Enhancing First Response Act

Bill: 119-s-725
Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
Introduced: 2025-02-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Emergency communications systems
Emergency planning and evacuation
First responders and emergency personnel
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Telephone and wireless communication

Summary:
action_date: 2025-02-25
text: 

Enhancing First Response Act

This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to report on certain activations of the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS). DIRS is a reporting system that is activated during severe weather and other events impacting communications service and enables communications providers to report outages and other degradations to service.

If the system was activated for at least seven days, the FCC must issue a preliminary report that includes information about the number, duration, and nature of all associated outages. The FCC must also hold at least one public field hearing in the area affected by the event, and it must issue a final report that includes recommendations for improving the resiliency of affected networks or recovery efforts.

Separately, the FCC must publish a general report on (1) the volume and nature of 9-1-1 outages that are not required to be reported under current outage notification rules, and (2) the value to public safety agencies of the inclusion of visual information in outage notifications from communications providers.

The bill also 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.

Finally, the Office of the Inspector General of the FCC is directed to publish a report on the implementation of Kari’s Law, which requires multiline telephone systems to be preconfigured to allow users to dial 9-1-1 directly from any phone without dialing any additional code or prefix.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2025-09-11
text: Held at the desk.
action_date: 2025-09-11
text: Received in the House.
action_date: 2025-09-11
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2025-09-10
text: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S6555; text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR S6555)
action_date: 2025-09-10
text: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2025-09-02
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 146.
action_date: 2025-09-02
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 119-59.
action_date: 2025-09-02
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 119-59.
action_date: 2025-04-30
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2025-02-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2025-02-25
text: Introduced in Senate