Transcripts For CSPAN3 First Responder Communications 20171121

Preparedness response and communications will come to order. The subcommittee is meeting today to receive testimony on the state of First Responder communications. 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 interoperable baseline survey, there is a, quote, direct correlation between effective communications, interoperatedability and First Responders ability to save lives, end quote. In my hometown of new york city we know this all too well. Both the first both the office of Emergency Communications and First Responder Network Authority were established in the wake of the communication failures of 9 11 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 Communications Networks, including governance, training, and equipment. The office of Emergency Communications has completed two national Emergency Communications plans and has provided guidance and Technical Assistance to state and local stake holders. And this year we have reached another milestone. Firstnet, 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 states and territories have committed to opt into that network. We know this work is making a difference. In contrast to 9 11 and 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 hurricanes harvey and irma. Im interested in hearing from our witnesses and their assessments of how these networks fared do you remember the recent hurricanes. But despite these advancements, challenges remain. Earlier this year, this subcommittee joined with the subcommittee on Cyber Security and Infrastructure Protection to hold a round table on signer risks to emergency Communication Networks. We have 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 i. Pechlt based 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 depend on land mobile radio for Mission Critical voice communications. I am concerned about a requirement that First Responder Radio Networks operating on the t band must migrate off that spectrum by 2021. This will have Significant Impact on a number of major metropolitan areas, including new york city. And studies have suggested that there isnt sufficient alternative spectrum for these jurisdictions to use. In taking steps forward, with the Public Safety Broadband Networks, we just ensure we are not taking steps back for missioncritical Voice Networks on which First Responders rely on. Im looking forward to our witnesses assessment of the current state of First Responder communications, and what more needs to be done to ensure First Responders have the connectivity 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. Good morning, mr. Chairman. Im going to try to accommodate you since your voice is leaving you. Its left. When you stay on cnn and msnbc as much as you have been on there the last several days, i would assume that your voice would be going. But you know, i want to thank you first for holding todays hearing on First Responders communication. This is the subcommittees first hearing on Emergency Communications since the 113th congress. So i am eager to hear about the progress both the office of Emergency Communications and firstnet have made in advancing interoperable emergency communication efforts. Since ive joined this committee in 2013, i have been a strong advocate of policies to improve enter operable emergency communication capabilities from ensuring enter operable communication capability among the components of the department of Homeland Security to helping bolster state and Regional Government structures that inform emergency communication plans and procedures. That said, i have been concerned to learn that the dwindling number of dedicated fulltime statewide enter operablity coordinates, swiks, im concerned about the reduction in fulltime swiks. And the disntd abouting of other government structures might undermine progress made towards improving emergency communication capabilities since 9 11. Swiks and related government structures have been integrate in ensuring that emergency communication plans are coordinated, up to date, and exercise. Every First Responder i have ever spoken to has told me that the key to enter operablity is not technology. Its governance. So i am interested to know why states are no longer funding fulltime swiks and what congress can do to help mitigate the impact of less robust governance. Im pleased that new jersey was among the first states to opt in to firstnet. Im encouraged by the potential it holds for First Responders and look forward to seeing it revolutionize Emergency Communications. The capabilities firstnet promises will save lives if the network is built and managed properly. That said, i am concerned about the requirement that First Responders in certain major metropolitan areas like newark and jersey city vacate the t band by 2023. Unless congress acts, First Responders in my district would get kicked off of their spectrum and be forced to relocate. Before i close, mr. Chairman, id like to send my thoughts to those suffering in puerto rico and u. S. Virgin islands. As Ranking Member of Emergency Preparedness subcommittee, it is clear to me that something in our National Preparedness doctrine has failed. And 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. And with that, i thank the witnesses for being here today, and i yield back the balance of my time. The gentlemen yields. In any other members attend they will be reminded that Opening Statements may be committed for the record. We are pleased to have a distinguished panel before us today on this important topic. Admiral Ronald Hewitt served as the director of the department of Homeland Securitys office of Emergency Communications, a position which he has held since november of 2012. Prior to joining oec, admiral hewitt served as the United States coast guards assistant commandant for Human Resources and the assistant commandant for command, control, communications, computers, and information technology, which is the coast guards chief information officer. And having a great coast guard presence on staten island, admiral, we love our coasties. Thank you. Uhhuh. Mr. Ed parkinson serves as the director of Government Affairs for the First Responder Network Authority, firstnet and is responsible for intergovernmental relations with local, state, and federal organizations. Prior to joining firstnet, 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. Ed, welcome back. Mr. Mark goldstein serves as a director of physical infrastructure issues at the Government Accountability office where he is responsible for gaos 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 Senate Committee on Homeland Security and governmental affairs. Welcome, mr. Goldstein. The witnesses full written statements will appear in the record and now the chair recognizes admiral hutd for admiral hewitt for five minutes. Thank you chairman donovan, rankingmember payne and distinguished members of then b subcommittee it is a distinct honor the for me to be here to provide an overview of what our office has done since ten years ago and more specifically within the last three years since our previous hearing to improve communications and enter operablity nationwide. Communication is undergoing unprecedented change with the deployment of firstnet. Next generation 911, cellular alert and warning estimates. To ensure all these systems work seamlessly together we promulgated the 2014 national Emergency Communications plan, custom is the road map to ensuring interoperatabilities. The plan was developed by same com, 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 statewide communications interoperatability plans which are aligned to the national plan. It is essential that state and territory plans cover all Public Safety Communication Systems to ensure information seamlessly flows between them. But there have been obstacles in doing so. The majority of the statewide interon rablt koordors which we refer to as swiks are obl for land mobile radio and it is difficult for them to develop which include officials who are responsibility for Public Safety systems. Additionally we are seeing many swiks being assigned multiple roles. To address these issues we asked the nga to conduct a survey on improving interoperatability in five stays. Recommendations from the academy included empower southwick to ensure close coordination with first point of contact and 911 administrator. Reinvigorate an active governance body. Revitalize the statewide communications interon rablt 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 comto upgrade the Communications Unit within the incident command system. Custom is the common way all responders organize and operate during an even or disaster. Currently, Communications Unit is responsible for radio interon rablt but we are updating it to include cellular, which will support firstnet capabilities. To date we have trained over 7,000 Communications Leaders across the country. Once we update the program to include Broadband Systems we will provide Refresher Training that includes the new material. Broadband not only provides new capabilities such as text, data, and pictures, but also new risks such as Cyber Security. The communication yubtd of the future will mitigate these risks while achieving the benefits of multimedia information to assist Public Safety with saving lives and preserving property. Today citizens cannot send a picture to their 911 center of their lost child or loved one. Nor can it been is sent out to Public Safety or citizens to help search for that earn approximate. But with oecs eftsz to drive interoperate blt across all Public Safety Communication Systems including land motor radio, 911, Broadband Network and next generation warning and Alert Systems this communication will be available to citizens across the nation as these systems are deployed. This is just one of many examples that illustrate the value of interoperable Multimedia Communications for Public Safety and citizens. By achieving the goals and objectives of the national Emergency Communications plan these live saving benefits will become a reality. This subcommittee and committee have been excellent partners in this effort, and i look forward to continuing the conversation with you about how best to carry out our national effort. Once again, thank you chairman donovan, Ranking Member payne, and distinguished members of this committee for allowing me to testify here today. Thank you admiral. And thank you for your service to our nation. The chair now recognizes mr. Parkinson for five minutes. Thank you mr. Chairman. Mr. Donovan, Ranking Member payne, it is a pleasure to be here and thank you for inviting me to testify before the committee today. My name is edward parkinson, im the director of Government Affairs for firstnet. As you referenced in my previous life i was sitting behind the esteemed members so its different for me to be sitting in front of the dais today but im happy to be testified. Since i last testified before the committee in 2014 we have made enormous progress. In the past three years, a clear path forward to the National Deployment of the National Public emergency Broadband Network. Met with many tribal nations successfully completed an open, transparent, and competitive procurement. Selected a Public Private partner in the shape of at t. 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. So the men and women at firstnet remain dedicated to delivering the network for our nation as First Responders as quickly as possible. As the recent storms have brought devastation to texas, florida, and puerto rico, and the inconceivable tragedy that took place in las vegas all show us, communication is now considered by all of us and not just Public Safety as much as a necessity as power or other utilities. What was known prior to 9 11, 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 Firstnet Network has been able to withstand must be able to withstand natural and man made disasters so that when a Law Enforcement officer is running into harms way or when a firefighter is running into a fire they can trust the technology that we have put in their hands. One of the reasons why our procurement process was so thorough was because we were not only looking for the best deal from a fiscal point of view, but we were looking neuro partner who understood the extremely high bar that we were setting and who was willing to step up for Public Safety. At t was that partner. We are very encouraged by the early work that we have achieved in these first stages of the partnership are at t. And give the length of the contract and the commitment that they are making towards serving Public Safety, i can comfortly say this is a partnership with an aligned goal, providing best service possible to Public Safety. I would also like to acknowledge our partners in the states. Both our past consultation and our ongoing outreach efforts that we are planning in the future are indications of our commitment to deepening our partnership so that we can continue to interact with local Public Safety users who will ultimately be the end users of the network. Firstnet will allow for Public Safety to take advantage of the evolving nature of communications. First responder communication needs are more technical and critical daybyday as we move further into our highly connected internet of things world. That is why firstnet and at t will continue to evolve the network, hand in hand with Public Safety. And with our partners in the states to ensure that it meets their needs, today, tomorrow, and for the next 25 years. While there has been such success, we still have work to do. As mr. Goldstein will reference in his testimony, he has proves there are areas where we still have to strive for more, to do a better job, firstnet is dedicated to reaching the highest levels of excellence in every area. Tribal consultation is also a key part of our planning as part of first netds commitment to engaging with the fed really recognized tribes firstnet established a tribal communication policy to ensure that tribal Emergency Responders are able to access the benefits this nationwide system once we have opt in from the governors. Ultimately, the most important action firstnet must take is to continue to work every indicate with 2 First Responders and always listen to Public Safety. After all, this is their network. We are dedicated to delivering where 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. It is fair to say that the hard things are hard. But we are up for the challenge. And so that i ask all of you here today that Going Forward, to judge us by our record. So far, i can speak for all of us at firstnet when i say we are proud of what we have achieved but we also know that we have much to go. Thank you again for your support. And i look forward to answering any questions you might have. Thank you mr. Parkinson. The chair now recognizes mr. Goldstein for five minutes. Thank you chairman donovan, Ranking Member payne andmembers of the subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss our june 2017 report on firstnet. We have previously reported and testified on firstnet. Most recently testified in july, 2017 on our latest report during the hearing held by the Senate Commerce committee. My remarks today are based on our june 2017 report which examined firstnets of the to establish and finance the network, described stake holder views on Network Reliability security and interon rablt challenges and assess firstnets plan to everysee the deoimt of the network but its Network Contractor. In our report we recommended that firstnet fully explore tribal stake holder concerns and assess its long term staffing needs. Firstnet agreed with these recommendations and in september 2017 reported to us on actions it has take top implement them which we are now in the process of reviewing. Among our finding in the report are the following. First that firstnet has conducted key efforts to establish the network, namely releasing the request for proposal for the network and awarding the Network Contract to at t. As the contractor, at t will be responsible for the overall design, development, production, operation, evolution of the network. Additionally, firstnet consulted with state and local federal and tribal stakeholders. State gishls gao we contacted with generally satisfied with firstnets effort to engage them. However, tribal governors gao contacted noted that individuals with firsthand knowledge of tribe experience are not able to represent tribal views directly. As a result of our report, firstnet now sbhends to fully explore tribal stakeholders concerns for example, by adopting an Organization Wide tribal consultation policy as mr. Parkinson referenced. Second according to stakeholders gao contacted firstnet faces various challenges to ensure the Networks Security and interon rablt. For example, stakeholders raised concerns related to providing kumplgs to rural areas, in buildings or underground, ensuring resilientsy and Cyber Security and managing frameworks for user identity, credentialing of users and priorityize ooigsation of users on the network. First netd has taken actions to address these challenges such as testing device before deploying them on the network. Many noted that much unsrnt remains about how the network will be implemented and about its overall viability. For example, substantial unknowns remain regarding how many Public Safety users will adopt the network, the extent to which touchdown will be successful in monetizing the spectrum to retain revenue from the networks commercial users and the extent to which this jeff knew lob successful or network. Third first net established offices to oversee at t, develop policies and procedures to guide Contract Administration, including management and oversight. And is receiving assistance from another federal agency with experience. First net plans to assume full responsibility in the future. For example, first net established the Program Office to over see at ts performance, and facilitate Quality Assurance of contract deliverables. Although this office will perform essential Contract Administration functions we found first net lacked reasonable assurance it will have sufficient resources to handle increases in its 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 our result, first net intends to perform an assessment for the Network Office so it can be in a better position to respond to staffing changes and risks as it assumes full responsibility. First nets continued oversight of at ts performance will be important given the scope of the netwo network. This concludes my statement. I would be happy to address any questions you and the committee may have. I recognize myself for five minutes for questions to the panel. The legislation that established first net requires that auctioning the spectrum and requires First Responders used in network to be clear of that network by 2021. 11 major metropolitan areas, including new york city rely heavily on it for their Radio Networks. A 2013 report by the national Public Safety Communications Council found theres insufficient alternative spectrum for jurisdictions to move on to. Im concerned about the t band, the give back requirement and the impact it can have to responding to major operators in major cities like new york. Thank you, chairman donovan. The t band auctions has been a major concern for the safe calm group i mentioned earlier, which is a group of associations of all Public Safety. In particular, as you alluded to, boston, chicago, los angeles, new york, and philadelphia, it doesnt look like theres spectrum to move to based on that report. And so with that, wed enjoy working with you and your staff if youd like to look at options. Were not were reviewing it, were working with fcc who is required to do that and to find out what flexibility that they have to work wed love to work with you and looking at solutions for that. Congressman, yes as the admiral mentioned this is the jurisdiction of the fcc, they have the responsibility to find the solution on this. Our focus is 100 on the deployment of the nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network and so thats our primary focus. We look forward to seeing resolution on this. As the fcc been have they been cooperative . Have they addressed your concerns . I would direct you to the fcc on that one, given its their sole focus and ours is somewhat separate. Are you aware of how much spectrum might be necessary that when we talk about insufficient, is it 10 insufficient . 50 insufficient . We have an idea of how much spectrum were lacking now . From the study, the tee band was 470 to 520 mega hertz. There is not spectrum to move that to. The majority of the traffic, especially in new york in your district is all on the t band. Thank you. Weve seen many, i guess this is the admiral. Weve seen many Technological Development in the area of communications that make it more sufficient for First Responders to communicate. With these advancements, came comes Cyber Security risks, something that this subcommittee has discussed in a round table as i mentioned in my opening remarks. How is oec work ing with the stakeholders to raise awareness and how to address cyber risks, First Responder Communication Networks . Thank you chairman donovan. Weve been working for the last four years, since with Public Safety through safe com, to educate them on the cyber risks that are out there. We have a program called captain, which is our cybersecurity and physical Risk Assessment of ip networks. And also 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, but cybersecurity is going to be a huge risk. Just educating them now, getting them ready so as first net deploys thaeyll make sure they keep a secure network. Is there a system in which if they see either intrusions or attempts that they could share that information to their colleagues in other cities so they could be made aware of if an attempt is made in new york that we can inform our colleagues in San Francisco to be aware of this . Yes, sir as part of the cybersecurity act, the National Cybersecurity Communications Integrations center is the reporting place. Anyone can report incidents to them and that gets disseminated through that means. My time has expired. The chair recognizes my colleague from new jersey, mr. Payne. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Admiral hewwit, in your testimony, you talked about the declining numbers dedicated and less active state interoperability governing bands. As i observed in my Opening Statement, governance is critical to interopterable. What affect will it have. Thank you Ranking Member, payne. With the number of full time swiks as you alluded to, its down to 12 now. We were at a high of 44. Even though under the Homeland Security Grant Program, it is an allowable cost. What were seeing since we dont have the dedicated grant, we used to have an Emergency Grant Program from 2008 to 2010. We went from a handful of swiks to 44. Similarly, department of commerce in 2013 with the adhavent of first net, did a state local program. When you do have dedicated grants that is definitely been a benefit, so we are working with fema grants program. The director over there to look at what are the possibilities that we can do to help change that around. Those grants arent available through states anymore . The iecgp went away in 2010, sir. 2010, okay. How can we be of help to mitigate congress . Mitigate these impacts. Your support, sir has been tremendous with the bill and raising the awareness so people understand that interoperaability is more than just technology. The key piece is governance. We appreciate all the support you have been giving us. Okay. Also, from you know, the issue around these hurricanes, harvey and maria, what is your assessment of how our communications have performed and what are the Lessons Learned with respect to Emergency Communications . With harvey that was primarily a rain event. We were able to preposition with the federal government responses controlled through fema and the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration center is the Emergency Support function. They were able to preposition a lot of 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. It actually went well for harvey. When irma came through florida, we were able to preposition. Maria in the islands it was impossible to preposition because every island got wiped out. And so with that, too, the winds were much higher. Most towers can take up to a level three hurricane, and with level five, just about every tower, if it wasnt knocked down the microwave lengths were misaligned and so were totally having to rebuild puerto rico. But the transportation of getting equipment at t, you know, all the dacarriers has be very difficult. Just getting flights, trying to get logistics of the ships in, the coast guard has been bringing in ship and trying to get logistics. Then the roads were totally wiped out. Trying to get into the mountains has been very difficult on rebuilding the whole infrastructure. Even with all that, they still have six out of ten citizens there do have cellular today because they have been just working around the clock to get capabilities in there. Okay. Mr. Parkinson, first net is supposed to be selfsustainable. Will it be . Yes, congressman. One of the key factors of when we were developing the procurement was to develop a model so we would never have to come back to congress and ask for more funds. The revenue that was generated by the network was reinvested back into the network. We believe the model weve been able to development through the procurement will sustain the network in perpetuity. Okay. But during the gao your comments, you had a question about whether they were going to be sustainable, is that correct . I think it remains unclear at this point in time as to how viable the network will be. It depends on how it has built out. It depends on who subscribes, it depends on competitors. Verizon has decided its likely to compete. So i think it remains unknown. Its not to say that first net isnt doing sort of everything it can. But there are a great number of unknowns about how the network will develop and if it will be sustainable over time. How do you respond to that . I understand that there are concerns, and i understand that there with any project there is risk. That being said, weve been able to shift, as the model of the rfp we were able to put forward shifted the risk away from the government and on to at t. By signing up fruthe equipmeor. There will be there are challenges in terms of user adoption. But we have plans for that. We certainly are intending to hit the numbers that we and at t is trying to hit the numbers they have been mandated to go out there and get. As i said before, judge us on what we do and our results and i think well be able to find a good story at the end of it. Thank you. I apology for going over. The chair recognizes the gentleman from rhode island. I want to thank you for your testimony. If i could start with you, in relation to the Ranking Members question. Our Emergency Communications system is critical to our ability to respond to natural disasters and terrorist attacks. However, during these events, as the admiral has identified, c t Critical Infrastructure are often degraded. We saw that in the aftermath of hurricanes harvey, irma and maria. It can be days or weeks before power is actually restored. So how is first net insuring that the Emergency Communications networks will be resilient again Going Forward when the supporting Critical Infrastructure is unavailable . Its a terrific question, congressman. One of the things that weve looked at is the hardening of the network. Our Public Safety Advisory Committee has released reports on the standards of hardening they expect the network to be built to. Weve looked at them, we certainly are going to be looking to require that the network is built to a sufficient level of hardening so the robustness of the network can continue when natural disasters, manmade manmade events, et cetera do happen. There may not be a Traditional Network with towers or so on. We will be leveraging deployables. Preposition assets. We will be able to provide similar assets, specific to Public Safety broadband in areas where we can anticipate natural disasters such as hurricanes occurring. All of this is being coordinated at the state level. We have been working cloesely with the single points of contract and we certainly anticipate things like that occurring in the future. Thank you. Identity management. And authentication is a core functionality in every network. For first net, i think its more crucial that if the management is properly implemented due to the large concentration of very sensitive Public Safety information traveling through a single network, so what is first nets approach to insuring that only First Responders have access to the Communications Network and what are the potential harms if an unauthorized user can gain access. Icann is fundamental. We cant have a state trooper driving 160 Miles Per Hour down a highway to punch in a 16 character code. Hardening is one topic, icann is another. Were trying to get the local feel and the local requirements from those individuals who represent it on the psac. Thats information they gather and the recommendations they do send forward are taken by our to team so theyll be able to be implemented based on the needs of Public Safety on the local ground. Thank you. I may have a follow up on that if time permits. I want to get to mr. Goldstein. Mobile communication has moved to a new Technology Generation roughly every ten years. We understand how quickly, obviously, Technology Changes and case in point, where it squares every 18 months. Starting going back on the technology on the communications side, starting with the networks in 1981 to the fourth generation comes that power our smartphones today, over the course of this contract it can be reasonably assumed that Cellular Technology would advance significantly in capability. What is first nets plan for sustainment to insure our First Responders are utilizing the best commercial Technology Available throughout the contract . Youre right, congressman, its a slippery slope in terms of changes in technology. And one of the things that first net is going to have to do is insure that at t has the capacity and the resources to Refresh Technology as time goes on. As will any other competitor to this program. We dont always know, we dont know, but their contracting operations and network Program Office is going to have to be able to take responsibility to insure that at t is providing the best possible services and technology. Because at the end of the day, if they dont, subscribers can walk. They can go else where and the network wont be successful if other competitors are able to offer better services. Its in their best interest to try and do that. Do you get comment . Could you provide insight of what the plan is over the next 25 years . I think thats one of the beauties of the contract itself. The longevity that at t and first net have entered into provides an opportunity for Public Safety to take advantage of how you and i or anyone in this room has been able to leverage, you know, this sort of device since the first iphone came along ten years ago. I think of this i use this analogy. Think of how you used your cell phone five years ago versus today and what it can do possibly in five years time. Think of how you used the internet five years ago and how you use it today. Thats where Public Safety will now be able to be at the forefront in terms of how were able to provide Services Similar to commercial services but dedicated to Public Safety. Thats the first time the Public Safety will be in that position. Frankly e i thiits one of the that attracted it to me in the first place. Thank you, time has expired. The gentlemans time has expired. The chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from arizona, ms. Mcsally. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I appreciate your testimony today, gentlemen. I recently was visiting tombstone, arizona, everybody should know where tombstone is. A very small community. As i was visiting with the marshal there, one of the challenges that they have is a small Law Enforcement agency on the border is interoperability with other agencies around them, sheriff, Border Patrol. Oec had a border demonstration project 25 million to specifically address Communications Related to the border. Im wondering if you can give me insights as to, you know, anything thats come from that . And how we can help Rural Communities along the border like tombstone, like douglas, bizby, others in my district, very small, very limited budget. But they are often dealing with federal Law Enforcement issues. And they cant talk to Border Patrol and they cant afford to buy the systems that Border Patrol has. Theyre literally in the dark and sometimes doing the job of ultimately what is federal responsibilities. Theyre there in the middle of it. What can i say back to the mayor and marshal of tombstone about what we be learned from this 25 million or how first net or whats going to help them and when is it going to be helping them . Thank you, maam. With the border interoperability demonstration project, that was a 25 million Grant Program that expired a few years ago. Uma was a great recipient of that. With the 4 million they did receive, they were able to take their regional Communications System from about four agencies to over 45 that included five tribes. And with that, not only built out the system but getting the gr governance in place. And then they bought the applications to support those Standard Operating Procedures from that. So theyre getting great benefit from that. And it does show that when you do have federal funding that youre able to support them. They get a great how do we extend that to coc hise county . We can work with them and we also support through the Emergency Communications Preparedness Center of those several of them do provide grants. We can find out if any are available. Is the vision that they will be able to afford subscribing to first net and that first net will be their solution . Is that going to be affordable to little towns with limited resources . One of the biggest problems we have is budgetary issues. If you think of this, volunteer firefighters make up 70 of the firefighters in this country. They often hold cake sales just to fund their thing. One of the developments weve made is bring your own device. With regards to the question regarding ica nn, make sure individuals can be credentialed with their own personal device and can gain access. I think that provides frankly strong opportunity, one other part i think too is the coverage aspects that Rural Communities face when it comes to broad band. Obviously there are requirements that there are rural milestones that have to be built out and so weve been work ing with the Governors Office in arizona and the single point of contact in the governance body within arizona to insure needs are met. Were talking about what first net can bring across jurisdictions for Emergency Communications. But theres a report out last year, i apologize i dont know if it was gao or oig that talked about the challenges within the department of Homeland Security, cdp, Border Patrol not being able to talk to ofo and how that was endangering lives. How are you deal ing with int Interoperability Communications . We have a joint Wireless Management office that brings agencies together and oec provides which Communications Unit training, which is the incident command system and its the methodology that we used to support Interoperable Communications. Are you familiar with the report im mentioning . Have they been fixed . Theyre being worked on now. Several of them have been fixed. Okay, great. Im out of time. I have more questions but if we do another round ill come back. We are going to allow another round, gentlemen, if you dont mind since theres four members here. We have a few more questions. We appreciate an opportunity to ask another question. So admiral, ill take the first question. You spoke about the devastation in puerto rico and what the Communications Systems are like right now. In irma, harvey, maria, what were the Communications Like during the storm . First responders able to communicate with each other during those storms . Whether it was in a rescue effort, an evacuation effort, whatever it may have been . Were the capabilities there during this that we were lacking during 9 11 or lacking during superstorms before this . I thank you chairman. We havent received the full after action reports, i can get them to you. But the anecdotal information we heard, key west, they evacuated. They told their citizens we arent going to be able to respond to 911 and that area took 80 of their communications was out. But they had gotten the word out to the citizens and hopefully most evacuated up north. But there was only in texas there were three counties that lost over 80 . We were able to preposition most of the time Public Safety, because of the life threatening winds and everything they werent able to respond because of safety of life. So after the storm, there was outages we did preposition equipment and did try to get things back up as quickly as possible. Were waiting for an assessment of whether first respondents were able to communicate with one another during the actual storm. Were still waiting on that. With radio you could do direct mode. Even if the tower is down you can communicate with each other and there was a lot of that going on. With cellular, you have to have the tower up, but then immediately after, as mr. Parkinson said, theres deployables and all the carriers put in deployables to get that system up as quickly as possible. I appreciate it when that report does come out, if there is an aftermath assessment of our abilities to communicate during tragedies if you could share that with the committee that would be wonderful. Yes, sir. I would like to ask mr. Parkins parkinson, there is 27 states now that are involved in first net . Is there a reluctancy on the other 23 states . Is it just timing, trying to get them on . At some point do you anticipate all 50 states coming along . Were in a stage where the governors have a 90 day mandated period in which to make a decision. Those governors are reviewing the information weve put forward to them. We fully anticipate others signing up and opting in. Just yesterday as you reference in your testimony yesterday, we expect more to come hopefully in the next few days. The 90 day period expires on december 28th. Thats the time period in which governors have to make the decision. The chair recognizes the Ranking Member, mr. Payne. Thank you, mr. Chairman. The mission of both of the organizations is to improve Interoperable Communications for First Responders. We have goal were trying to me meet. Can you talk about how oec and first net will Work Together to advance First Responder communications and i think that will be very crucial in the future to see that. From the beginning in 2012, when they originally stood up, they had the Board Members which with the 15 members, three actually permanent members, dhs and department of justice. We have been working closely with them. Safe com, was being used and actually the genesis for the Public Safety Advisory Council that mr. Parkinson alluded to which is their advisory board. So we helped them set that up in terms of getting federal members on board. We used the Emergency Communications Preparedness Center which is 14 federal ae s agencies which have Emergency Communications responsibilities. Just last month, i was designated the dhs rep to the first net board. One of the things we did right away with all the states, they wanted to have a better understanding of what kind of coverage their existing land mobile radio so they know how to compare it. Work ing with first net, we did a Technical Assistance with all the states to roll that out. Now were doing Cybersecurity Awareness so theyll get first net capabilities to insure its a secure network. Okay. Thats it. Pretty spot on, really. We also are lucky enough to have a lot of alum, who now work at first net. The relationships that allows to consistently flow, information, meetings and having those histories together can only be a positive. Excellent. Very good to hear. Ill yield back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from rhode island. Oh, hes gone. All right. He disappeared on me. The chair recognizes the gentle woman from arizona who is still here. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I share your excitement about being able to move to the next generation of technology and collaboration for Emergency Communications. Again, thinking about how we now use our phones. 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 more collaborative sys m systems some of the challenges i saw implementing these number one is culture. Ive done a lot of ride alongs. Switching to something thats going to increase their Situational Awareness youll have to deal with culture changes across the board. And a lot of these will be at the local level of leadership. Building the case to why this is going to help them. You get the buy in for the culture change and how it will help them do the job. There also is data and Information Management on useful you know, whats useful and whats not and analyzing the information. Theres going to be a lot of spoofing or misinformation thats shared via images, texts, other types of things. Theres manpower requirement of those that are going to filter through the new information and training, processes, a whole lot of things that go along with this. Its not just the technology. Its all these other things. It could be a game changer for a lot of these First Responders. Wondering if you have any perspective on that. Ive gone through this myself in the military. Its a heavy lift to be able to shift to this. Think, too, about the amount of information thats going to be out there. How do you really separate what is real versus what isnt. Exactly. And i think, too, the beauty about where we stand right now is Public Safety wanted this. It was really the first time where we saw Law Enforcement fired, emts come together to lead the effort for the creation of first net. Today when we travel around, states, territories, tribes, the universal message is when is this coming. When can we get this. Thats our largest asset, the men and women on the ground. Another point is youre going to see a generational shift where you have men and women coming in who dont know what land mobile radio is. Thats not a hit on lmr. Lmr will be here for many years to come. You only have to look around outside here in emancipation hall the kids who are typing away. Who knows what the capabilities are going to be in 10 years time . I think its going to be crucial that we get not only the buy in, but really its the fundamental local level. How can we taylor the network specific to those needs . Thats going to be the difference. And as you said, whats useful, whats not, whats spoofing. Theres elements of that as well. Is there an element where the public can share information. This morning i actually was dealing with calling in something that didnt seem right from what i saw. I had a picture that i took of what didnt look quite right. By the time i got to the right jurisdiction i said i have a picture to send you, where do i send it to. They said they didnt have the capacity to get that from me. I couldnt believe it. In 2017, why we dont have the ability for someone to share something quickly. So is there an ability for them to participate . Youll have misinformation that would be its february next year it will be 50 years since the first 911 call from alabama. Its interesting here we are still today and the way we all use 911 is picking up the phone and dialing. Ng 911 is coming. While first nets focus is the deployment of the mpsbn, we are certainly talking to those associations, those groups out there, whose roles are going to be for the deployment of ng 911. I know oec is looking closely at. But ng 911 is the answer that would be the tool, is through the 911, next generation . As it comes, yes. One last quick question, if a state opts out and their developing their own system, how will that work if theres a cross state crisis . Its for the nation. We cant have islands or states of no service. The law is quite clear. Theres a process that any opt out state if they wish to go down that fight, and its their right if they want to. They have to enter into a process, go to the fcc, and negotiate a spectrum Lease Agreement with first net and so that information is well kben to the states. You know, the process could take up to we believe two years. Its quite a cumbersome process. We will do everything we can to insure that that opt out is available. Great, thanks, im over my time. Thanks mr. Chairman. Gentlemen, just in the last minute we have left, is there anything that we havent hit on that wasnt in your Opening Statements that maybe some of your questions stimulated that you would like . Or have we covered everything with our intelligent questions weve asked you . Opening myself up here, but i think the main thing Going Forward is first net is the art of the possible right now, as you heard, december 28th is when the governors deadline wraps up and deployment will follow. User adoption will follow that. Weve done a lot of work. Its taken a long time. Hard things are hard. But with your continued support and support of your staff. We anticipate making first net a success. I thank all of our witnesses for your valuable testimony today and for my colleagues for their questions. The members of the subcommittee may have additional questions for our witnesses and well ask that you respond to those in writing. Pursuant to the committee rules, the hearing record will remain open for ten days. Without objection the subcommittee stands adjourned. Coming up, district of columbia Appeals Court judge Fred Cavanaugh on the separation of powers in the u. S. Government. Current and former officials from canada and mexico discuss nafta negotiations and possible changes to the threeway trade agreement. Later, members of Congress Talk about the impact of the Opioid Crisis and suggest what can be done about it. American history tv is in primetime all this week on cspan 3. Tonight its womens history, including a talk on 17th century puritan views on women. American history begins at 8 00 eastern. Tonight on cspan, joe biden and john kasich on how to bridge the political divide. Heres a brief look at what youll see tonight. But to some degree, the Politics Today is a manifestation of the politics thats been brewing for a long time. Exactly. I mean, i remember the bork hearings. I remember you were on the committee, you saw how raucous and how they were. Then we went through an impeachment. Then we went through, you know, the republican revolution and we saw jim wright and foley be driven out. We saw the republicans win the house for the first time in 40 years. And democrats kind of said no, you never won. I mean, were going to just fight you. Its really a pox on