[Report No. 119–59]
February 25, 2025
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Luján, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Markey, Mr. Budd, Mr. King, Mr. Thune, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Crapo, and Ms. Cantwell) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
September 2, 2025
Reported by Mr. Cruz, with an amendment
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic
To direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting, to categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Enhancing First Response Act
.
Sec. 2. Reports after activation of disaster information reporting system; improvements to network outage reporting
(a) Definitions
In this section:
(1) Automatic location information; automatic number identification
The terms Automatic Location Information and Automatic Number Identification have the meanings given those terms in section 9.3 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.
(2) Broadband internet access service
The term broadband internet access service has the meaning given the term in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.
(3) Commercial mobile service
The term commercial mobile service has the meaning given the term in section 332(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)).
(4) Commercial mobile data service
The term commercial mobile data service has the meaning given the term in section 6001 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401).
(5) Commission
The term Commission means the Federal Communications Commission.
(6) Indian tribal government; local government
The terms Indian tribal government and local government have the meanings given those terms in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).
(7) Interconnected VoIP service; State
The terms interconnected VoIP service and State have the meanings given those terms in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153).
(8) Multi-line telephone system
The term multi-line telephone system has the meaning given the term in section 721(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 623(f)).
(9) Outage
The term outage has the meaning given the term in section 4.5 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.
(10) Public safety answering point
The term public safety answering point has the meaning given the term in section 222(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222(h)).
(11) System
The term System means the Disaster Information Reporting System.
(b) Reports after activation of disaster information reporting system
(1) Preliminary report
(A) In general
Not later than 6 weeks after the deactivation of the System with respect to an event for which the System was activated for not less than 7 days, the Commission shall issue a preliminary report on, with respect to such event and to the extent known—
(i)
the number and duration of any outages of—
(I)
broadband internet access service;
(II)
interconnected VoIP service;
(III)
commercial mobile service; and
(IV)
commercial mobile data service;
(ii)
the approximate number of users or the amount of communications infrastructure potentially affected by an outage described in clause (i);
(iii)
the number and duration of any outages that prevent public safety answering points from receiving caller location or number information or receiving emergency calls and routing such calls to emergency service personnel; and
(iv)
any additional information determined appropriate by the Commission.
(B) Development of report
The Commission shall develop the report required by subparagraph (A) using information collected by the Commission, including information collected by the Commission through the System.
(2) Public field hearings
(A) Requirement
Not later than 8 months after the deactivation of the System with respect to an event for which the System was activated for not less than 7 days, the Commission shall hold not less than 1 public field hearing in the area affected by such event.
(B) Inclusion of certain individuals in hearings
For each public field hearing held under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall consider including—
(i)
representatives of State government, local government, or Indian tribal governments in areas affected by such event;
(ii)
residents of the areas affected by such event, or consumer advocates;
(iii)
providers of communications services affected by such event;
(iv)
faculty of institutions of higher education;
(v)
representatives of other Federal agencies;
(vi)
electric utility providers;
(vii)
communications infrastructure companies; and
(viii)
first responders, emergency managers, or 9–1–1 directors in areas affected by such event.
(3) Final report
Not later than 12 months after the deactivation of the System with respect to an event for which the System was activated for not less than 7 days, the Commission shall issue a final report that includes, with respect to such event—
(A)
the information described in paragraph (1)(A); and
(B)
any recommendations of the Commission on how to improve the resiliency of affected communications or networks recovery efforts.
(4) Development of reports
In developing a report required under this subsection, the Commission shall consider information collected by the Commission, including information collected by the Commission through the System, and any public hearing described in paragraph (2) with respect to the applicable event.
(5) Publication
The Commission shall publish each report, excluding information that is otherwise exempt from public disclosure under the rules of the Commission, issued under this subsection on the website of the Commission upon the issuance of such report.
(c) Improvements to network outage reporting
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall investigate and publish a report on—
(1)
the value to public safety agencies of originating service providers including visual information to improve situational awareness about outages in the notifications provided to public safety answering points, as required by rules issued by the Commission;
(2)
the volume and nature of 911 outages that may go unreported under the outage notification thresholds of the Commission; and
(3)
recommended changes to rules issued by the Commission to address paragraphs (1) and (2).
Sec. 3. Reporting of public safety telecommunicators as protective service occupations
(a) Findings
Congress finds the following:
(1)
Public safety telecommunicators play a critical role in emergency response, providing medical instruction, gathering lifesaving information, and protecting civilians and first responders.
(2)
The Standard Occupational Classification system is designed and maintained solely for statistical purposes, and is used by Federal statistical agencies to classify workers and jobs into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, analyzing, or disseminating data.
(3)
Occupations in the Standard Occupational Classification are classified based on work performed and, in some cases, on the skills, education, or training needed to perform the work.
(4)
Classifying public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation would correct an inaccurate representation in the Standard Occupational Classification, recognize these professionals for the lifesaving work they perform, and better align the Standard Occupational Classification with related classification systems.
(b) Standard Occupational Classification system
The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall, not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system.
Sec. 4. Report on implementation of the Kari’s Law Act of 2017
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Commission shall publish a report regarding the enforcement by the Commission of section 721 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 623), which shall include—
(1)
a summary of the extent to which multi-line telephone system manufacturers and vendors have complied with that section;
(2)
potential difficulties and obstacles in complying with that section;
(3)
recommendations to the Commission, if necessary, on ways to improve the policies of the Commission to better enforce that section; and
(4)
recommendations to Congress, if necessary, on further legislation that could mitigate problems like those that are addressed by that section.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Enhancing First Response Act
.
Sec. 2. Reports after activation of disaster information reporting system; improvements to network outage reporting
(a) Definitions
In this section:
(1) Automatic location information; automatic number identification
The terms Automatic Location Information and Automatic Number Identification have the meanings given those terms in section 9.3 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.
(2) Broadband internet access service
The term broadband internet access service has the meaning given the term in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.
(3) Commercial mobile service
The term commercial mobile service has the meaning given the term in section 332(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)).
(4) Commercial mobile data service
The term commercial mobile data service has the meaning given the term in section 6001 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401).
(5) Commission
The term Commission means the Federal Communications Commission.
(6) Indian tribal government; local government
The terms Indian tribal government and local government have the meanings given those terms in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).
(7) Interconnected VoIP service
The term interconnected VoIP service has the meaning given that term in section 9.3 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.
(8) Multi-line telephone system
The term multi-line telephone system has the meaning given the term in section 721(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 623(f)).
(9) Outage
The term outage has the meaning given the term in section 4.5 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.
(10) Public safety answering point
The term public safety answering point has the meaning given the term in section 222(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222(h)).
(11) State
The term State has the meaning given that term in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153).
(12) System
The term System means the Disaster Information Reporting System.
(b) Reports after activation of the disaster information reporting system
(1) Public hearings
(A) Requirement
Each year, the Commission shall hold not less than 1 public hearing relating to all events during the preceding 1-year period for which the System was activated for not less than 7 days.
(B) Inclusion of certain individuals in public hearings
For each public hearing held under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall consider including—
(i)
representatives of State government, local government, or Indian tribal governments in areas affected by such event;
(ii)
residents of the areas affected by such event, or consumer advocates;
(iii)
providers of communications services affected by such event;
(iv)
faculty of institutions of higher education;
(v)
representatives of other Federal agencies;
(vi)
electric utility providers;
(vii)
communications infrastructure companies; and
(viii)
first responders, emergency managers, and 911 directors in areas affected by such event.
(2) Report
Not later than 120 days after the public hearing under paragraph (1) occurs, the Commission shall issue a report that includes, with respect to such event and to the extent known without requiring the collection of additional information—
(A)
the number and duration of any outages of—
(i)
broadband internet access service;
(ii)
interconnected VoIP service;
(iii)
commercial mobile service; and
(iv)
commercial mobile data service;
(B)
the approximate number of users and the amount of communications infrastructure potentially affected by an outage described in subparagraph (A);
(C)
the number and duration of any outages that prevent public safety answering points from receiving caller location or number information or receiving emergency calls and routing such calls to emergency service personnel; and
(D)
any recommendations of the Commission on how to improve the resiliency of affected communications or networks recovery efforts.
(3) Development of reports
In developing a report required under paragraph (2), the Commission shall consider information collected by the Commission, including information collected by the Commission through the System, and any public hearing described in paragraph (1) with respect to the applicable event.
(4) Publication
The Commission shall publish each report, excluding information that is otherwise exempt from public disclosure under the rules of the Commission or was submitted to the Commission with a proper request for confidential treatment as described in section 0.459 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, issued under this subsection on the website of the Commission upon the issuance of such report. The Commission shall not publicly disclose company-specific information.
(c) Improvements to network outage reporting
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall investigate and publish a report on—
(1)
the value to public safety agencies of originating service providers including visual information to improve situational awareness about outages in the notifications provided to public safety answering points, as required by rules issued by the Commission;
(2)
the volume and nature of 911 outages that may go unreported under the outage notification thresholds of the Commission;
(3)
the balance between the value described in paragraph (1) to public safety agencies and the burden and practicality for originating service providers of including visual information in outage notifications as described in that paragraph; and
(4)
recommended changes to rules issued by the Commission to address paragraphs (1) and (2).
(d) Rule of construction
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to provide the Commission or any other person authority over any provider of broadband internet access service beyond what is specifically authorized under this Act.
Sec. 3. Reporting of public safety telecommunicators as protective service occupations
(a) Findings
Congress finds the following:
(1)
Public safety telecommunicators play a critical role in emergency response, providing medical instruction, gathering lifesaving information, and protecting civilians and first responders.
(2)
The Standard Occupational Classification system is designed and maintained solely for statistical purposes, and is used by Federal statistical agencies to classify workers and jobs into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, analyzing, or disseminating data.
(3)
Occupations in the Standard Occupational Classification are classified based on work performed and, in some cases, on the skills, education, or training needed to perform the work.
(4)
Classifying public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation would correct an inaccurate representation in the Standard Occupational Classification, recognize these professionals for the lifesaving work they perform, and better align the Standard Occupational Classification with related classification systems.
(b) Standard Occupational Classification system
The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall, not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system.
Sec. 4. Report on implementation of the Kari’s Law Act of 2017
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall publish a report regarding the enforcement by the Commission of section 721 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 623), which shall include—
(1)
a summary of the extent to which multi-line telephone system manufacturers and vendors have complied with that section;
(2)
potential difficulties and obstacles in complying with that section;
(3)
recommendations to the Commission, if necessary, on ways to improve the policies of the Commission to better enforce that section; and
(4)
recommendations to Congress, if necessary, on further legislation that could mitigate problems like those that are addressed by that section.