[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 70 (Tuesday, May 18, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H3096]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      911 EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS

  (Ms. ESHOO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, every day in America there are over 150,000 
911 calls made from a cell phone. This represents more than 25 percent 
of all 911 calls made in our country. Each one of these calls is singly 
one of the most important ones that an individual will make. Yet most 
Americans would be shocked to learn that the majority of our country's 
Public Safety Answering Points still do not have Enhanced 911, or E-
911, technology needed to track the location of the emergency caller on 
their mobile phone. This is unacceptable. Most, if not all, mobile 
phone users buy them for the added security of knowing that if they 
need to make a 911 call, help will be on the way shortly.
  I am proud that the House, supported by the E-911 Caucus, passed 
legislation providing Federal grants to enhance our emergency 
communications system and make E-911 a reality. Now it is time for the 
other body to act. With so much weighing on these calls, we have to do 
everything we can to accelerate the deployment of this lifesaving 
technology.

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