WASHINGTON -- Richard Rudman, core member of the Broadcast Warning Working Group, has written an online petition urging Congress and the executive branch to enact legislation for a national public warning strategy so emergency public information is always coordinated with other emergency response measures.
In the petition, BWWG advocates for Emergency Public Information to be treated as a “true response resource” within the culture of emergency management professionals and to be legislated by Congress.
“To me, EPI is as much of a resource to be managed as a fire strike team, SWAT, emergency food distribution, etc.,” Rudman said.
Two pieces of legislation on warnings died in the last Congress that the National Alliance of State Broadcaster Associations and the BWWG supported, according to Rudman.
The legislation was based on the Partnership for Public Warning report “A National Strategy for Integrated Public Warning and Capability.” Reinforced with language from the previous legislative attempts, Rudman feels this proposal can finally give real, wide-ranging value and meaning to FEMA’s Common Alerting Protocol warning tool, the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System.
“We want a national strategy to provide timely and authoritative emergency protective information to people at risk using all viable warning systems,” Rudman said.
He hopes to collect between 100 and 200 signatures and to present them to “key people in Congress who supported those bills to introduce them again, and get them passed.” He has collected about 83 signatures so far.
