E2204 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks December 4, 2001 From the day they begin their active duty, nity has benefitted from having a tenacious, our area. I am honored to call him a con- members of the National Guard and Reserves committed and vocal advocate with represen- stituent. must deal with the difficult challenge of paying tation at all levels of government from L.A. f their bills and extra living expenses while serv- City Hall to Capitol Hill. ing their country. Cathy Maguire has led two delegations of HOMELAND EMERGENCY RE- To help ease this burden, soldiers placed on business leaders to our nation’s capitol to SPONSE OPERATIONS (HERO) active duty are entitled to a Basic Allowance meet with United States Senators, Members of ACT of Housing, which pays for their housing costs. Congress, Cabinet Secretaries and senior staff Soldiers receive it when they do not live on a of both the Clintons and Bush Administrations. HON. JANE HARMAN military base. The exact amount depends on VICA has taken a leadership role on Social OF CALIFORNIA grade, dependency status, and geographic lo- Security reform, small business development, IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES cation. aviation and airports, water quality and reli- Tuesday, December 4, 2001 If members of the National Guard and Re- ability, a patient’s bill of rights and tele- serves serve less than 140 days, they receive communications issues under the keen leader- Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Speaker, five years ago, Level II Basic Allowance of Housing. If they ship of Cathy Maguire. Tim Grimmond, the Police Chief of El serve more than 140 days, they receive Level As California faced an energy crisis this Segundo, a small town in my district, came to I Basic Allowance of Housing. year, VICA played an important role in dis- me with a little problem called ‘‘public safety Level II Basic Allowance of Housing is simi- cussing solutions with the Administration as radio interoperability.’’ lar to the Level I Basic Allowance of Housing, well as with our colleagues in Congress— Basically, he explained, police departments but it does not include adjustments for expen- working to ensure that California had reliable, are organized by city and county jurisdictions. sive housing markets, such as Honolulu or affordable supplies of energy. Criminals are not. New York City. And while our nation mourned the losses of And the radios carried by the police in El This policy hurts soldiers placed on short September 11, 2001, VICA and its Chairman Segundo were not always compatible with the tours of duty in expensive housing markets. have worked to minimize the impacts on radios carried by the L.A. Country sheriffs or For example, an 0–1 officer in Honolulu will Southern California’s economy, convening the police departments in neighboring towns like receive $410.70 per month under Level II. region’s first Economic Impacts Summit and Redondo and Manhattan Beach. Under Level I, that same soldier would receive advocating in Washington on behalf of an eco- As a result, law enforcement agencies pur- $953.00. nomic stimulus for local businesses impacted suing a suspect couldn’t talk to each other on The current law costs soldiers hundreds of by the tragic events. the radio. They sometimes resorted to hand dollars every month. Soldiers should not have Mr. Speaker and distinguished colleagues, signals out car windows to communicate. Or to wait 140 days before receiving the Level I please join us in honoring Cathy Maguire for they used a jerry-rigged system of radio- Basic Allowance of Housing. her leadership and accomplishments as Chair- patching and multiple radios to make it work. On November 13, 2001, I introduced H.R. man of the Valley Industry and Commerce As- The problem was not with the equipment. 3280 to correct this. It will reduce the number sociation. The problem was the shortage of spectrum— the airwaves used for radio and TV. of active duty days required for the Level I f Basic Allowance of Housing from 140 to 60 Police and fire departments had not been days. PERSONAL EXPLANATION allocated enough of the spectrum for their ra- We ask members of the National Guard and dios to be interoperable. Reserves to serve without hesitation to defend HON. XAVIER BECERRA In response to Chief Grimmond’s concerns, our nation. We must ensure that all soldiers in OF CALIFORNIA I introduced legislation that directed the FCC to license unused frequencies to public safety the military are paid enough money to cover IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES their housing costs. agencies. This bill became law. I urge my colleagues to join with me and Tuesday, December 4, 2001 The same year, Congress took another support H.R. 3280. Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, on Friday, No- major step towards interoperability. It directed f vember 30, 2001, I was unable to cast my the FCC to allocate to public safety users 24 floor vote on roll call number 465, on Agreeing megahertz of spectrum licensed to analog tel- TRIBUTE TO CATHY MAGUIRE to the Conference Report for H.R. 2299, evision stations. Congress set a deadline of Transportation and Related Agencies Appro- 2006 for that transition. HON. BRAD SHERMAN priations for FY 2002. Unfortunately, that law also left a big loop- OF CALIFORNIA Had I been present for the vote, I would hole. It said the TV stations don’t have to HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN have voted ‘‘aye’’ on roll call vote 465. move to new spectrum until 85 percent of the f household have a TV that can receive digital OF CALIFORNIA TV signals. HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF A PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING Currently, only 1 percent of homes in the DAVID PEOPLES U.S. meet that criteria. OF CALIFORNIA So unless we act now, public safety agen- HON. ELTON GALLEGLY HON. ROBERT W. NEY cies will never be able to use the spectrum OF CALIFORNIA OF OHIO that Congress promised them back in 1997. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES That means * * * fire departments will con- HON. XAVIER BECERRA tinue to have problems talking at the scenes OF CALIFORNIA Tuesday, December 4, 2001 of major fires. Police and sheriff’s departments HON. HOWARD P. ‘‘BUCK’’ McKEON Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, Whereas, David chasing a suspect across city and county juris- OF CALIFORNIA Peoples serves as a Police Officer in the state dictions will still not be able to communicate IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES of Ohio; and by radio. Police officers on the beat will still Whereas, Mr. Peoples has been named worry about hitting a ‘‘dead spot’’ where their Tuesday, December 4, 2001 ‘‘Police Officer of the Month’’ by the National radios don’t work because of interference or Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, we rise today Law Enforcer’s Memorial Fund for his un- poor signal penetration. to pay tribute to Cathy Maguire as she com- matched service to his community; and; The HERO Act that I and my colleagues, pletes her tenure as Chairman of the Valley Whereas, Mr. Peoples is helpful, honest, ac- Rep. WELDON of PA, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. MORAN Industry and Commerce Association (VICA). tive, hardworking and dedicated to both his of VA, Mr. MCINTYRE, BALLENGER, and Mr. Fifty-two years ago, when VICA was found- department and law enforcement; and, FRELINGHUYSEN are introducing here today ed, the San Fernardo Valley was a predomi- Whereas, Mr. Peoples has received the eliminates that 85 percent threshold require- nantly rural and agricultural area north of Los ‘‘Exceptional Service Medal,’’ the ‘‘Life Saving ment—but only for channels 63, 64, 68 and Angeles; today, the Valley is a vital part of our Medal’’ and the ‘‘Silver Torch’’ for his efforts in 69, which the FCC allocated to public safety at nation’s second-largest metropolitan area— saving and protecting the citizens of Ohio; Congress’ direction in 1997. thanks in part to the leadership of VICA. Therefore, I ask that my colleagues join me Our bill directs the FCC to assign the fre- Since Cathy Maguire was elected Chairman in recognizing David Peoples for his commit- quencies Congress promised to public safety of VICA in 1999, the Valley business commu- ment and dedication to making lives better in agencies by the end of 2006.
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