[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 43 (Monday, November 1, 1999)]
[Pages 2156-2157]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act 
of 1999

October 26, 1999

    Today I am pleased to sign into law the Wireless Communications and 
Public Safety Act of 1999. By making it easier to use wireless phones to 
report emergencies, this bill could save thousands of lives every year.
    Nearly 100,000 times each day, someone uses a wireless phone to make 
an emergency call. People with wireless phones can speed the delivery of 
public safety services by providing rapid reports of car crashes, 
incidents of aggressive or drunk driving, serious crimes, and natural 
disasters. Getting rapid care to someone who is suffering from a heart 
attack or is involved in a car crash can mean the difference between 
life and death.
    The legislation I am signing today will improve emergency wireless 
communications in several ways. First, it will make 9-1-1 the universal 
emergency telephone number for

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wireless and ``wireline'' telephones across the United States. 
Currently, there are 20 different emergency wireless numbers in 
different States. Second, it will encourage statewide coordination of 
the efforts of public safety and law enforcement officials to protect 
our citizens and save lives. Finally, it will increase private sector 
investment in emergency wireless services by providing wireless 
companies with the same level of liability protection that ``wireline'' 
telecommunications companies have.
    I want to thank Members of Congress, the wireless industry, public 
safety officials, and medical professionals who worked together to pass 
this important legislation.

Note: S. 800, approved October 26, was assigned Public Law No. 106-81.