[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12875]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                      TEXT TO 9-1-1 IN NEW JERSEY

 Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I wish to commend the hardworking 
men and women in New Jersey who have made significant strides to ensure 
our State keeps pace with modern technology when it comes to public 
safety. This month, all 21 counties in our great State will have access 
to expanded 9-1-1 services, by being able to text to 9-1-1 in case of 
emergency.
  This exciting new development will help save lives across our State 
and serves as a national model for receiving public safety services. 
Text to 9-1-1 further empowers persons with disabilities--such as 
hearing or speech impairments--who may have previously faced barriers 
to accessing emergency services. Today, 9-1-1 in New Jersey is open and 
accessible to more residents than ever before, and I commend the hard 
work and collaboration in New Jersey that resulted in this 
accomplishment.
  Tragically, there are situations that happen every day where victims 
of crime or domestic violence are not in a position to physically call 
9-1-1. With text to 9-1-1, individuals who can't speak on the phone can 
still access vital services. Further, with text to
9-1-1 enabled, there may soon come a time when victims can send 
information they never could have before, such as photos which can be 
instantly shared with first responders on the ground.
  In February of this year, the text to 9-1-1 system was rolled out at 
Rutgers University and showed excellent results. In July, Camden County 
announced its successful implementation of this new service. And today 
all counties in our entire State have access to this convenient way of 
reaching local police. While this service is incredibly important and 
helps bring our emergency communications into the 21st century, it is 
important to note that, at this time, a phone call is preferred over a 
text message. I commend the educational campaign that has accompanied 
the text to 9-1-1 roll out, sharing the message to ``call if you can, 
text if you can't.''
  With this month's announcement, New Jersey leads the way as the fifth 
State to implement text to 9-1-1 in the entire Nation. This major 
achievement would not have been possible without the commitment and 
collaboration from cellular providers, Rutgers University, and other 
host sites across the State, as well as State and local governments and 
emergency response professionals who came together to advance this 
goal. I am confident that text to 9-1-1 will have a tremendous impact 
on the residents of our State, and I hope our successes and lessons 
learned in New Jersey can help further inform other States seeking to 
update their 9-1-1 capabilities and better protect their 
citizens.

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