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 Federal  Communications  Commission  FCC  06-  35 
 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  JONATHAN  S.  ADELSTEIN 


 Re:  Establishment  of  the  Public  Safety  and  Homeland  Security  Bureau  and  Other  Organizational  Changes 
 I  am  very  pleased  to  support  the  creation  of  the  Public  Safety  and  Homeland  Security  Bureau.  As  recent  events  have  shown,  the  role  of  communications  is  so  important  during  emergencies,  whether 
 citizens  are  trying  to  find  out  what  is  happening  with  their  families  or  emergency  personnel  are  responding  to  an  urgent  situation.  It  is  critical  that  the  Commission  provide  the  best  leadership  possible 
 to  ensure  that  communications  are  fully  operational  during  these  most  serious  events.  Indeed,  this  is  one  of  our  core  directives  under  the  Communications  Act  of  1934. 


 We  all  have  been  moved  by  the  devastation  caused  by  Hurricanes  Katrina,  Rita,  and  Wilma.  Our  nation’s  communications  systems  were  truly  put  to  the  test,  with  unfortunately  very  mixed  results. 
 Enormous  coordination  was  needed  and  performed  under  often  chaotic  circumstances,  and  we  saw  how  communications  workers  give  so  much  of  themselves  to  restore  the  networks  on  which  we  all  rely.  The 
 Commission  also  received  high  marks  for  ensuring  that  it  was  as  responsive  as  possible  in  the  wake  of  these  tragedies.  Our  staff  worked  extremely  quickly  and  over  long  hours  to  respond  in  countless  ways  to 
 help  restore  service.  The  Commission  truly  plays  such  an  important  role  during  these  times  of  crisis. 
 I  have  been  a  strong  supporter  of  the  response  efforts  of  the  Chairman  and  his  staff  during  these  events  last  year,  and  of  his  commitment  to  reorganize  and  refocus  the  Commission  so  that  we  can  even 
 better  address  public  safety,  homeland  security,  and  disaster  preparedness  issues  going  forward.  This  is  an  issue  that  my  colleague,  Commissioner  Copps,  also  has  long  championed,  so  I  am  pleased  to 
 implement  this  proposal  with  my  fellow  colleagues  today. 
 Just  as  we  have  called  on  industry  to  assess  what  went  wrong  and  what  went  right  with  their  emergency  response  plans,  the  Commission  must  do  the  same.  Of  course,  we  have  a  Blue  Ribbon  Panel 
 helping  us  evaluate  the  lessons  of  last  year.  By  creating  a  Bureau  uniquely  focused  on  these  critical  issues,  I  am  hopeful  that  we  can  also  better  assess  what  worked  well  and  what  went  wrong,  but  just  as 
 importantly,  to  figure  out  how  we  can  improve  our  preparedness  and  response  in  the  future.  For  example,  we  must  continue  to  address  important  issues  affecting  the  dissemination  of  multilingual  emergency 
 information  and  to  explore  how  best  to  integrate  new  technologies  into  our  current  Emergency  Alert  System. 


 Of  course,  we  must  keep  our  eye  on  the  Bureau’s  mission  –  we  must  avoid  letting  the  distraction  of  reorganization  affect  our  disaster  preparedness.  We  cannot  afford  to  let  our  guard  down  for  just  one 
 minute.  We  want  to  improve  our  internal  systems  and  procedures  to  achieve  an  even  higher  standard  of  emergency  preparedness,  and  not  get  bogged  down  in  the  administrative  challenges  of  restructuring. 
 Knowing  the  professional  commitment  of  our  staff,  I  am  more  than  optimistic  that  our  agency  will  not  fall  prey  to  the  bureaucratic  distractions  that  have  plagued  the  ability  of  other  agencies  to  respond  in  a  timely 
 and  effective  manner. 
 Even  as  we  elevate  our  public  safety  and  emergency  response  functions,  we  must  be  mindful  of  our  other  core  Commission  functions.  One  area  where  this  will  be  particularly  important  is  with  respect 
 to  the  decision  to  separate  out  the  licensing  of  spectrum  for  public  safety  services  from  other  wireless  services  and  move  these  licensing  functions  to  the  new  Bureau.  Spectrum  bands  designated  for  land 
 mobile  radio  services  typically  cover  business,  industrial,  public  safety,  and  sometimes  even  commercial  services.  Indeed  spectrum  can  sometimes  be  shared  between  these  different  services  through  our  inter-category 
 sharing  rules.  And  applications  for  all  wireless  services  –  private,  commercial,  and  public  safety  –  are  handled  through  the  Wireless  Telecommunications  Bureau’s  Universal  Licensing  System. 
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 So  we  must  make  sure  that,  in  separating  out  public  safety  licensing,  we  do  not  inadvertently  undercut  our  ability  to  effectuate  spectrum  policy,  whether  unique  to  public  safety  or  on  a  more  industry-wide 
 basis.  As  we  tackle  important  public  safety  licensing  issues  in  the  future,  like  the  ongoing  restructuring  of  the  800  MHz  band,  it  is  critical  that  we  continue  to  work  across  Bureaus  to  ensure  that 
 these  important  spectrum  initiatives  are  handled  in  a  comprehensive  and  thoughtful  manner. 
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