III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 411 

Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the first 9–1–1 call in the United 

States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2018 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mr. BURR, and Mr. NELSON) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the first 9–1–1 call 

in the United States. 

Whereas, prior to the 1960s, the United States did not have 

a single designated telephone number for the people of 

the United States to call for help in times of emergency; 

Whereas, in late 1967 and early 1968, the Federal Communications Commission and the American Telephone and 

Telegraph Company developed a proposal to make the 

digits 9–1–1 the emergency code throughout the United 

States; 

Whereas, on February 16, 1968, the first 9–1–1 call was 

placed in Haleyville, Alabama; 

Whereas, in 1999, Congress passed the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999 (47 U.S.C. 615 et 


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•SRES 411 IS 

seq.), designating 9–1–1 as the national emergency telephone number; 

Whereas, by the end of the 20th century, nearly 93 percent 

of the population of the United States, and 96 percent 

of the land area of the United States, was covered by 

some type of 9–1–1 service; 

Whereas the availability of 9–1–1 as a national emergency 

number has contributed to the saving of an untold number of lives in the United States; 

Whereas the people of the United States are educated from 

a young age to rely upon the 9–1–1 systems of the 

United States to reach help in an emergency; 

Whereas the takers of 9–1–1 calls, known as public safety 

telecommunicators, dedicate their lives to answering 9–1– 

1 calls and helping others; 

Whereas those public safety telecommunicators are critical to 

ensuring the safety of the general public and first responders; 

Whereas, every day, public safety telecommunicators— 

(1) help to save and to protect lives; 

(2) direct help to where it is needed most; and 

(3) provide medical instruction, comfort, and reassurance; and 

Whereas ongoing efforts to modernize 9–1–1 systems— 

(1) will ensure the 9–1–1 infrastructure of the 

United States remains resilient, robust, and innovative; 

and 

(2) will empower public safety telecommunicators to 

make increasingly critical contributions to the safety and 

security of the general public, as well as first responders: 

Now, therefore, be it 


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•SRES 411 IS 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) honors the 50th anniversary of the first 9– 

3 1–1 call and the establishment of 9–1–1 as the na4 tionwide emergency number; 

5 (2) praises public safety telecommunicators for 

6 their lifesaving work; 

7 (3) recognizes the importance of the 9–1–1 sys8 tems of the United States and the need for robust 

9 and reliable access to those systems; and 

10 (4) encourages the people of the United States 

11 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of 9–1–1 and the 

12 lifesaving contributions of public safety telecommu13 nicators and first responders facilitated by 9–1–1 

14 systems. 

Æ 


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