911 SAVES Act
Bill: H.R.2351 | Sponsor: Rep. Torres, Norma J. (D-CA)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services Act of 2021 or the 911 SAVES Act
This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget, by 30 days after the bill's enactment, to categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification System.

To require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to 
    review and make certain revisions to 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,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Supporting Accurate Views of 
Emergency Services Act of 2021'' or the ``911 SAVES Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Public Safety Telecommunicators play a critical role in 
        emergency response.
            (2) The work Public Safety Telecommunicators perform goes 
        far beyond merely relaying information between the public and 
        first responders.
            (3) When responding to reports of missing, abducted, and 
        sexually exploited children, the information obtained and 
        actions taken by Public Safety Telecommunicators form the 
        foundation for an effective response.
            (4) When a hostage taker or suicidal person calls 9-1-1, 
        the first contact is with the Public Safety Telecommunicator 
        whose negotiation skills can prevent the situation from getting 
        worse.
            (5) During active shooter incidents, Public Safety 
        Telecommunicators coach callers through first aid and give 
        advice to prevent further harm, all while collecting vital 
        information to provide situational awareness for responding 
        officers.
            (6) And when police officers, firefighters, and Emergency 
        Medical Technicians are being shot at, their calls for help go 
        to Public Safety Telecommunicators.
            (7) They are often communicating with people in great 
        distress, harm, fear, or injury, while employing their 
        experience and training to recognize a critical piece of 
        information.
            (8) In fact, there have been incidents in which Public 
        Safety Telecommunicators, recognizing the sound of a racked 
        shotgun, have prevented serious harm or death of law 
        enforcement officers who would have otherwise walked into a 
        trap.
            (9) This work comes with an extreme emotional and physical 
        impact that is compounded by long hours and the around-the-
        clock nature of the job.
            (10) Indeed, research has suggested that Public Safety 
        Telecommunicators are exposed to trauma that may lead to the 
        development of posttraumatic stress disorder.
            (11) Recognizing the risks associated with exposure to 
        traumatic events, some agencies provide Critical Incident 
        Stress Debriefing (CISD) teams to lessen the psychological 
        impact and accelerate recovery for Public Safety 
        Telecommunicators and first responders, alike.
            (12) 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.
            (13) 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.
            (14) Classifying public safety telecommunicators as 
        Protective Service Occupations 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.

SEC. 3. REVIEW OF STANDARD OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM.

    The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall not later 
than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, categorize 
public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation 
under the Standard Occupational Classification System.
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