(3) EXEMPTION FROM PAPERWORK REDUCTION 
ACT REQUIREMENTS.—In establishing this directory, 
the Commission shall be exempted from chapter 35 
of title 44, United States Code (commonly known as 
the Paperwork Reduction Act). 
(d) STUDY ON NETWORK RESILIENCY.—Not later 
than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Commission shall submit to Congress, and make pub-
lically available on the Commission’s website, a study on— 
(1) mobile service providers supplying outage 
data to public safety answering points in times of 
emergency on a confidential basis; and 
(2)(A) making telecommunications service pro-
vider-owned WiFi access points, and other commu-
nications technologies operating on unlicensed spec-
trum, available to the general public for access to 
911 services, without requiring any login credentials, 
during times of emergency when mobile service is 
unavailable; and 
(B) whether non-telecommunications service 
provider-owned WiFi access points can provide pub-
lic access to 911 services during times of emergency. 
SEC. 3. GAO STUDY AND REPORT. 
(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 
States shall conduct a study on— 
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(1) the resiliency of telecommunications net-
works power utility during times of emergency; 
(2) how Federal agencies can better ensure crit-
ical telecommunications networks remain operational 
during times of emergency; 
(3) the feasibility of mobile service infrastruc-
ture receiving backup electrical power from the in-
frastructure or buildings to which such mobile serv-
ice infrastructure are affixed during times of emer-
gency; 
(4) the feasibility and advisability of adding 
points of contact for local utilities to the directory 
described in section 2(c); and 
(5) any legislative matters Congress should con-
sider to help promote network resiliency. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 
shall transmit a report to Congress containing the findings 
and recommendations of the study required by subsection 
(a). 
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SEC. 4. PRIORITY ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL SERVICE PRO-
VIDERS 
DURING 
FEDERALLY 
DECLARED 
EMERGENCIES. 
Section 427 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189e) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘tele-
communications service’’ and inserting ‘‘communica-
tions service, including wireline and mobile telephone 
service, Internet access service, radio and television 
broadcasting, cable service, and direct broadcast sat-
ellite service’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub-
section (e); and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(c) PRIORITY ACCESS AND ESCORTS.—Unless ex-
ceptional circumstances apply, in an emergency or major 
disaster, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, to the greatest extent practicable, 
shall take actions to ensure that an essential service pro-
vider has— 
‘‘(1) priority access to relevant locations and re-
sources; and 
‘‘(2) escorts to relevant locations. 
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‘‘(d) CREDENTIALS.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency shall establish a 
program to provide credentials to essential service pro-
viders to facilitate access to relevant locations and re-
sources for such providers.’’. 
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 
As used in this Act and for purposes of the rules re-
quired by this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 
Communications Commission; 
(2) the term ‘‘mobile service’’ means commer-
cial mobile service (as defined in section 332 of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332)) or 
commercial mobile data service (as defined in section 
6001 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Cre-
ation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401)); 
(3) the term ‘‘mobile service infrastructure’’ 
means a site or similar facility used to transmit or 
receive mobile service signals; 
(4) the term ‘‘WiFi access point’’ means wire-
less Internet access using the standard designated as 
802.11 or any variant thereof; and 
(5) the term ‘‘times of emergency’’ means ei-
ther an emergency as defined in section 102 of the 
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Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122), or an emergency 
as declared by the governor of a State or territory 
of the United States. 
Æ 
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