{Editor's Note - As Congress continues to debate how to go about transferring radio spectrum to first responders, The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) and other major fire service organizations placed this open letter to Congressional Leadership in USA Today: The letter is shown with no editing on the pat of Texas Fire Would}

To:

The Honorable Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader
The Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House of Representatives
The Honorable Harry Reid , Senate Minority Leader
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader

On behalf of the one million men and women who serve our nation as firefighters and emergency services personnel, our organizations call on Congress to address one of the most critical issues facing our nation's first responders: to guarantee their ability to communicate whenever they respond to emergencies.

For the past ten years, our organizations have been urging Congress to reallocate 24 megahertz of radio spectrum in the 700 MHz band for public safety use nationwide. We have provided testimony to congressional committees discussing the challenges first responders faced at major incidents. In Oklahoma City during rescue operations at the Murrah Building bombing, incident commanders had to resort to runners to transmit messages. In New York City at the site of the World Trade Center attacks, similar measures were taken because of radio congestion, attributed to a lack of spectrum. As one of its recommendations, the 9-11 Commission called on Congress to set aside forthwith additional radio spectrum for public safety. And now we hear of widespread communication problems in the Gulf states in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

We cannot wait any longer for Congress to deliberate over this issue. Asking our first responders to place themselves in harm's way is a difficult decision by itself. But asking them to do so not knowing if they will be able to communicate is a risk we can no longer take.

Furthermore, additional spectrum will enable first responders to utilize new technologies such as environmental monitors, personnel location networking, health and vital signs sensors and on-scene video cameras. These technologies will help incident commanders make better decisions faster, reducing the number of firefighter injuries and fatalities.

Recent statements issued by congressional leaders, including Senator Frist, to address interoperability offer hope that Congress will bring resolution to this issue. Postponing the transition date will continue to jeopardize the safety of our rescue personnel and the victims they aid. Therefore, we ask you to support a transition date as close to December 31, 2006 as possible. This is the date Congress established in 1997. We need a date certain; not a soft date.

Please provide the leadership necessary so that voices of first responders can be heard.