[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 725 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 146
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 725
[Report No. 119-59]
To direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after
activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make
improvements to network outage reporting, to categorize public safety
telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard
Occupational Classification system, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 25, 2025
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Sullivan,
Mr. Lujan, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Markey, Mr. Budd, Mr. King, Mr. Thune, Mr.
Kelly, Mr. Crapo, and Ms. Cantwell) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
September 2, 2025
Reported by Mr. Cruz, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after
activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make
improvements to network outage reporting, to categorize public safety
telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard
Occupational Classification system, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Enhancing First Response
Act''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. REPORTS AFTER ACTIVATION OF DISASTER INFORMATION
REPORTING SYSTEM; IMPROVEMENTS TO NETWORK OUTAGE
REPORTING.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Definitions.--In this section:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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)).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the
Federal Communications Commission.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (8) 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)).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (9) 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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (10) 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)).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (11) System.--The term ``System'' means the
Disaster Information Reporting System.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Reports After Activation of Disaster Information
Reporting System.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Preliminary report.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) the number and duration of any
outages of--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (I) broadband internet
access service;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (II) interconnected VoIP
service;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (III) commercial mobile
service; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (IV) commercial mobile
data service;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) the approximate number of
users or the amount of communications
infrastructure potentially affected by an
outage described in clause (i);</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iv) any additional information
determined appropriate by the
Commission.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Public field hearings.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) Inclusion of certain individuals in
hearings.--For each public field hearing held under
subparagraph (A), the Commission shall consider
including--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) representatives of State
government, local government, or Indian tribal
governments in areas affected by such
event;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) residents of the areas
affected by such event, or consumer
advocates;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) providers of communications
services affected by such event;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iv) faculty of institutions of
higher education;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (v) representatives of other
Federal agencies;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (vi) electric utility
providers;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (vii) communications
infrastructure companies; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (viii) first responders, emergency
managers, or 9-1-1 directors in areas affected
by such event.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) the information described in paragraph
(1)(A); and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) any recommendations of the Commission
on how to improve the resiliency of affected
communications or networks recovery efforts.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) the volume and nature of 911 outages that may
go unreported under the outage notification thresholds of the
Commission; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) recommended changes to rules issued by the
Commission to address paragraphs (1) and (2).</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 3. REPORTING OF PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATORS AS
PROTECTIVE SERVICE OCCUPATIONS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Public safety telecommunicators play a
critical role in emergency response, providing medical
instruction, gathering lifesaving information, and protecting
civilians and first responders.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Standard Occupational Classification System.--The
Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall, not later than
30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, categorize public
safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the
Standard Occupational Classification system.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 4. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE KARI'S LAW ACT OF
2017.</DELETED>
<DELETED> 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--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) a summary of the extent to which multi-line
telephone system manufacturers and vendors have complied with
that section;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) potential difficulties and obstacles in
complying with that section;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) recommendations to the Commission, if
necessary, on ways to improve the policies of the Commission to
better enforce that section; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) recommendations to Congress, if necessary, on
further legislation that could mitigate problems like those
that are addressed by that section.</DELETED>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Enhancing First Response Act''.
SEC. 2. 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).
(7) Interconnected voip service.--The term ``interconnected
VoIP service'' has the meaning given that term in section 9.3
of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor
regulation.
(8) 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)).
(9) 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.
(10) 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)).
(11) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given that
term in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
153).
(12) System.--The term ``System'' means the Disaster
Information Reporting System.
(b) Reports After Activation of the Disaster Information Reporting
System.--
(1) Public hearings.--
(A) Requirement.--Each year, the Commission shall
hold not less than 1 public hearing relating to all
events during the preceding 1-year period for which the
System was activated for not less than 7 days.
(B) Inclusion of certain individuals in public
hearings.--For each public 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, and 911 directors in areas affected
by such event.
(2) Report.--Not later than 120 days after the public
hearing under paragraph (1) occurs, the Commission shall issue
a report that includes, with respect to such event and to the
extent known without requiring the collection of additional
information--
(A) 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;
(B) the approximate number of users and the amount
of communications infrastructure potentially affected
by an outage described in subparagraph (A);
(C) 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
(D) any recommendations of the Commission on how to
improve the resiliency of affected communications or
networks recovery efforts.
(3) Development of reports.--In developing a report
required under paragraph (2), 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 (1) with respect to the
applicable event.
(4) Publication.--The Commission shall publish each report,
excluding information that is otherwise exempt from public
disclosure under the rules of the Commission or was submitted
to the Commission with a proper request for confidential
treatment as described in section 0.459 of title 47, Code of
Federal Regulations, issued under this subsection on the
website of the Commission upon the issuance of such report. The
Commission shall not publicly disclose company-specific
information.
(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;
(3) the balance between the value described in paragraph
(1) to public safety agencies and the burden and practicality
for originating service providers of including visual
information in outage notifications as described in that
paragraph; and
(4) recommended changes to rules issued by the Commission
to address paragraphs (1) and (2).
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed
to provide the Commission or any other person authority over any
provider of broadband internet access service beyond what is
specifically authorized under this Act.
SEC. 3. 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 enactment of this Act, categorize public safety
telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard
Occupational Classification system.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE KARI'S LAW ACT OF 2017.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
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.
Calendar No. 146
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 725
[Report No. 119-59]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after
activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make
improvements to network outage reporting, to categorize public safety
telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard
Occupational Classification system, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 2, 2025
Reported with an amendment