[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 20, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E784]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     PRESERVING HOME AND OFFICE NUMBERS IN EMERGENCIES ACT OF 2021

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                               speech of

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 19, 2021

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 678, the 
PHONE Act, a simple but powerful bill to ensure that Americans who lose 
their homes in natural disasters do not also lose their home phone 
numbers.
  Last year, the CZU Lightning Complex Fire burned 86,509 acres in my 
Congressional District, making it the 12th most destructive fire in 
California history. Seventy-seven thousand of my constituents were 
evacuated, and the fire destroyed nearly 1,500 homes, businesses, and 
other buildings.
  This figure includes nearly 1,000 families in my district who 
couldn't return home because their home was destroyed. The PHONE Act 
helps these families and thousands of other American families who lose 
their homes in wildfires and other disasters.
  The PHONE Act has three parts. First, if the President issues a major 
disaster declaration and a governor designates a disaster area, phone 
numbers in that designated area cannot be reassigned for one year. 
Second, if someone in the disaster area needs more than a year, they 
can get a one-year extension because rebuilding can take years. Third, 
the bill allows consumers to cancel phone service without a 
cancellation fee if their home is inaccessible or uninhabitable. The 
bill also prohibits resubscription fees if consumers get phone service 
somewhere else in the area.
  Some may ask why we need all of this for a simple phone number. One 
of the first things parents teach their children is their phone number. 
Many of us still remember our parents' home phone numbers. While many 
are opting to live with just cellphones, it's important to consider who 
depends on landlines: older Americans and retirees who often have 
multiple doctors, caregivers, and loved ones using long-held phone 
numbers.
  Congressman Mike Thompson authored the bill to help the survivors of 
the Atlas and Tubbs fires that ravished his Congressional District in 
2017. Thousands lost their homes and were further frustrated to learn 
they also lost their phone number, because phone companies had given 
the numbers away.
  The bill is carefully drafted to plug a small gap in the law, but 
this gap means the world to our constituents for whom this bill is 
written to protect.
  Last Congress, the bill was marked up on March 10, 2020, by the 
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology and on September 9, 2020, 
by the full Energy & Commerce Committee. At both markups, I offered 
amendments to ensure the bill would have broad, bipartisan support and 
would be as effective as possible. On September 29, 2020, the House 
passed the bill by voice vote. Sadly, the Senate did not consider the 
measure.
  I urge my House colleagues to pass this bill once again and urge the 
Senate to take it up and pass the bill as well.

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