The Louisiana Senator thanked the audience for their help during Katrina and Rita in her keynote speech at the NAB. The proposed bill is named "Broadcasters As First Responders Act".
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2007
Landrieu-Stevens Bill to Recognize Local Broadcasters'
First Response Role Following Major Disasters
LAS VEGAS, N.V. -- In her opening keynote address to the 2007 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas today, U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., announced new legislation that would, for the first time, federally recognize the vital role of local broadcasters in responding to major disasters. Co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the First Response Broadcasters Act of 2007 would take steps to help ensure that local television and radio stations are able to broadcast essential public information to the disaster area uninterrupted.
"Our local television and radio broadcasters were a lifeline to the people of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita rolled ashore in 2005," said Sen. Landrieu, Chairman of the Disaster Recovery Subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. "They provided vital public safety information and comfort to thousands of people when both were needed the most.
"By serving at the front lines of disaster response, it is important to know that local broadcasters are, in fact, first responders."
"Broadcasters provide an invaluable public service to Americans, especially in times of crisis," said Sen. Stevens, the Subcommittee's Ranking Member. "Many people in my state know this first hand. Alaskans, particularly those in the most remote areas of the state, have endured devastating earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons.
"As we strive to improve disaster preparedness in Alaska and the nation, Congress must ensure that broadcasters have the tools to effectively communicate with people when time is of the essence. History has proven that the critical information provided by television and radio broadcasters can save lives."
The bill, to be introduced later this week in both the Senate and House of Representatives, would designate local radio and television stations providing essential disaster-related programming as "first response broadcasters" and open access to federal supplies of fuel, water and food. While highest priority would remain reserved for emergency services, health care facilities and public utilities, the bill would protect broadcasters' independently secured supplies from federal government seizure except in the most dire cases of emergency need.
Confiscations of fuel procured by Mississippi broadcasters following Hurricane Katrina inhibited efforts by local radio and television stations, dependent on generators for electricity, to stay on the air.
The Landrieu-Stevens legislation also directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to expedite access to the disaster area by broadcast engineers to restore transmitters and other key broadcast facilities and infrastructure. To better protect these critical-to-air facilities, the bill establishes a Broadcast Disaster Preparedness Matching Grant Program. The grants could be used to protect, upgrade or enhance facilities and infrastructure to better position stations to continue providing vital public information during a disaster.
Senator Landrieu noted that WWL-TV, the only New Orleans television station to remain on the air uninterrupted through Hurricane Katrina and the levee breaks, did so as a direct result of steps it had taken years earlier to move its transmitter to higher ground and arrange for redundant, alternate production facilities.
"An effective response to future disasters will require better coordination at all levels of government and the private sector, and broadcasters across the Gulf Coast and the nation have demonstrated leadership in this effort," Sen. Landrieu said. "But broadcasters cannot get what is often life-saving information out to the people that need it most if they cannot stay on the air."
"Local broadcasters are uniquely positioned to provide the vital, often lifesaving, information that Americans rely on during times of crisis," said NAB President and CEO David K. Rehr. "We salute Senators Landrieu and Stevens for introducing this legislation recognizing the important role played by broadcasters and look forward to working with them to ensure Americans continue to benefit from our lifeline service."
The NAB has been joined in its support for the First Response Broadcasters Act by the Radio-Television News Directors Association, whose Board of Directors voted unanimously to endorse the bill on Saturday.
While the legislation does not guarantee expedited access to the disaster area by newsgathering personnel, such as print and broadcast reporters, photographers and writers, it does determine that press access guidelines after the disaster shall continue to be determined by the local agencies that had been so responsible before the disaster occurred. This creates a consistent model for journalist accreditation and eliminates the bureaucratic confusion created by multiple local and Federal agencies attempting to enforce conflicting access rules.
The Landrieu-Stevens bill has also been endorsed by 45 state broadcasting associations, representing: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Washington, D.C.
"This bill recognizes an important public-private partnership that will aid our response to future disasters, natural or man-made," Sen. Landrieu said. "As local radio and television stations stand up, as so many did after 9/11 and the hurricanes, to put commercial interests aside to serve the public interest, the federal government should be ready to stand with them."
More information regarding the First Response Broadcasters Act, including full bill text and profiles of broadcaster efforts following recent major disasters, is available online at http://landrieu.senate.gov/broadcasters.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2007
Landrieu-Stevens Bill to Recognize Local Broadcasters'
First Response Role Following Major Disasters
LAS VEGAS, N.V. -- In her opening keynote address to the 2007 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas today, U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., announced new legislation that would, for the first time, federally recognize the vital role of local broadcasters in responding to major disasters. Co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the First Response Broadcasters Act of 2007 would take steps to help ensure that local television and radio stations are able to broadcast essential public information to the disaster area uninterrupted.
"Our local television and radio broadcasters were a lifeline to the people of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita rolled ashore in 2005," said Sen. Landrieu, Chairman of the Disaster Recovery Subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. "They provided vital public safety information and comfort to thousands of people when both were needed the most.
"By serving at the front lines of disaster response, it is important to know that local broadcasters are, in fact, first responders."
"Broadcasters provide an invaluable public service to Americans, especially in times of crisis," said Sen. Stevens, the Subcommittee's Ranking Member. "Many people in my state know this first hand. Alaskans, particularly those in the most remote areas of the state, have endured devastating earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons.
"As we strive to improve disaster preparedness in Alaska and the nation, Congress must ensure that broadcasters have the tools to effectively communicate with people when time is of the essence. History has proven that the critical information provided by television and radio broadcasters can save lives."
The bill, to be introduced later this week in both the Senate and House of Representatives, would designate local radio and television stations providing essential disaster-related programming as "first response broadcasters" and open access to federal supplies of fuel, water and food. While highest priority would remain reserved for emergency services, health care facilities and public utilities, the bill would protect broadcasters' independently secured supplies from federal government seizure except in the most dire cases of emergency need.
Confiscations of fuel procured by Mississippi broadcasters following Hurricane Katrina inhibited efforts by local radio and television stations, dependent on generators for electricity, to stay on the air.
The Landrieu-Stevens legislation also directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to expedite access to the disaster area by broadcast engineers to restore transmitters and other key broadcast facilities and infrastructure. To better protect these critical-to-air facilities, the bill establishes a Broadcast Disaster Preparedness Matching Grant Program. The grants could be used to protect, upgrade or enhance facilities and infrastructure to better position stations to continue providing vital public information during a disaster.
Senator Landrieu noted that WWL-TV, the only New Orleans television station to remain on the air uninterrupted through Hurricane Katrina and the levee breaks, did so as a direct result of steps it had taken years earlier to move its transmitter to higher ground and arrange for redundant, alternate production facilities.
"An effective response to future disasters will require better coordination at all levels of government and the private sector, and broadcasters across the Gulf Coast and the nation have demonstrated leadership in this effort," Sen. Landrieu said. "But broadcasters cannot get what is often life-saving information out to the people that need it most if they cannot stay on the air."
"Local broadcasters are uniquely positioned to provide the vital, often lifesaving, information that Americans rely on during times of crisis," said NAB President and CEO David K. Rehr. "We salute Senators Landrieu and Stevens for introducing this legislation recognizing the important role played by broadcasters and look forward to working with them to ensure Americans continue to benefit from our lifeline service."
The NAB has been joined in its support for the First Response Broadcasters Act by the Radio-Television News Directors Association, whose Board of Directors voted unanimously to endorse the bill on Saturday.
While the legislation does not guarantee expedited access to the disaster area by newsgathering personnel, such as print and broadcast reporters, photographers and writers, it does determine that press access guidelines after the disaster shall continue to be determined by the local agencies that had been so responsible before the disaster occurred. This creates a consistent model for journalist accreditation and eliminates the bureaucratic confusion created by multiple local and Federal agencies attempting to enforce conflicting access rules.
The Landrieu-Stevens bill has also been endorsed by 45 state broadcasting associations, representing: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Washington, D.C.
"This bill recognizes an important public-private partnership that will aid our response to future disasters, natural or man-made," Sen. Landrieu said. "As local radio and television stations stand up, as so many did after 9/11 and the hurricanes, to put commercial interests aside to serve the public interest, the federal government should be ready to stand with them."
More information regarding the First Response Broadcasters Act, including full bill text and profiles of broadcaster efforts following recent major disasters, is available online at http://landrieu.senate.gov/broadcasters.