[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 35 (Thursday, March 11, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E362]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF ``THE NEXT GENERATION 9-1-1 PRESERVATION ACT OF 2010''

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                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 11, 2010

  Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce ``The Next 
Generation 9-1-1 Preservation Act of 2010.'' This bill represents the 
combined work of my colleague and E9-1-1 Caucus Co-Chair, John Shimkus, 
as well as our Senate Co-Chair counterparts, Senators Amy Klobuchar and 
Richard Burr.
  I'm very grateful to my colleagues for their efforts. Representative 
Shimkus and I are the remaining original co-founders of the E9-1-1 
Caucus and we have shared in its mission over the years. I'm very 
pleased that Senators Klobuchar and Burr have joined us in this 
important work. Together, we will make a difference in the lives of 
millions of Americans who call 9-1-1 each day.
  For the past seven years, the E9-1-1 Caucus has worked in a bi-
partisan, bicameral fashion to ensure that 9-1-1 call centers have 
essential technology to perform their life-saving tasks. In 2004, we 
introduced the ENHANCE 911 Act, which established a National 9-1-1 
Office to coordinate the implementation of Enhanced 9-1-1 services at 
the Federal, State and local levels. We provided funding resources for 
a grant program and made certain that funds collected on 
telecommunications bills for 9-1-1 were used only in support of 9-1-1 
services.
  We followed up on this initial core legislation with language in the 
``Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007;'' 
the ``New and Emerging Technologies 9-1-1 Improvement Act of 2008;'' 
and the ``National 9-1-1 Education Month Resolution in 2008.'' The 2008 
Farm bill also included language to make loans to improve 9-1-1 access 
to entities eligible to borrow from the Rural Utilities Service.
  Our work and dedication to 9-1-1 call centers is ongoing and evolving 
because technology changes and new tools have become available to 
upgrade safety protocols. In part, that's why we call the new program 
``Next Generation 9-1-1.'' We have moved from the point where we are 
mainly concerned about enhanced services for location identification. 
Now we take global positioning technology for granted. We need to focus 
on coordinated efforts to recognize essential technology and upgrades, 
and facilitate this process at the national level through a 
coordinated, Federal effort. We need to enhance interoperability and 
citizen access, while providing tools for the call centers as they 
route information and coordinate responses.
  The Next Generation 9-1-1 bill authorizes $250 million in grants for 
each fiscal year for the next five years for ongoing programming and 
moves the Coordination Office to the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration at the Department of Commerce. When this 
program initially began, it was placed in the Department of 
Transportation, but we now recognize that NTIA is the proper location 
for public safety technology grants and programming.
  We also remain concerned about states that raise funds for 9-1-1 
services on consumers' telecommunications bills, but divert those funds 
for other budgetary purposes. Now, more than ever, we need to provide 
incentives for States to keep their promise to use the funds for the 
purpose for which they were raised. We cannot permit routine raids of 
the 9-1-1 coffers at the expense of public safety.
  And that's what this bill really is about--public safety at its most 
basic level. The first tool of first responders is the E9-1-1 call 
center. Let's ensure that these centers have the tools that they need 
to serve the public and keep us all safe.

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