[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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