SALUD 0. CARBAJAL 24TH DISTRICT, CALIFORNIA WEBSITE: CARBAJAL.HOUSE.GOV 212 CANNON HOUSE OFFICE BUILOING WASHINGTON, DC 20515 (202) 225-3601 COM M ITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES SUBCOMMITTEE ON QCongrtsS' of tbe Wniteb ~tates 360 SOUTH HOPE AVENUE, C-301 SANTA BARBARA, CA 93105 (805) 73CH710 TACTICAL A IR AND LAND FORCES SUBCOMMITTEE ON READINESS J!}ouse of l\epresentattbes D:a~btngton. 1J9QC 20515 1411 MARSH STREET, SUITE 205 Received & 1ns"'e~Wi1s OBISPO, cA 93401 1o1 ulCl..lao5) 54~348 COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET January 16, 2018 Chairman Ajit Pai Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554 Subject: Federal Wireless Emergency Alert System Dear Chairman Pai and Administrator Long: JAN 2 2 2018 FCC Mallroom Administrator William B. "Brock" Long Federal Emergency Management Agency 500 C St S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024 I am writing today to inform you of serious inefficiencies and problems with the Federal Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) System, which were prominent during the recent devastating Thomas Fire and impacted many of my constituents on the Central Coast of California. I ask that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) work with the appropriate stakeholders to address these communication issues that have the potential to prevent the loss oflife during emergencies. It would be beneficial for my constituents and Americans across the nation for the FCC to reconsider its delay of the 2016 rule that would strengthen WEA by improving geographic targeting capabilities, increasing the maximum character length, and including the availability of multilingual and multimedia WEA messages. The WEA is a public alert and warning system that uses existing communications assets of the Emergency Alert System participants for federal , state and local authorities to disseminate important emergency information, like extreme weather alerts, to the American public. Additionally, Executive Order 13407 issued by President George W. Bush in 2006 established that "it is the policy of the United States to have an effective, reliable, integrated, flexible and comprehensive system to alert and warn the American people in situations of war, terrorists attack, natural disaster, or other hazards to public safety and well-being . . . " However, the current WEA system has serious restrictions that limit its ability to reach the intended audiences properly. WEA's inability to target messages to specific geographic areas means that certain counties cannot effectively use WEA without creating a widespread panic and unnecessary mass evacuations; thus, producing another public hazard. For instance, a WEA message meant to only alert certain Santa Barbara residents was sent out on Sunday, December 10, 2017 at 2: 19 a.m.to the entire County and prompted a misunderstanding as to where the impacted areas that needed to evacuate due to the Thomas fire were actually located. Additionally, WEA has a current limit of no more than 90 characters, which forces agencies to abbreviate alerts and results in an unclear and often confusing message. PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER 60 Furthermore, including multimedia and multilingual WEA messages during disasters is another tool that would allow alerting agencies to send targeted evacuation maps or videos in multiple languages directly to mobile users. This has the potential to provide additional clarity to the public and ensure the well-being of everyone. Instead, through the current process, agencies must rely on social media to share these resources. As we continue to experience prolonged and disastrous wildfire seasons in the Western United States, it is imperative that we are sufficiently prepared and we address outstanding issues with the WEA system. Again, I ask that the FCC reconsider its delay of the 2016 proposed changes to WEA and for the FCC and FEMA to work with appropriate stakeholders to ensure we are adequately equipped to communicate emergency alerts to the public during the next natural disaster. Sinc~e, 1 CJ I s&:;;!AQAL Member of Congress