Washington, DC - The U.S. Justice Department today awarded $66.5 million in grants to help police obtain communications systems that function between agencies during terrorist attacks and other times of crisis, including $6 million for Los Angeles and $3.692 million for San Jose, Senator Dianne Feinstein announced.

Senator Feinstein secured $55 million of the grant funds through an amendment to the war and homeland security supplemental security appropriations bill approved by Congress in April. Another $11.5 million came from other funds provided to the Justice Department by Congress. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the grants in Kansas City today.

"I thank the Attorney General for moving ahead with this program rapidly," Senator Feinstein said. She noted that Congress also approved another $55 million in interoperable communications funds at her urging, which is to be distributed by FEMA in the near future to Fire Departments.

"In all too many jurisdictions, police, fire, and emergency medical services can't communicate with each other via radio when an emergency occurs - this was the case on September 11, during the Columbine massacre, and following the Oklahoma City bombing," Senator Feinstein said.

"This new funding will go directly to first responders in Los Angeles, San Jose and other cities and will mean faster responses, better coordination between agencies, and lives saved.

About 2.5 million first responders operate in the U.S., in 18,000 law enforcement agencies, 26,000 fire departments, 6,000 rescue departments, and many other agencies. These agencies have historically depended on their own radio systems, and these systems are often incompatible with other agencies with whom they work.

"This money is designed to go for both short-term and long-term interoperability solutions," Senator Feinstein said. "These include wireless same-frequency radios, wideband receivers and computers that can be added to existing radios, and software that can channel together different frequencies onto a common network."

"The problem of interoperable communications is truly a life or death issue. And terrorism is clearly a federal responsibility. I believe that we need to give our law enforcement, fire, and emergency personnel the tools they need to respond to a possible terrorist attack effectively and safety."

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