[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5283]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        HAWAII'S PUBLIC SAFETY DISPATCHERS AND RADIO TECHNICIANS

  (Ms. GABBARD asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. GABBARD. Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend a warm mahalo to 
Hawaii's public safety dispatchers and radio technicians who provide an 
essential service to our community.
  These hardworking men and women process more than 1.4 million 911 
calls each year in Hawaii and are literally the first line of response 
in an emergency situation. Their ability to relay accurate and up-to-
date information is essential to the success of our police officers, 
firefighters, paramedics, and to the safety of those in desperate need 
of help.
  Last year, Hawaii's public safety telecommunicators helped our State 
become one of the very first in the Nation to implement a text-to-911 
program that is helping to close the gap in emergency response. This 
program addresses a very real need for situations where you may have a 
home invasion or domestic violence scenario where making a phone call 
to 911 safely is simply not possible.
  Mahalo to our telecommunicators for leading the way on this 
initiative and for your work every single day on behalf of Hawaii's 
people.

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