"Vulnerabilities remain" and states have yet to take many recommended steps to deal with problems previously pointed out in emergency communications across the country, the GAO said. Meanwhile, a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee Monday called in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's administrator, Joe Fugate, and other witnesses for a hearing on emergency alerts, FEMA and whether the agency should again be made independent from the Department of Homeland Security. "Limited collaboration and monitoring jeopardize federal emergency communications efforts, even as the federal government has taken strategic steps to assist first responders," the GAO said in a report. nnAgencies haven't adopted many best practices recommended by the GAO, and it said there have been delays in setting up the Emergency Communications Preparedness Center, which would define goals and strategies across agencies. The GAO recommended that Homeland Security complete efforts to help carry out the National Emergency Communications Plan. The department and the FCC should set up a forum to work together on "significant agency emergency communications efforts," and Homeland Security should help federal agencies develop emergency communications plans, it said. The GAO said it found "potential opportunities to align" the department's emergency communications efforts with the FCC's as the commission develops a public-safety network.
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