Two House Democratic lawmakers urged the Senate to pass legislation to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security’s component agencies can communicate with each other. The lawmakers released a statement in the wake of a memo made public yesterday by DHS’s Office of Inspector General that said DHS has yet to accomplish that goal (TRDaily, June 8).

In February, the House passed on a 379-0 vote a bill (HR 615) to require the under secretary-management at DHS to take action to ensure department components have interoperable communications. The bill was introduced by Rep. Donald M. Payne Jr. (D., N.J.), ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee’s emergency preparedness, response, and communications subcommittee.

In response to the IG’s memo, Reps. Payne and Bennie G. Thompson (D., Miss.), ranking member of the full committee, said today, “Almost 14 years after 9/11, it is incredibly disturbing that the Department of Homeland Security still lacks the proper technology and procedures to allow its frontline workers to communicate properly with each other. The Department must stop dragging its feet on creating and implementing a communications interoperability plan.  This must be a top priority. We urge the Senate to swiftly pass H.R.615 so we can put the Department on a path forward to fix this long-standing problem. Fully functioning interoperable communications is a public safety necessity and is critical for DHS to properly fulfill its mission.” – Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com