[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 27 (Friday, March 11, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: March 11, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATORS WEEK
Mr. WYNN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on
Post Office and Civil Service be discharged from further consideration
of the Senate joint resolution (S.J. Res. 56) to designate the week
beginning April 12, 1993, as ``National Public Safety Telecommunicators
Week,'' and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the title of the Senate joint resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Maryland?
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I yield to
the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Markey] who is the chief sponsor
of this resolution to explain the resolution.
Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Senate Joint Resolution
56, to designate the week of April 11, 1994, as ``National Public
Safety Telecommunicators Week.'' I am pleased to announce today that
224 of my colleagues join me in support of this resolution to recognize
the thousands of public safety officers and employees whose job it is
to coordinate, dispatch, and facilitate the execution of law
enforcement and emergency response activities in all of our districts.
Each day, Americans place over one million calls to 911 services.
That one million is multiplied two to three fold in instances of
emergency. The natural disasters that swept the United States this past
year, from the floods in the Midwest, to the brush fires and the
earthquake in California, to the blizzards that flailed the northeast,
commanded the conscientious efforts of the public safety workers more
than ever. In order for emergency services to respond promptly, public
safety telecommunicators swiftly and efficiently direct appropriate law
enforcement, medical rescue, and firefighting teams where they are
needed. The daily regimen of these public safety officers is filled
with life-or-death situations to which they must respond calmly,
confidently, and with utmost precision. And though untold numbers of
Americans owe their lives to their heroic efforts, public safety
telecommunicators are rarely in the limelight. Rather, these dedicated
individuals work behind the scenes, with little public recognition of
the tremendous value of their service.
National Public Safety
Telecommunicators Week not only
heightens public awareness of the life-saving communications services
provided by public safety telecommunicators, but also
recognizes the leadership of the Association of Public Safety
Communications Officers [APCO] in ensuring the continued quality of
these services. With a national membership of 9,000 public safety
telecommunicators, APCO is a unified voice for the public safety
community in advising Federal, State and local government agencies on
ways to improve emergency response systems. The Subcommittee on
Telecommunications and Finance, which I chair, has benefited from
APCO's input on a number of important issues, ranging from spectrum
allocation to telephone privacy to the information superhighway
legislation currently going through committee. I look forward to APCO's
continued input in these, and other important matters in the future.
Moreover, as we advance further into the information age, emerging
communications technologies will increase tremendously the lifesaving
capabilities of public safety
telecommunicators. The emergency
telecommunications systems of the future will incorporate new
technologies such as digital mapping, solar powered cellular public
rescue phones, and E-911 which will permit dispatchers to respond to
emergency calls with greater speed and precision. Judging by their past
performance, APCO and public safety telecommunicators will be on the
cutting edge in employing these new technologies and services to save
lives.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in expressing our
enduring appreciation and gratitude to those men and women whose
efforts have long gone above and beyond the call of duty.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I
yield to the gentlewoman from Maryland [Mrs. Morella].
Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, as an original cosponsor of House Joint
Resolution 138, the House counterpart to Senate Joint Resolution 56,
and as a Member of the congressional fire services caucus, it is my
pleasure to rise in support of this legislation to designate the week
beginning April 12, 1994, as National Public Safety Telecommunicators
Week.
Public safety telecommunicators are the driving force behind our
Nation's emergency rescue services. They are the men and women who
dispatch our police forces, our ambulances, our firefighters. Although
they are not as visible as the men and women who arrive at the scene of
emergencies, they are just as important.
We depend upon public safety telecommunicators to notify emergency
personnel promptly, clear, and calmly. We depend upon them to keep our
spouses and our children calm and assured in an emergency. We depend
upon them for guidance and support in our most frantic moments.
Mr. Speaker, some of us have been lucky enough not to have had to
dial 911 in the middle of a fire, a robbery, or a medical emergency.
But for the millions of Americans who have faced such an emergency,
public safety
telecommunicators have been
there--ready and willing to help. It is, indeed, fitting that we take
time to recognize their invaluable contribution to our daily lives, and
I am very pleased to support the designation of the week beginning
April 12, 1994, as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I
thank the gentlewoman from Maryland [Mrs. Morella] for her eloquent
words.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Senate Joint Resolution 56 to
designate the week beginning April 12, 1993, as ``National Public
Safety Telecommunicators Week.'' I thank my colleague and friend, the
gentleman from Massachusetts, [Mr. Markey], for his initiative in
presenting this resolution for our consideration.
This resolution commemorates the more than one-half million men and
women across the country who are engaged in the operation of emergency
response systems for Federal, State, and local governments. These
dedicated men and women are responsible for saving lives and property
during times of crisis with their countless efforts in assisting the
citizens of our Nation by dispatching to respond to emergencies, local
fires, police, and safety personnel.
It is important to note that many of our telecommunicators provide
calls for assistance relating to other important matters, such as
forestry and conservation operations, highway safety and maintenance
activities, and other pertinent governmental functions.
Accordingly, I strongly support this joint resolution in recognition
of the outstanding services provided by our safety telecommunicators
throughout our Nation and local communities.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Maryland?
There was no objection.
The Clerk read the Senate joint resolution, as follows:
S.J. Res. 56
Whereas over one-half million dedicated men and women are
engaged in the operation of emergency response systems for
Federal, State, and local governmental entities throughout
the United States.
Whereas these individuals are responsible for responding to
the telephone calls of the general public for police, fire
and emergency medical assistance and for dispatching such
assistance to help save the lives and property of our
citizens;
Whereas such calls include not only police, fire and
emergency medical service calls but those governmental
communications related to forestry and conservation
operations, highway safety and maintenance activities, and
all of the other operations which modern governmental
agencies must conduct; and
Whereas America's public safety telecommunications daily
serve the public in countless ways without due recognition by
the beneficiaries of their services: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the week
beginning April 12, 1993, is hereby designated as ``National
Public Safety Telecommunicators Week''. The President is
authorized and requested to issue a proclamation calling upon
the people of the United States to observe that week with
appropriate ceremonies and activities.
amendment offered by mr. wynn
Mr. WYNN. Mr. Speaker, I offer an amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
Amendment offered by Mr. Wynn: Page 2, line 3, strike
``April 12, 1993,'' and insert ``April 11, 1994,''
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the amendment offered by
the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Wynn].
The amendment was agreed to.
The Senate joint resolution was ordered to be read a third time, was
read the third time, and passed.
Amendment to the Title Offered by Mr. WYNN
Mr. WYNN. Mr. Speaker, I offer an amendment to the title.
The clerk read as follows:
Amendment to the title offered by Mr. Wynn:
In the title, strike ``April 12, 1993,'' and insert ``April
11, 1994,''
The amendment to the title was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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