WASHINGTON — A new bill being co-sponsored by Colorado Republican Cory Gardner would make the federal government the sole entity in charge of warning U.S. citizens of a missile attack — a reform thatap in direct response to a false warning sent last month by state officials in Hawaii.
The measure also would ask that the Federal Emergency Management Agency examine the process in which alerts are sent to the public, as well as develop a system to test the warning systems of state or local governments.
“Our national integrated public alert system is not something we can afford to get wrong,” said Gardner in a statement. “What happened in Hawaii can never happen again — people terrified by the false alert of a system that must have absolute confidence.”
Joining Gardner in sponsoring the bill are two Senate Democrats: Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Kamala Harris of California.