[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5035-S5036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2771. Ms. KLOBUCHAR submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
by her to the bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2025 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of title X, add the following:

                Subtitle I--Enhancing First Response Act

     SEC. 1096. SHORT TITLE.

       This subtitle may be cited as the ``Enhancing First 
     Response Act''.

     SEC. 1097. REPORTS AFTER ACTIVATION OF DISASTER INFORMATION 
                   REPORTING SYSTEM; IMPROVEMENTS TO NETWORK 
                   OUTAGE REPORTING.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Automatic location information; automatic number 
     identification.--The terms ``Automatic Location Information'' 
     and ``Automatic Number Identification'' have the meanings 
     given those terms in section 9.3 of title 47, Code of Federal 
     Regulations, or any successor regulation.
       (2) Broadband internet access service.--The term 
     ``broadband internet access service'' has the meaning given 
     the term in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal 
     Regulations, or any successor regulation.
       (3) Commercial mobile service.--The term ``commercial 
     mobile service'' has the meaning given the term in section 
     332(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)).
       (4) Commercial mobile data service.--The term ``commercial 
     mobile data service'' has the meaning given the term in 
     section 6001 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation 
     Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401).
       (5) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
     Communications Commission.
       (6) Indian tribal government; local government.--The terms 
     ``Indian tribal government'' and ``local government'' have 
     the meanings given those terms in section 102 of the Robert 
     T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5122).

[[Page S5036]]

       (7) Interconnected voip service; state.--The terms 
     ``interconnected VoIP service'' and ``State'' have the 
     meanings given those terms in section 3 of the Communications 
     Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153).
       (8) Outage.--The term ``outage'' has the meaning given the 
     term in section 4.5 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, 
     or any successor regulation.
       (9) Public safety answering point.--The term ``public 
     safety answering point'' has the meaning given the term in 
     section 222(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
     222(h)).
       (10) System.--The term ``System'' means the Disaster 
     Information Reporting System.
       (b) Reports After Activation of Disaster Information 
     Reporting System.--
       (1) Preliminary report.--
       (A) In general.--Not later than 6 weeks after the 
     deactivation of the System with respect to an event for which 
     the System was activated for not less than 7 days, the 
     Commission shall issue a preliminary report on, with respect 
     to such event and to the extent known--
       (i) the number and duration of any outages of--

       (I) broadband internet access service;
       (II) interconnected VoIP service;
       (III) commercial mobile service; and
       (IV) commercial mobile data service;

       (ii) the approximate number of users or the amount of 
     communications infrastructure potentially affected by an 
     outage described in clause (i);
       (iii) the number and duration of any outages that prevent 
     public safety answering points from receiving caller location 
     or number information or receiving emergency calls and 
     routing such calls to emergency service personnel; and
       (iv) any additional information determined appropriate by 
     the Commission.
       (B) Development of report.--The Commission shall develop 
     the report required by subparagraph (A) using information 
     collected by the Commission, including information collected 
     by the Commission through the System.
       (2) Public field hearings.--
       (A) Requirement.--Not later than 8 months after the 
     deactivation of the System with respect to an event for which 
     the System was activated for not less than 7 days, the 
     Commission shall hold not less than 1 public field hearing in 
     the area affected by such event.
       (B) Inclusion of certain individuals in hearings.--For each 
     public field hearing held under subparagraph (A), the 
     Commission shall consider including--
       (i) representatives of State government, local government, 
     or Indian tribal governments in areas affected by such event;
       (ii) residents of the areas affected by such event, or 
     consumer advocates;
       (iii) providers of communications services affected by such 
     event;
       (iv) faculty of institutions of higher education;
       (v) representatives of other Federal agencies;
       (vi) electric utility providers;
       (vii) communications infrastructure companies; and
       (viii) first responders, emergency managers, or 9-1-1 
     directors in areas affected by such event.
       (3) Final report.--Not later than 12 months after the 
     deactivation of the System with respect to an event for which 
     the System was activated for not less than 7 days, the 
     Commission shall issue a final report that includes, with 
     respect to such event--
       (A) the information described in paragraph (1)(A); and
       (B) any recommendations of the Commission on how to improve 
     the resiliency of affected communications or networks 
     recovery efforts.
       (4) Development of reports.--In developing a report 
     required under this subsection, the Commission shall consider 
     information collected by the Commission, including 
     information collected by the Commission through the System, 
     and any public hearing described in paragraph (2) with 
     respect to the applicable event.
       (5) Publication.--The Commission shall publish each report, 
     excluding information that is otherwise exempt from public 
     disclosure under the rules of the Commission, issued under 
     this subsection on the website of the Commission upon the 
     issuance of such report.
       (c) Improvements to Network Outage Reporting.--Not later 
     than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
     Commission shall investigate and publish a report on--
       (1) the value to public safety agencies of originating 
     service providers including visual information to improve 
     situational awareness about outages in the notifications 
     provided to public safety answering points, as required by 
     rules issued by the Commission;
       (2) the volume and nature of 911 outages that may go 
     unreported under the outage notification thresholds of the 
     Commission; and
       (3) recommended changes to rules issued by the Commission 
     to address paragraphs (1) and (2).

     SEC. 1098. REPORTING OF PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATORS AS 
                   PROTECTIVE SERVICE OCCUPATIONS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) Public safety telecommunicators play a critical role in 
     emergency response, providing medical instruction, gathering 
     lifesaving information, and protecting civilians and first 
     responders.
       (2) The Standard Occupational Classification system is 
     designed and maintained solely for statistical purposes, and 
     is used by Federal statistical agencies to classify workers 
     and jobs into occupational categories for the purpose of 
     collecting, calculating, analyzing, or disseminating data.
       (3) Occupations in the Standard Occupational Classification 
     are classified based on work performed and, in some cases, on 
     the skills, education, or training needed to perform the 
     work.
       (4) Classifying public safety telecommunicators as a 
     protective service occupation would correct an inaccurate 
     representation in the Standard Occupational Classification, 
     recognize these professionals for the lifesaving work they 
     perform, and better align the Standard Occupational 
     Classification with related classification systems.
       (b) Standard Occupational Classification System.--The 
     Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall, not 
     later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act, categorize public safety telecommunicators as a 
     protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational 
     Classification system.

     SEC. 1099. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE KARI'S LAW ACT OF 
                   2017.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
     Communications Commission.
       (2) Multi-line telephone system.--The term ``multi-line 
     telephone system'' has the meaning given the term in section 
     721(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 623(f)).
       (b) Report Required.--Not later than 180 days after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the 
     Commission shall publish a report regarding the enforcement 
     by the Commission of section 721 of the Communications Act of 
     1934 (47 U.S.C. 623), which shall include--
       (1) a summary of the extent to which multi-line telephone 
     system manufacturers and vendors have complied with that 
     section;
       (2) potential difficulties and obstacles in complying with 
     that section;
       (3) recommendations to the Commission, if necessary, on 
     ways to improve the policies of the Commission to better 
     enforce that section; and
       (4) recommendations to Congress, if necessary, on further 
     legislation that could mitigate problems like those that are 
     addressed by that section.
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