WASHINGTON Four years after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, local emergency officials and first responders are still unable to reliably communicate with one another during disasters. And the failure to improve communications equipment since that attack drastically hindered the efforts to save lives during Hurricane Katrina.Despite repeated warnings and loss of life, the Republican controlled Senate today voted to rejected an amendment by U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Jack Reed (D-RI) to provide $5 billion to local communities to create a unified, interoperable, emergency communications system that would allow police, firefighters and homeland security officials to talk and exchange data with each other during emergencies.A similar measure was defeated in July by the Republican controlled Senate as part of a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security. Supporters had expected that the recent tragedy of Hurricane Katrina would convince those who opposed the earlier amendment to support it today.Reed stated, Before the next hurricane, before the next earthquake, or the next terrorist attack, firefighters, federal disaster officials, police and the military all need to be given the capability to communicate with one another as the crisis develops when a coordinated response is the key to saving lives. Inaction by Congress means we risk a greater tragedy in the future.The 9/11 Commission investigating the terrorist attacks stated The inability to communicate was a critical element at the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and Somerset County, Pennsylvania, crash sites, where multiple agencies and multiple jurisdictions responded. The occurrence of this problem at three very different sites is strong evidence that compatible and adequate communications among public safety organizations at the local, state, and federal levels remains an important problem.A blue-ribbon task force headed by former Republican Senator Warren Rudman told us in the fall of 2002 a year after 9/11 that Americas first responders were vastly under-equipped for any new terrorist incident, Stabenow said. Tragically, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, various law enforcement agencies and other first responders were unable to talk to one another, greatly hampering immediate relief and rescue efforts.The funding, which would be provided as grants to states, would have helped police, fire and rescue and emergency responders talk to other law enforcement and homeland security officials on interconnected radio frequencies. Law enforcement and emergency rescue officials complain they are frequently unable to coordinate with federal agencies during an emergency.