"M. President, this country
has begun to mobilize its public sector – government, military,
and law enforcement – to fight terrorism. But there is no way this
effort can be fully successful if it does not also tap the tremendous
technology and science talents of America's private sector.
"Considering the enormous technological
challenges faced on September 11, the quality of emergency response
was more than exceptional. But the science and technology experts
who rushed to offer their help that day say they can do more, they
can move faster, they can help save more lives if only Congress
would provide a government portal for the help they have to give.
The legislation I offer today, the Science and Technology Emergency
Mobilization Act, provides that portal. It does not create a large
bureaucracy. Rather, it makes a gateway for the private sector to
bring its resources to bear in the war against terrorism.
"Just as John F. Kennedy gave America's
youth a forum for public service, now is the moment the government
should throw open its doors to a new generation raised on information
technologies, able to respond to the wide variety of technology
and science-related challenges that can arise in the wake of a terrorist
attack or other disaster.
"This legislation, which I offer with
my good friend Senator Allen of Virginia, offers four opportunities
to capitalize on the immense technology resources of our nation.
It creates a virtual technology reserve. It provides for the formation
of rapid-response teams of science and technology experts. It establishes
a clearinghouse and test bed for new anti-terror technologies. And
it provides for pilot projects to help overcome a problem that seems
incomprehensible in a communications center as advanced as the East
Coast of the United States: on September 11, the most basic obstacle
faced by first responders was the inability of their communication
systems to work together.
"In analyzing the events of September
11, the Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space, which I chair,
found a private sector ready and willing to contribute but facing
too many obstacles. Some couldn't get the proper credentials to
access the disaster sites. Some simply couldn't find the right place
to offer their people, expertise, and equipment and were literally
knocking on doors offering their help. That help was sorely needed.
"On December 5 of last year, FEMA Director
Joe Allbaugh testified before the Subcommittee that in New York
City on the day of the disaster, emergency response officials could
have used tech industry individuals to set up databases to track
the missing and injured as well as goods and services being donated.
But, he said, there wasn't a centralized go-to desk to provide experts
for immediate needs.
"In the event of a bioterror attack,
it appears that communities would face the same confusion. Right
now, if a town is hit with a biological agent and local officials
are looking for the closest medical authority, there is no comprehensive
list of certified experts to help them.
"That's why the bill I am introducing
today provides for the creation of a "virtual technology reserve."
This would consist of a pre-existing database of private-sector
equipment and expertise emergency officials may call upon in the
case of an emergency. Access to this database would enable federal,
state, and local officials, as well as nongovernmental relief organizations,
to locate quickly whatever technology or scientific help they may
need.
"For instance, a city official tasked
with setting up a "command center" in the wake of an emergency might
need laptop computers and high-capacity telecommunications equipment.
A state health director facing a potential bioterror incident might
need to locate experts concerning a specific pathogen, and to obtain
special detection and remediation technology as soon as possible.
An emergency official coordinating in-the-field rescue and recovery
efforts might need a batch of hand-held radios, or might need to
bring in mobile cellular units to expand local cellular coverage
and capacity so the people on the ground can communicate.
"In all these cases, the key would be
locating the equipment and expertise quickly. By turning to the
"virtual technology reserve," these officials would have a quick
way to identify companies who have what they need -- and who have
expressed their willingness to help in an emergency.
"The Wyden-Allen bill also seeks to
move experts into a community as rapidly as possible when problems
arise. To that end, it provides for the creation and certification
of National Emergency Technology Guard teams, or NET Guard teams,
of volunteers with technology and science expertise. NET Guard teams
would be organized in advance and available to be mobilized on short
notice. These unique teams would be modeled after Urban Search and
Rescue Teams under the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Medical
Response Teams under the Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS). But instead of providing search and rescue or medical services,
however, NET Guard teams would provide the technology, information
and communication support to help rescuers work more effectively.
Once assembled, NET Guard teams can provide technology-related help
in the aftermath of floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters
as well.
"In his testimony, Director Allbaugh
said that the technology challenges faced in crises like the September
11 attacks are not just technology problems. They are problems that
ultimately cost lives. The essence of the Science and Technology
Emergency Mobilization Act is to save lives. One way it does this
is by establishing a structure to form and activate these NET Guard
teams of technology experts who can step in when crises occur.
"But America's science and technology
experts also have a role to play before disaster strikes – developing
technological innovations to enhance this nation's response to terror
and possibly even prevent it. Since September 11, thousands of experts
and entrepreneurs have contacted the federal government offering
new technologies. I firmly believe that government must do a better
job of accepting, evaluating, and implementing their creative solutions.
Therefore, this legislation creates a Center for Civilian Homeland
Security Technology Evaluation.
"The Center will have two purposes.
First, it will serve as a national clearinghouse for security and
emergency response technologies, helping to match companies with
innovative technologies with government agencies who need them.
It would provide a single point of contact that both companies and
government agencies could turn to address their technology proposals
or needs.
"In addition, the Center would operate
a technology test bed to evaluate the ability of proposed technologies
to satisfy government needs. This test bed will work in conjunction
with existing federal agencies and the National Laboratories. I
want to be clear: the Center is not meant to serve as a federal
technology gatekeeper, but rather to assist agencies that do not
have the capability to evaluate technology on their own. This test
bed is necessary to keep essential new technologies from slipping
through the cracks. I don't want to see American lives lost because
the Federal government didn't find a way to accommodate new ideas.
"M. President, this legislation sprang
from first-hand accounts of September 11. Here in the capital, and
in New York, the terrorist strikes flattened telecommunications
and information networks. New Yorkers wandered the streets, unable
to find out anything about their missing or injured loved ones or
even to register their names. Web sites and voice-mail and e-mail
systems of relief organizations filled up and crashed.
"As I said, when emergency workers moved
in, they were hindered by the fact that their communications systems
simply couldn't work together – a problem Director Allbaugh said
was a chief concern on that day. In a hearing before my Subcommittee,
a fire chief said that at times his only means of communicating
directions to firefighters on the front lines were handwritten notes
delivered by runners on foot. These courageous emergency workers
told the Subcommittee that communications breakdowns made their
job more difficult and more dangerous. "For that reason, this bill
would also establish a pilot program under which grants of $5 million
each would be available for seven pilot projects aimed at achieving
interoperability of communications systems used by fire, law enforcement,
and emergency preparedness and response agencies.
"A number of the nation's top technology
companies have already expressed support for this legislation, including
Intel, Microsoft, America Online, and Oracle. They agree, M. President,
that it is time to create a high-technology reserve – a talent bank
that serves as a new force to confront a new threat.
"In drafting this legislation, I consulted
with numerous members of the Administration, including Director
Allbaugh; Richard Clarke, the President's Special Advisor for Cybersecurity;
Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, and John Marburger of the Office
of Science and Technology Policy. They were all responsive, and
Senator Allen and I appreciate their bipartisan commitment. I plan
to continue to work on a bipartisan basis with the Administration
and with my colleagues in Congress on both sides of the aisle, to
move this bill forward as rapidly as possible.
"I ask unanimous consent that letters
of support from several of the nation's leading technology companies,
as well as my statement, be printed in the Record."
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