broadband Network and thats our primary focus. We look forward to seeing resolution. As the fcc, have they been cooperative . Have addressed your concerns . I would direct you to the fcc on that one. Given that its their sole focus and ours is somewhat separate. Are you aware of how much spectrum might be necessary when we talk about insufficiency. Is it 10 or 15 insufficient. How much spectrum are we lacking now . From the study the tbn was for 70 to 1200 megahertz and there is not spectrum in those five urban areas to move that two and the majority of the traffic, especially in new york in your district is all on the tbn. Thank you. We have seen many Technological Developments in the area of Emergency Communications will make it easier and more efficient for First Responders to communicate, however with these advancements came come Cyber Security risks, something that the subcommittee has discussed in the roundtable. How is oec working with the stakeholders to raise awareness about and how do we address cyber risks to respond medication networks . Thank you chairman. We been working for the last four years with Public Safety through safe cant to educate them on the cyber risks that are out there. We have a program called captain which is our physical Risk Assessment of ip networks and weve developed a bunch of best practices for mobile Application Development to help address those issues because as they move into ip it comes with a lot more capability and Cyber Security will be a huge risk. Just educating them, getting them ready so when first net deploys they can keep a secure network. Is there a system in which, if they see the intrusions or attempts that they could share that information to colleagues and other cities so they could be made aware that if theres an attempt made in york that we can notify our colleagues of the. As part of the Cyber Security act, it is the reporting place so that all swigs can report Cyber Incidents to them and that ben gets disseminated out through that means. My time has expired. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Admiral here hewitt, you talk about the declining number of dedicated fulltime swigs and less active interactive ability governing band, as i observed in my Opening Statement, it is critical, why has there been such a decline in dedicated swigs in government structures and what affect will have on the interoperability. Thank you. With the number of fulltime swigs, it is down to 12 now. We were at a high of 44, and even though under the Homeland Security Grant Program it is an allowable cost, what we are seeing, since we dont have that dedicated grant, we used to have an interoperable emergency medications Grant Program and when that was from 2008 to 2010 we went from a handful of swigs to 44. Similarly with the advent of first net, they did a state and local interoperability Grant Program and it went from zero to 56. When you do have dedicated grant, that is definitely a benefit. We are working with fema Grant Programs. What can we do to help change that around. So those grants arent available to states anymore . Well it went away in 2010. In 2010. Okay. So how can we be of help to help congress mitigate these impacts. Your support, interoperability is more than just a key piece of governance. We really appreciate all the support youve been giving us. Also, from the issue around these hurricanes, harvey and maria, what is your assessment of how our emergency medications are performed and what are some of the Lessons Learned with respect to emergency medications . With harvey, that was primarily arena event in houston. Through fema and the integration center, theres an Emergency Support function number two communications. They were able to preposition a lot of Communications Capabilities to go in behind and resurrect it plus they coordinate, fcc gets reports through the disaster Information System on carrier issues and they coordinate the restoration from that and it actually went very well for harvey and when irma came through, the same thing, we were able to preposition maria and the islands, it was impossible to preposition because every island got wiped out and so, with that, the wind was much higher above the towered condition. Most can take up to a level three hurricane and with level five, just about every tower, if it wasnt knocked down, the microwave links that are the back hole were misaligned and so we are totally having to rebuild puerto rico but the transportation equipment and all the carriers trying to get them equipment in there has been very difficult, just getting flights and trying to get the logistics of the ships and coast guard has been bringing in ships and trying to get the logistics. Once you get there the roads are totally wiped out. Trying to get up into the mountains has been very difficult on rebuilding that whole infrastructure. Even with all that, they still have six out of ten citizens to have cellular today because they have been working around the clock to get capabilities there. Mr. Parkinson, first net is supposed to be financially self sustainable. Will it be . One of the key factors when we were developing procurement were to develop model so that system would never have to come back to congress for the revenue that was generated, as required by statute was reinvested back into the network. We believe the model we have been able to develop to the procurement will sustain the network in perpetuity. If im not mistaken, during the gao, you had a question about whether they would be sustainable. And it remains clear how viable the network will be. It depends on how it was built out or who actually subscribe and competitors. They did decided they were likely to compete. I think it remains unknown, thats not to say the person isnt doing everything it can, but there are a great number of unknowns Going Forward about how the network will develop and whether it will be sustainable over time. How do you respond to that. I understand there are concerns and that there are, with any project, with any business there is risk. It has shifted the risk away from the federal government and on to at t by signing up that commitment for the next 25 years, weve been able to push that over. Of course there will be, there are challenges in terms of user adoption but we have plans for that and we are intending to hit the numbers that have been mandated to go out there and get. As i said before my opening testimony, judges and what we do and on our results and i think will be able to find a good story at the end of it. Thank you. I apologize for going over. I yield back. The german yields. The chair recognizes the german from rhode island. Thank you, mr. Chairman. A lot of our witnesses here today. Thank you for your testimony. Mr. Perkins, if i can start with you, somewhat in relation to the Ranking Members question, our virtual Communication System is critical to our ability to respond to natural disasters and terrorist attacks, however during these events, they have identified critical infrastructure. That the emerging emergency to medication networks will be resilient Going Forward supporting critical infrastructure. One of the things we who looked at is the heart of the network. Theyve released reports on the standard that they expect the network to be built to. We have looked at them and we will be looking to require the network is built with a sufficient hardening so the robustness of the network can continue when National Disasters continue. I think you need to look at the technology deployed to the system in areas where there may not be a traditional network. We will leverage the portables, looking to preposition assets as mr. Hewitt described with storms recently in texas and florida and we will provide similar assets specific to Public Safety broadband in areas where we anticipate natural disasters such as hurricane. All of this is being courted needed at the level and we have worked with a single point of contact with the governor throughout the nation. Thank you. Identity management and authentication is the core functionality in every network. For first that i think its even more crucial that Identity Management is preferably properly implemented due to the large concentration of sensitive Public Safety information traveling through a single network, so what is first nuts approach to ensuring only First Responders have access to the Communication Network and what is the potential harm if an unauthorized user could gain access . Its fundamental to any aspect of what we cant have is a state trooper for example driving 160 miles an hour down a highway expected to punch in a 16 digit code and our Public Safety Advisory Committee has looked at this with a 43 Member Organization under friday of aspects. We are trying to get that local few and the local requirements from the individuals who represent and that is information that they gather and the recommendation they send forward to firstnet so they will be able to be implemented based on the needs of Public Safety. Thank you. I may have a followup on that. I want to get to goldstein. Of mobile communication has moved to a new technology generation, roughly every 10 years. We understand how quickly technology changes. It squares every 18 months, but going back on the technology and communication sides starting with the networks in 1981 to support generation to power our smartphones today. Over the course of this contract it can be reasonably assumed that technology would advance significantly in capability. What is firstnets plan for sustaining over the next 25 years to ensure our First Responders utilize the best commercial Technology Available at the contract . Correct, its a slippery slope in terms of changes in technology and one of the things a person this going touche do is ensure at t has the Capacity Resources to Refresh Technology as time goes on as will any other competitor to the program, so we dont know, but theyre contracting operations and Network Program office will have to be able to take responsibility to ensure that at t is providing the best possible services and technology because at the end of the date if they dont subscribers can walk and go elsewhere and the network want the successful if other competitors are able to offer better services, so its in their best interests as well to try and do that. Do you get a comment to provide insight as to what the plan of the next 25 years can make i think thats one of the beauties of the contract itself is the longevity of at t over the next 25 years to provide an opportunity for Public Safety and to take advantage of how you and i or anyone in this room have been able to leverage this sort of device since the first iphone came along 10 years ago. I would use the analogy, think of how you used your cell phone five years ago versus how you use it today and what it can do possibly in five years time to think how you used the internet five years ago and think about today and i think thats where Public Safety will be at the forefront in terms of how we are able to provide Services Similar to commercial Services Dedicated to Public Safety and thats the first time the public has been in that position and i think its one of the exciting aspects of the project. Thank you. My time has expired. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from arizona. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Appreciate your testimony today, gentlemen. I was recently visiting tombstone arizona and a small community. As i was visiting with the marshal their one of the challenges that they have is a very small lawenforcement agency on the border is interoperability with the other agencies around them, sheriff, Border Patrol and i know there is a otc head of border interoperability devastation project, 25 million to specifically address Interoperable Communications related to the border and im wondering if you can give me insights as to anything that has come from that and how we can help Rural Communities on the border like tombstone, like douglas and the others in my district, very small with limited budget, but they are often dealing with federal lawenforcement issues and they cant talk to Border Patrol and they can afford to buy the systems the Border Patrol has so they are literally in the dark and sometimes doing the job of ultimately what is federal responsibilities, but they are there in the middle of it so what can i say back to the mayor and marshall and tombstone about what we have learned from this 25 million or how firstnet or whats going to help them and when will that help them . Thank you, maam. With the border interoperability demonstration project as you alluded to was a 25 million Grant Program that expired a few years ago, but yuma was a great recipient of that and with a 4 million that they did receive, they were able to take a regional Communication System from about four agencies to over 45 that included five at tribes and with that but only built up a system, but more importantly get the governance in place that created the Standard Operating Procedures on how they are going to use it and then they bought the applications to support those Standard Operating Procedures from that, so they are getting great benefit from that and it does show that when you do have federal funding that you are able to support that. So how do we extend that to this county because they are really struggling . Tombstone is just an example and what kind of funding is available or what is the way ahead for these communities that right now can talk to agencies around them while they are in the middle of trying to deal with this . We can work with them and we also support through the emergency communication Preparedness Center which is 14 federal agencies and of those several to provide grants. We can find if any are available is the vision that they will be able to afford subscribing to first net firstnet and will it really be affordable to a town with limited resources like this . Budgetary issues is a problem and if you think of the volunteer firefighters make up 70 of the firefighters in this country and often hold cake sales to find, so one of the things we have developed is to bring your own device so that with regards to the congressmans question regarding i, make sure those individuals can be credentialed with their own personal device and can gain access to the Public Safety of firstnet i think that provides a strong opportunity. One also is the coverage aspect that Rural Communities face it comes to broadband and obviously not just Public Safety broadband. There are requirements that there are little mindsets and this is in the law, also, the have to be built out and we had been working with the Governors Office in arizona and working with a single point of contact of the governance body within arizona to ensure the needs of local Public Safety is addressed. Thanks. I know we are talking a lot about what percent can bring in a crossdressed extends for community jurisdiction and there was a report out last year the top about some of the challenges within the department of Homeland Security of cbp in different Border Patrol not being able to talk to others and have it really was potentially endangering lives and they have to embed people in the other organizations to make up for, so how are you dealing with some interdepartmental lack of interoperability and lack of medications as well . Within that the department has a joint Wireless Program Management Office brings all the agencies together and provides what Communication Unit training which is the incident command system in the methodology we used to support interoperable comedic haitians. The things that were brought up are you familiar with the report of mentoring . Yes. Are they being fixed . They are working on them now. I am out of time. I have more questions, but if you have another round i will come back. Since there are only four members here many of us have one or two more questions and your information is invaluable, so we appreciate an opportunity to ask another question. Admiral, i will take the first question you spoke about the devastation of puerto rico and the Communication Systems and what they are like right now. In the recent hurricanes whatever the Communications Like during the storms . Were First Responders able to communicate with each other during those a storms . Whether it was a rescue effort, evacuation effort, whatever it may have been, were the capabilities they are during this that we were lacking during 911 or lacking during super storms before this . Thank you chairman. We havent received a full after action report from those, but i can get those to you pick the anecdotal information we heard was key west evacuated, so they told their citizens we wouldnt be able to respond to 911 and that area took over 80 of their communications without, but they had gotten the word out to the citizens and hopefully most evacuated, but there was only in texas there was three counties that lost over 80 and never mentioned we were able to reposition they were not able to respond, but it wasnt because of lack of communication it was for safety of life and so after the storm there was outages. We did preposition equipment and we did try to get things back up as quickly as possible. We are still waiting on assessment as if they were able to communicate with one another during actual storm. You are still waiting for that . Yes even if the towers down, you can actually communicate with each other and there was a lot of that going on. With cellular, yet that have that power up, but then immediately after they stayed at mr. Parkinson said there are deployables and the carriers put in deployables to get that system up as quickly as possible i would appreciate that when it comes out if there is an aftermath assessment of our abilities to communicate during tragedies and if you could share with that with the committee that would be wonderful. Also, am i correct theres 27 states now that are involved in firstnet, is very reluctant see on the other 23 states . Is it just timing, trying to get them on . At some point do you anticipate all 50 states being on . Get the territories in the district of columbia, also. We are in a stage where the governors have a 90 date mandated time in which they can make the decision, so those governance are reviewing the information we put forward to them and we fully anticipate others to sign up and opt in. Yesterday as you reference, governor holcomb of indiana opted into the network, so we expect more to come and hopefully in the next few days and next week, but that 90 day time. Not expires december 28. Thank you. The chair recognizes the Ranking Member. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Parkinson, both of the organizations is to improve interoperable communication for First Responders. We have a goal we are trying to meet. Can you talk about how if at all are we seeing firstnet Work Together to advance First Respondent medication and i think that willoughby very crucial in the future to see that. Thanks, Ranking Member pain. From the beginning of first firstnet, 2012 actually had the Board Members with the 15 members theres three actually permanent members, dhs, department of justice and zero am it be. We have been working closely with them. In fact, save, was being used and actually the genesis for the Public Safety Advisory Council that mr. Parkinson alluded to which is their Advisory Board and we help them set that up and in terms of getting federal members on board we as the Preparedness Center, 14 federal agencies that have emergency comedic asians response abilities. We have been working closely and just last month i was designated the dhs representative to that firstnet border we have been working closely. One of the things we did right away with all the states they wanted a better understanding of what kind of coverage their existing radio so they know how to compare with the rent to plan and working with firstnet we did a Technical Assistance with all the states to roll that out and now, we are doing on Cyber Security awareness so they will be better prepared to make it firstnet capabilities to ensure its a secure network. Thats it. Pretty spot on really. We are also lucky enough to have dhs alum who now work at firstnet so the relationship that is allowed to consistently flow and having no sisters together can only be a positive. Excellent. Very good to hear. With that i will yield back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from rhode island. Oh, hes gone. All the right. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from arizona who is still here. I share your excitement about being able to move to the next generation of technology and collaboration for emergency comedic haitians. Again, thinking about how we now use our own phones and when i was in the military i was a part of some of the efforts when we were moving away from everything being on voice to moving to more collaborative systems that allowed instant sharing of information and a collaboration a high level. Some challenges i saw them for many some of this in the military number one is culture. I been on a lot of bridal longs with First Responders and they are reluctant to voice communication so switching to something that increases their situation awareness you will have to deal with culture changes across the board and a lot of these will be at the local level. Building the cases as to why it will actually help them so you get the buyin for the culture change and how it will help them also, Data Management and Information Management on whats useful and whats not and really analyzing the information. There will be spoofing or misinformation shared, again, images and texts and theres a whole of their manpower requirement for those that will filter through the new information. Theres training and processes. Its not just the technology. Its all of these other things. It could be a game changer for a lot of these First Responders, but it has to be used with other elements to make it successful to wondering if you have perspective on that and again i have gone through this myself in the military. Its a heavy lift to be able to ship to this, but it could be game changing. You are correct and also just the amount of information that will be out there and how do you really separate what is real and what isnt, whats important and what is it and also, the beauty about where we stand right now, Public Safety wanted ms. , really the first time we saw Law Enforcement and emt come together to lead the lobbying effort for the creation. So today when we travel around to state locality and travel nations we hear the universal message like when is this coming and i think that in itself is our largest assay, the men and women on the ground it on also another point is you will see a generational shift where you have men and women coming in who dont know what ought memo radio is. Coming lmr will be here for many many years to come, but they only is i mean, you only have to look around to the kids that are typing away. Who knows what the capability will be in 10 years time, so it will be crucial that we get the buyin and really if that fundamental local level of understanding what the needs of Public Safety and how can we tailor the network specifically to those needs. And sorting out again what is useful, whats not, whats spoofing because there is elements of that as well and is there an element where the public and share information . Just this morning i was dealing with calling in something that didnt seem right that i saw. I wont go into detail, but i had a picture of something that didnt look right and by the time i got to the right jurisdiction i said i have a picture to send you and they literally said they did not have the capacity to get that from me like i couldnt believe it. In 2017 why we dont have the ability for someone to share something quickly, so there is an ability for the public to participate ask obviously you will have to filter that out because you have bad actors. February next year it will be 50 years since the first 911 call from alabama. Its interesting that here we are still today and where we all use 911 is picking up the phone and dialing. Nextgeneration 911 is coming and while there certainly talking to those associations and groups out there whose roles and responsibilities will be poor 911. I know this is something that oec is looking closely at adventure they will be instantly involved. Thats really the answer youre looking for. That would be the tool for nextgeneration 911 . Yes. If the state opts out and they are developing their own system, how will that work if there is some sort of cross state crisis . Really important part of the goals of the network is is more than the nation. We cant have islands and states with no service so the law is clear theres a process that any opt out and its their right to do that, they have two for sales or obligations. They have to enter into eight process and negotiate was called a spectrum Lease Agreement with firstnet and so that information is well known to the states. They have information had to do it and that process could take up to we believe two years, so was quite cumbersome process with a large financial obligation, but again if the state wants to go down that path we will do everything we can to ensure that opt out state is successful and they seamlessly integrate. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. German, in the lastminute we have left, is there anything we have not hit on that was not in your Opening Statements that may be some other questions is stimulated that you would like to discuss. We covered everything with our intelligence questions that weve asked you. I think the main thing, Going Forward is firstnet is the art of the possible right now. December 28, is when the governors deadline wraps up and then deployment will follow and user adoption will follow that. We couldnt be more excited. Weve done a lot of work, taken a long time, i mean, 2012 and here we sit down 2017. As i said, hard things are hard, but with your support we certainly anticipate making firstnet a success. I think all of our witnesses. You gave valuable testimony today and for my colleagues for their questions. The members of the subcommittee may have additional questions for witnesses and we ask you respond to those in writing. Pursuant to the Committee Rule seven the the hearing will remain open for 10 days. Without objection the subcommittee stands adjourned. Has a Speaker Paul Ryan is in puerto rico getting a firsthand look at the effects of the hurricanes. The governor of puerto rico tweeted this picture welcoming speaker ryan 13 other members of congress met with officials from the federal Emergency Management agency. Speaker ryne is visiting a day after the house passed legislation to provide aid to communities affected by the recent hurricanes and wildfires. Tomorrow on cspan live coverage continues of the values voter summit with former white house chief strategist chief bannon among the speech speakers. Everything was devastating for him at the end. He was in some ways isolated and alone. Sunday night on q a. Author and Professor Emeritus at Amherst College and his biography, gorbachev. Well, he trusted the russian, the soviet people. He trusted them to follow him or they had never gone before, that is to democratize their country in a few short years. He trusted them to follow him as he moved the country towards a market economy from a command economy. He trusted them to follow him and trust him as he made peace in the cold war against the ancient enemy, United States, so he trusted them too much, it turned out. Sunday night at eight eastern on cspans q a