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OVERNIGHT TECH: Congress set to approve public safety network
THE LEDE: Congressional negotiators have included a nationwide public safety radio network as part of a package to extend a payroll tax cut.
The network is one of the last outstanding recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Report. Police and firefighters from different jurisdictions had difficulty communicating with each other as they responded to the terrorist attacks in 2001, leading to unnecessary deaths, according to the report. Similar communication breakdowns occurred during the response to Hurricane Katrina.
First-responders from across the country would rely on the new interoperable network, allowing them to communicate across agencies. The high-speed broadband network would also allow first-responders to send high-quality videos during emergencies.
The legislation sets aside $7 billion to build the nationwide network.
"Today is monumental for all Americans and our future safety,” said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), who has fought for the network for years. “There is truly nothing more important than safety. And for those courageous and selfless first responders that risk their lives to save others every single day, this is the least we can do.”
The network is a piece of broader language that would restructure how the country uses its airwaves. By auctioning off broadcaster airwave licenses to wireless carriers, the provisions would raise a net $15 billion to help pay for extending unemployment insurance.
Republicans prep alternative cybersecurity bill: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and other GOP senators plan to introduce an alternative cybersecurity bill, McCain announced at a Homeland Security Committee hearing on Thursday.
That proposal would give the Homeland Security Department regulatory authority over companies with computer systems crucial to the nation's economic and physical security. The bill would require that the companies take adequate precautions to safeguard their systems and would increase information-sharing about cyber threats between the private sector and the government.
"The fundamental difference in our alternative approach is that we aim to enter into a cooperative relationship with the entire private sector through information sharing, rather than an adversarial one with prescriptive regulations," McCain said. "Our bill, which will be introduced when we return from the Presidents Day recess, will provide a common-sense path forward to improve our nation’s cybersecurity defenses."
ICYMI:
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) told Homeland Security Department officials on Thursday she finds it "outrageous" that agents are building files on bloggers as part of the department's program to monitor social media sites.
Congressional negotiators struck a deal late Wednesday to extend payroll tax cuts that would authorize the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to auction television airwave licenses to wireless carriers.
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