Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) along with Sen. Lieberman and members of the public safety community called for the allocation of the D Block to public safety.

On Tuesday, Nov. 15, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), along with Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Congressman Peter King (R-NY) and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) were joined by more than 40 uniformed public safety officials and dozens more supporters to urge members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, or Super Committee, to include S.911 language to allocate the D block spectrum within the 700 MHz band to public safety and to provide for $11 billion for construction of the Public Safety Broadband Network.

According to Yucel Ors, director of legislative affairs for APCO International, each member made a passionate plea for allocation of the D Block to public safety and inclusion of S.911 in the final proposal that gets presented to Congress.

“As the supercommittee works to develop a compromise, there is no doubt in my mind that this should be part of that solution,” said Sen. Gillibrand.

“This really is an opportunity for a win-win,” added Sen. Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee who has introduced his own D-block reallocation bill (S 1040) with Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.).  “Very rarely is there a piece of legislation that at the same time can improve our security and improve our economy.”

“We can raise billions of dollars to cut the deficit and save lives,” added Sen. Lautenberg.

Rep. King, chair of the House Homeland Security Committee who introduced his own bill (HR 607) with Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (R., Miss.), the panel’s ranking member, said the bicameral, bipartisan support for D-block reallocation and funding should help it get through Congress.

The Super Committee is mandated to provide a comprehensive proposal to Congress by November 23 to reduce the federal deficit by more than $1.5 trillion dollars over the next 10 years. The House and Senate will then have until December 23 to vote on the Super Committee’s proposal on an up and down vote without the possibility of changes in amendment.

Sen. Schumer assured the crowd that, if the Super Committee does not succeed in including S.911, he and his colleagues would look to attach the bill to any legislative vehicle they could, including possible omnibus appropriations bills that will be required to continue to fund the government.

Members of the Public Safety Alliance (PSA) leadership were on hand and several spoke including: MCC’s Chief Christopher Moore, San Jose, CA Police Department, MCC’s Deputy Chief Charles Dowd of the New York City Police Department, NSA’s Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald of Story County, Iowa, IAFC’s Fire Chief Charles Werner of Charlottesville, Virginia and IACP’s Chief James R. Craze of the Greenbelt, Maryland Police Department.

The PSA also conducted approximately 15 meetings with members or staff of the Super Committee (all except Sen. Baucus’s office) and Republican Members of the House Energy and Commerce’s subcommittee on Communications and Technology.