WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 2, 2011 – The thousands of men and women of public safety nationwide applaud the bi-partisan, long-term effort of the Obama and Bush administrations for the capture and execution of al Qaeda lead terrorist Osama bin Laden, announced the Public Safety Alliance (PSA) today.

“This is a great day for America,” said PSA spokesman Sean Kirkendall. “Bipartisan congressional support and the unwavering commitment of our federal government over two Administrations, including President Obama’s decisive leadership in the past few weeks-to-months, allowed the hard work of our dedicated public servants here and abroad to make this day of justice come to fruition.”

Kirkendall continued, “The hard work goes on. As the bipartisan co-chairs of the 9/11 Commission recently testified before Congress, there is more for Congress and our Federal government to do with the support of the Obama White House, as well as many former Bush Administration leaders such as former DHS Secretary Tom Ridge and former FEMA Director David Paulison. Congress must provide our first responders with the tools they need to make our Nation safe and to effectively respond to emergency incidents, both great and small, natural or man-made. Passing current legislation in Congress, S.28 and H.R.607, before the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 must be a top priority for all of Congress, as it is for Chairman Rockefeller, Chairman King, our nation’s state and local leaders, public safety officials and first responders.”

According to testimony in March from the Chairmen of the 9/11 Commission, Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton:

The inability of first responders to communicate with each other was a critical failure on 9/11. Incompatible and inadequate communications led to needless loss of life. To remedy this failure, the Commission recommended legislation to provide for the expedited and increased assignment of radio spectrum for public safety purposes.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama called for allocating the D Block spectrum to public safety. He also supports allocating $7 billion in federal funding to support a build-out of the network to ensure it reaches cash-strapped localities, especially rural communities.

We support the immediate allocation of the D Block spectrum to public safety. We must not approach these urgent matters at a leisurely pace. We don’t know when the next attack or disaster will strike. Further delay is intolerable. We urge Congress to act.

About Public Safety Alliance

The Public Safety Alliance (www.psafirst.org) is a partnership of the nation’s leading public safety associations. The partnership is operated as a program of APCO International. The purpose of the Public Safety Alliance’s is to ensure law enforcement, fire and EMS agencies are able to use the most technologically advanced communications capability that meets the difficult, life-threatening challenges they face every day as they protect America. For more information on the Public Safety Alliance, visit www.psafirst.org.