Senators should adopt the House conference version of the Defense...
Senators should adopt the House conference version of the Defense appropriations bill (H.R. 2863), in Senate review at our deadline, the Satellite Industry Assn. (SIA) said Wed. The House version, as now written, would put $2 billion toward interoperable…
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emergency communications gear for state and local govts. Of the $2 billion, 75% would go to states via the Homeland Security Dept. based on risk and threat, with the other 25% divided equally among states for equipment “with satellite capability.” Remember Hurricane Katrina’s lessons, SIA said. “This provision will provide much needed funding for States and local governments to begin to incorporate redundant, interoperable, and back-up communications into their emergency response plans for natural disasters or terrorist acts,” SIA Exec. Dir. David Cavossa said in a letter to lawmakers. Alluding to like comments by FCC Chmn. Martin in post-Katrina Hill testimony, the bill’s text said satellite services remain operable even when “towers, central offices, or other critical infrastructure such as power facilities are destroyed or disrupted.”