Congress Must Tackle 911 Problems, Former Bureau Chiefs Agree

“In an era where there’s concern about whether Congress can act, there’s some history here of action on these issues,” former FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief David Turetsky, now with Akin Gump, told us. “It’s just really important for public safety to move forward.”

“Chairman Wheeler has been an outspoken advocate for Next Generation 911 and public safety, but it may not be possible to speak loud enough to make Congress act on this emerging, self-inflicted public safety crisis,” said Venable’s Jamie Barnett, another former Public Safety Bureau chief. “Even as our communications networks incorporate the latest smart technologies, 911 is falling further and further behind. Congress must invest in the 911 infrastructure at the state and local level as well as a national maps database. Chairman Wheeler was being diplomatic when he said that $115 million is a good start. W[ith] the billions of dollars that are coming in from spectrum auctions, Congress should devote at least a billion dollars of that windfall to making sure that law enforcement, firefighters, EMTs and 911 professionals have a state of the art 911 system to save lives.”

The agency hasn't done any meaningful outreach to the Senate Commerce Committee on 911 legislation, one committee aide said. Other congressional aides weren't familiar with specific groundwork laid on the House side, though several staffers cautioned that given the long August recess, it’s possible that some lines of communication have opened quietly on this front.

One Democratic House staffer emphasized the few legislative days available to operate in this fall. But 911 issues are often very bipartisan, the staffer said. The staffer pointed to what was considered a partisan start to the year in the telecom space of the House Communications Subcommittee -- featuring intense focus on net neutrality and divisive battles surrounding FCC process overhaul -- and said Republicans seem to be more open to consensus-building over the course of the past month or so, such as in July’s hearing on broadband infrastructure investment.

“To effectively implement NG911, we need to amend our laws in a way that reflects the changing realities on the ground,” Wheeler had told APCO. “Over the coming months, I want to work with Congress to do just that.” During oversight hearings, such as one before the House Communications Subcommittee in July, Wheeler has urged Congress to revisit the laws surrounding 911 with urgency.

One congressional aide said the Commerce committees already seem to have their short-term telecom agendas lined up. He said broadband infrastructure investment seems to remain on deck for the House Commerce Committee, as one GOP committee staffer recently said at the Technology Policy Institute conference in Aspen, Colorado (see 1508170040). The Senate Commerce Committee’s priorities, meanwhile, are widely expected to include FCC reauthorization legislation, once considered possibly on deck for markup in July but delayed, and a broader focus on spectrum legislation. Other high-profile issues will also occupy congressional attention, such as the Sept. 30 expiration of authority for government spending.

“Our office has not been contacted about this yet but we look forward to hearing their ideas,” said a spokesman for Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., a senior Commerce Committee member who co-chairs the Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus. The other House co-chair is Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., ranking member of the Communications Subcommittee. The Senate co-chairs are Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Richard Burr, R-N.C.

Wheeler's "immediate goal is to have a dialogue," an FCC spokeswoman emailed. "At APCO, the Chairman sought to move the conversation forward by putting forth several ideas to strengthen and modernize 911, including ways to further empower our state and local public safety partners.”

Wheeler made many specific entreaties: “Congress could authorize establishment of a national maps database to ensure that every [public safety answering point] PSAP has access to the latest and most accurate maps and uses them. As maps increasingly include the third dimension, approaching this issue in a consistent, effective and efficient manner will be money well spent. … Congress provided $115 million in grant funding as part of the Next Generation 911 Advancement Act of 2012. That’s a good start, but more can be done. Congress could authorize matching funds to help PSAPs migrate to efficient NG911 ESI-Nets and shared platforms. It could condition existing and future grants on the use of best practice architectures identified by our Task Force’s recommendations for optimal NG911 implementation. … One way to help PSAPs protect themselves against cyberattack would be for Congress to incent the development and use of shared Security Operations Centers supporting multiple PSAPs.”

Turetsky underscored the necessity of Hill action and dismissed political party as a factor on an issue with lives as stake. “The chairman was building upon and in some cases innovating upon work the FCC has been doing in this area to promote adoption of NG-911,” he said. “It’s going to take some smarts, some willpower and some money.” Turetsky highlighted the jurisdictional challenges of implementing NG-911 and spoke of the importance of text-to-911, a priority he focused on as bureau chief. Only about a tenth of PSAPs can receive such texts, he said. He tallied the ways such texting to 911 can help people with hearing disabilities and who face situations of abuse: “This is what moved me as a bureau chief, when you understand what the stakes are," he said. "The chairman recognized that when it comes to 911 issues, we’re all in it together.”

The National Emergency Number Association lauded Wheeler’s requests to Congress, in a statement Friday. “During the 2012 NG9-1-1 Legal Framework proceeding, NENA expressed our own support for congressional actions similar to those that Chairman Wheeler endorsed,” the group said. “We continue to believe that federal bridge funding, through increased grants and matching funds, can significantly speed up the deployment of NG9-1-1 as we maintain legacy E9-1-1 systems during the transition. Moreover, we agree with the Chairman that providing states with stronger tools to ensure the legitimate and transparent use of 9-1-1 fees could increase both the quality of 9-1-1 service at the local level and the willingness of Congress to make investments in 9-1-1 from the federal level. Finally, we strongly support the Chairman’s call-to-action with respect to PSAP cybersecurity and workforce development.”