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 Federal  Communications  Commission  FCC  04-  189 
 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS 
 Re:  Review  of  the  Emergency  Alert  System,  Notice  of  Proposed  Rulemaking 
 September  11  and  events  in  this  country  since  have  highlighted  the  need  for  a  warning  system  which  affords  national  as  well  as  state  and  local  authorities  the  capability  to  provide  emergency 
 communications  and  information  to  the  American  public.  The  EAS  serves  as  our  primary  alert  system  today  for  everything  from  weather  emergencies  to  Amber  alerts  to  save  abducted  children. 


 The  Commission  asked  its  Media  Security  and  Reliability  Council  to  examine  the  best  means  to  reach  the  broadest  possible  population  with  emergency  and  public  safety  information.  We  also  benefited 
 in  our  deliberations  from  the  analysis  and  recommendations  of  the  Partnership  for  Public  Warning,  a  public-  private  partnership  whose  goal  is  to  increase  emergency  preparedness.  These  groups  addressed 
 shortcomings  in  the  current  EAS,  including,  among  others,  the  need  to  upgrade  the  system  and  enhance  its  use  for  providing  state  and  local,  as  well  as  national,  emergency  information.  They  considered  the 
 important  goal  of  finding  ways  to  integrate  diverse  technologies  so  people  can  receive  information  in  myriad  ways.  And  these  expert  committees  concluded  that  while  improvements  to  the  EAS  are  needed,  it 
 remains  integral  to  our  national  warning  system. 
 I  appreciate  my  colleagues’  willingness  to  accelerate  action  on  these  recommendations  through  an  NPRM  rather  than  a  start-  from-  scratch  Notice  of  Inquiry.  The  issues  on  which  we 
 seek  comment,  in  addition  to  the  ones  I’ve  already  mentioned,  include  bringing  our  warning  system  into  the  digital  era,  ensuring  the  security  of  the  EAS,  and  addressing  how  best  to  provide 
 emergency  information  to  all  segments  of  our  population,  including  those  with  disabilities  and  those  whose  primary  language  is  not  English.  We  unfortunately  do  not  have  the  luxury  of  time 
 in  these  efforts.  I  vote  for  this  item  with  the  understanding  that  we  will  work  aggressively  in  partnership  with  other  government  agencies,  industry,  and  all  stakeholders  to  promote  a 
 comprehensive  national  public  warning  capability. 
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