Washington, DC – The Public Safety Alliance (PSA) today applauded Senator Jay Rockefeller, IV, Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee (D – WV), for introducing S. 3756, The Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act, which directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to allocate the D Block to public safety and identifies funding to build and maintain a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network.

The member associations of the PSA express their appreciation for Chairman Rockefeller’s leadership in the Senate on this critical public safety issue, and further urge Congress to make this one of its top priorities, working quickly through the legislative process to pass this critical legislation.

For more than a year, the PSA has been asking the Obama Administration, Congress, the FCC, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Justice to work together to develop the appropriate spectrum and funding policy that will enable local, State and Tribal governments to build out their next generation of interoperable public safety wireless broadband networks.  This legislation builds on the growing support in Congress from Senators Joe Lieberman (I – Conn.) and John McCain (R – Ariz.) who introduced S. 3625; Representatives Peter King (3rd Dist., NY) and Yvette Clarke (11th Dist., NY), who introduced H.R. 5081, which now has more than 68 cosponsors; and Representative Henry Waxman (30th Dist., CA), whose draft language was the catalyst to identifying the necessary funding to build out and maintain a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network.

On July 29, APCO International applauded Congresswoman Jane Harman (D–Venice), chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment and a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, for her introduction of legislation to enhance public safety mobile communications devices.  The Next Generation Public Safety Device Act of 2010 will create an incentive for companies to enter the public safety market by authorizing a $70 million grant competition to develop and build prototype mission critical voice- and data-capable handsets and vehicle-portable devices for the 700-MHz spectrum.

“APCO International thanks Harman for recognizing the technology needs of our public safety communications professionals and taking one of our priority issues to improve the public safety technology market and making it one of her own,” APCO International President Richard Mirgon said.