“We have known since September 11th and if not earlier that interoperability, the ability to talk among different emergency responders and police agencies is critical to effective management of an incident, whether it's a terrorist attack or a natural disaster. What this money is designed to do is give resources to states and cities to allow them to acquire the equipment and do some of the training necessary to make sure they have achieved the kind of interoperability that first responders are entitled to expect. We have begun this process in a disciplined way. The President instructed a little over a year ago that we do a survey with respect to how interoperability was doing in our states and our major urban areas. We completed that survey. We identified where there were shortfalls in equipment or shortfalls in terms of governance or agreements about the rules of the road. And then we began working with states and cities to see how those gaps could be filled. Having identified the gaps and having set forth a path to filling those gaps, the money that is being allocated here is the final piece of the puzzle that needs to be in place to make sure that we do have interoperability across the country…. “Let me conclude by saying this. You know part of the capability that is necessary is not just a matter of equipment. I mean clearly you have got to have the right equipment. But it is also a matter of training and it's a matter of having a common agreement on governance. People have to know what are the frequencies they're going to use or what is the gateway they're going to use to bridge the frequencies. They have to know what language they're going to use. Are they going to use the 10-code language familiar to the police or are they going to use plain English or are they going to use another set of terminology that is used by emergency responders. They have to determine who are the command elements that actually talk to one another. Some of this is a matter that can be addressed by money, but some of it requires frankly getting people to sit down and come to a common vision of the way they're going to organize themselves so they can be interoperable. I want to encourage communities not just to look to the money, but to make sure they're undertaking the hard work of putting together disciplined plans which are the keys to getting interoperability to become a reality…. “The stuff we can fix is this. We can give people money to buy equipment like gateways or things of that sort and to do some training. We can give people an assessment - states and cities - an assessment of where they are. We can give them guidance. Here are the things that states and cities have to do. They have to ultimately reach an agreement on governance. The police department, the fire department, the emergency services unit in a particular city or a particular region have to come to an understanding of the language they will speak to when they communicate with one another. They have to come to an understanding of what the appropriate level of a commander is to have interaction with colleagues in other services. They have to come to an agreement and an understanding of who will manage the gateway or the switch that allows people to talk to each other. That is not something the federal government can make people do. We do not have the authority to do it and it would be unwise even if we had the authority to try to impose a Washington-based solution. We can put the tools on the table but the training and the willpower to use the tools has to rest with state and local officials”. (DHS Secretary Chertoff, in: DHS, Transcript of Press Conference With Secretary Michael Chertoff and Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez To Announce Nearly $1 Billion In First Responder Communications Grants,” July 18, 2007)