Both sides have signed this (Bill Ranking)
S. 725 · 119th Congress (2025-2026)
13 members · Left 6 · Center 1 · Right 6 (Bill Ranking)
| Sponsor | Sen. Klobuchar, Amy (D-MN) (Introduced 02/25/2025) |
|---|---|
| Sponsor Voting Record | Lean left · DW-NOMINATE -0.28 · measured from every roll-call vote this member has cast (voteview.com) (Sponsor Ranking) |
| Support |
LLLCLRR support across the spectrum: 13 members signed on (Bill Ranking) this bill: sponsor + current cosponsors, each once |
| Committees | Senate - Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; Senate - Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; Senate - Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee |
| Latest Action | 09/11/2025 Held at the desk. |
| Roll Call Votes | There have been no roll call votes |
| Source | view on congress.gov → |
Introduced in Senate (02/25/2025)
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.
119 S725 ES: Enhancing First Response Act U.S. Senate text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. 119th CONGRESS1st SessionS. 725IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESAN ACTTo direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting, to categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system, and for other purposes.1.Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Enhancing First Response Act.2.Reports after activation of disaster information reporting system; improvements to network outage reporting(a)DefinitionsIn this section:(1)Automatic location information; automatic number identificationThe terms Automatic Location Information and Automatic Number Identification have the meanings given those terms in section 9.3 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.(2)Broadband internet access serviceThe term broadband internet access service has the meaning given the term in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.(3)Commercial mobile serviceThe term commercial mobile service has the meaning given the term in section 332(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)). (4)Commercial mobile data serviceThe term commercial mobile data service has the meaning given the term in section 6001 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401). (5)CommissionThe term Commission means the Federal Communications Commission.(6)Indian tribal government; local governmentThe terms Indian tribal government and local government have the meanings given those terms in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).(7)Interconnected VoIP serviceThe term interconnected VoIP service has the meaning given that term in section 9.3 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.(8)Multi-line telephone systemThe term multi-line telephone system has the meaning given the term in section 721(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 623(f)). (9)OutageThe term outage has the meaning given the term in section 4.5 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.(10)Public safety answering pointThe term public safety answering point has the meaning given the term in section 222(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222(h)).(11)StateThe term State has the meaning given that term in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153).(12)SystemThe term System means the Disaster Information Reporting System.(b)Reports after activation of the disaster information reporting system(1)Public hearings(A)RequirementEach year, the Commission shall hold not less than 1 public hearing relating to all events during the preceding 1-year period for which the System was activated for not less than 7 days.(B)Inclusion of certain individuals in public hearingsFor each public hearing held under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall consider including—(i)representatives of State government, local government, or Indian tribal governments in areas affected by such event;(ii)residents of the areas affected by such event, or consumer advocates;(iii)providers of communications services affected by such event;(iv)faculty of institutions of higher education;(v)representatives of other Federal agencies;(vi)electric utility providers;(vii)communications infrastructure companies; and(viii)first responders, emergency managers, and 911 directors in areas affected by such event.(2)ReportNot later than 120 days after the public hearing under paragraph (1) occurs, the Commission shall issue a report that includes, with respect to such event and to the extent known without requiring the collection of additional information—(A)the number and duration of any outages of—(i)broadband internet access service;(ii)interconnected VoIP service; (iii)commercial mobile service; and(iv)commercial mobile data service; (B)the approximate number of users and the amount of communications infrastructure potentially affected by an outage described in subparagraph (A);(C)the number and duration of any outages that prevent public safety answering points from receiving caller location or number information or receiving emergency calls and routing such calls to emergency service personnel; and(D)any recommendations of the Commission on how to improve the resiliency of affected communications or networks recovery efforts.(3)Development of reportsIn developing a report required under paragraph (2), the Commission shall consider information collected by the Commission, including information collected by the Commission through the System, and any public hearing described in paragraph (1) with respect to the applicable event.(4)PublicationThe Commission shall publish each report, excluding information that is otherwise exempt from public disclosure under the rules of the Commission or was submitted to the Commission with a proper request for confidential treatment as described in section 0.459 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, issued under this subsection on the website of the Commission upon the issuance of such report. The Commission shall not publicly disclose company-specific information.(c)Improvements to network outage reportingNot later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall investigate and publish a report on—(1)the value to public safety agencies of originating service providers including visual information to improve situational awareness about outages in the notifications provided to public safety answering points, as required by rules issued by the Commission;(2)the volume and nature of 911 outages that may go unreported under the outage notification thresholds of the Commission; (3)the balance between the value described in paragraph (1) to public safety agencies and the burden and practicality for originating service providers of including visual information in outage notifications as described in that paragraph; and(4)recommended changes to rules issued by the Commission to address paragraphs (1) and (2).(d)Rule of constructionNothing in this Act shall be construed to provide the Commission or any other person authority over any provider of broadband internet access service beyond what is specifically authorized under this Act.3.Reporting of public safety telecommunicators as protective service occupations(a)FindingsCongress finds the following: (1)Public safety telecommunicators play a critical role in emergency response, providing medical instruction, gathering lifesaving information, and protecting civilians and first responders.(2)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.(3)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.(4)Classifying public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation 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.(b)Standard Occupational Classification systemThe Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall, not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system.4.Report on implementation of the Kari’s Law Act of 2017Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall publish a report regarding the enforcement by the Commission of section 721 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 623), which shall include—(1)a summary of the extent to which multi-line telephone system manufacturers and vendors have complied with that section;(2)potential difficulties and obstacles in complying with that section;(3)recommendations to the Commission, if necessary, on ways to improve the policies of the Commission to better enforce that section; and(4)recommendations to Congress, if necessary, on further legislation that could mitigate problems like those that are addressed by that section. Passed the Senate September 10, 2025.Secretary
119 S725 IS: Enhancing First Response Act U.S. Senate 2025-02-25 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. II119th CONGRESS1st SessionS. 725IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESFebruary 25, 2025Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Luján, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Markey, Mr. Budd, Mr. King, Mr. Thune, and Mr. Kelly) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and TransportationA BILLTo direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting, to categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system, and for other purposes.1.Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Enhancing First Response Act.2.Reports after activation of disaster information reporting system; improvements to network outage reporting(a)DefinitionsIn this section:(1)Automatic location information; automatic number identificationThe terms Automatic Location Information and Automatic Number Identification have the meanings given those terms in section 9.3 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.(2)Broadband internet access serviceThe term broadband internet access service has the meaning given the term in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.(3)Commercial mobile serviceThe term commercial mobile service has the meaning given the term in section 332(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)). (4)Commercial mobile data serviceThe term commercial mobile data service has the meaning given the term in section 6001 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401). (5)CommissionThe term Commission means the Federal Communications Commission.(6)Indian tribal government; local governmentThe terms Indian tribal government and local government have the meanings given those terms in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).(7)Interconnected VoIP service; StateThe terms interconnected VoIP service and State have the meanings given those terms in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153).(8)Multi-line telephone systemThe term multi-line telephone system has the meaning given the term in section 721(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 623(f)). (9)OutageThe term outage has the meaning given the term in section 4.5 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.(10)Public safety answering pointThe term public safety answering point has the meaning given the term in section 222(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222(h)).(11)SystemThe term System means the Disaster Information Reporting System.(b)Reports after activation of disaster information reporting system(1)Preliminary report(A)In generalNot later than 6 weeks after the deactivation of the System with respect to an event for which the System was activated for not less than 7 days, the Commission shall issue a preliminary report on, with respect to such event and to the extent known—(i)the number and duration of any outages of—(I)broadband internet access service;(II)interconnected VoIP service; (III)commercial mobile service; and(IV)commercial mobile data service; (ii)the approximate number of users or the amount of communications infrastructure potentially affected by an outage described in clause (i);(iii)the number and duration of any outages that prevent public safety answering points from receiving caller location or number information or receiving emergency calls and routing such calls to emergency service personnel; and(iv)any additional information determined appropriate by the Commission.(B)Development of reportThe Commission shall develop the report required by subparagraph (A) using information collected by the Commission, including information collected by the Commission through the System. (2)Public field hearings(A)RequirementNot later than 8 months after the deactivation of the System with respect to an event for which the System was activated for not less than 7 days, the Commission shall hold not less than 1 public field hearing in the area affected by such event.(B)Inclusion of certain individuals in hearingsFor each public field hearing held under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall consider including—(i)representatives of State government, local government, or Indian tribal governments in areas affected by such event;(ii)residents of the areas affected by such event, or consumer advocates;(iii)providers of communications services affected by such event;(iv)faculty of institutions of higher education;(v)representatives of other Federal agencies;(vi)electric utility providers;(vii)communications infrastructure companies; and(viii)first responders, emergency managers, or 9–1–1 directors in areas affected by such event.(3)Final reportNot later than 12 months after the deactivation of the System with respect to an event for which the System was activated for not less than 7 days, the Commission shall issue a final report that includes, with respect to such event—(A)the information described in paragraph (1)(A); and(B)any recommendations of the Commission on how to improve the resiliency of affected communications or networks recovery efforts.(4)Development of reportsIn developing a report required under this subsection, the Commission shall consider information collected by the Commission, including information collected by the Commission through the System, and any public hearing described in paragraph (2) with respect to the applicable event.(5)PublicationThe Commission shall publish each report, excluding information that is otherwise exempt from public disclosure under the rules of the Commission, issued under this subsection on the website of the Commission upon the issuance of such report.(c)Improvements to network outage reportingNot later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall investigate and publish a report on—(1)the value to public safety agencies of originating service providers including visual information to improve situational awareness about outages in the notifications provided to public safety answering points, as required by rules issued by the Commission;(2)the volume and nature of 911 outages that may go unreported under the outage notification thresholds of the Commission; and(3)recommended changes to rules issued by the Commission to address paragraphs (1) and (2).3.Reporting of public safety telecommunicators as protective service occupations(a)FindingsCongress finds the following: (1)Public safety telecommunicators play a critical role in emergency response, providing medical instruction, gathering lifesaving information, and protecting civilians and first responders.(2)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.(3)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.(4)Classifying public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation 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.(b)Standard Occupational Classification systemThe Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall, not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system.4.Report on implementation of the Kari’s Law Act of 2017Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Commission shall publish a report regarding the enforcement by the Commission of section 721 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 623), which shall include—(1)a summary of the extent to which multi-line telephone system manufacturers and vendors have complied with that section;(2)potential difficulties and obstacles in complying with that section;(3)recommendations to the Commission, if necessary, on ways to improve the policies of the Commission to better enforce that section; and(4)recommendations to Congress, if necessary, on further legislation that could mitigate problems like those that are addressed by that section.
119 S725 RS: Enhancing First Response Act U.S. Senate 2025-09-02 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. IICalendar No. 146119th CONGRESS1st SessionS. 725[Report No. 119–59]IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESFebruary 25, 2025Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Luján, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Markey, Mr. Budd, Mr. King, Mr. Thune, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Crapo, and Ms. Cantwell) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and TransportationSeptember 2, 2025Reported by Mr. Cruz, with an amendmentStrike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italicA BILLTo direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting, to categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system, and for other purposes.1.Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Enhancing First Response Act.2.Reports after activation of disaster information reporting system; improvements to network outage reporting(a)DefinitionsIn this section:(1)Automatic location information; automatic number identificationThe terms Automatic Location Information and Automatic Number Identification have the meanings given those terms in section 9.3 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.(2)Broadband internet access serviceThe term broadband internet access service has the meaning given the term in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.(3)Commercial mobile serviceThe term commercial mobile service has the meaning given the term in section 332(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)). (4)Commercial mobile data serviceThe term commercial mobile data service has the meaning given the term in section 6001 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401). (5)CommissionThe term Commission means the Federal Communications Commission.(6)Indian tribal government; local governmentThe terms Indian tribal government and local government have the meanings given those terms in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).(7)Interconnected VoIP service; StateThe terms interconnected VoIP service and State have the meanings given those terms in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153).(8)Multi-line telephone systemThe term multi-line telephone system has the meaning given the term in section 721(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 623(f)). (9)OutageThe term outage has the meaning given the term in section 4.5 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.(10)Public safety answering pointThe term public safety answering point has the meaning given the term in section 222(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222(h)).(11)SystemThe term System means the Disaster Information Reporting System.(b)Reports after activation of disaster information reporting system(1)Preliminary report(A)In generalNot later than 6 weeks after the deactivation of the System with respect to an event for which the System was activated for not less than 7 days, the Commission shall issue a preliminary report on, with respect to such event and to the extent known—(i)the number and duration of any outages of—(I)broadband internet access service;(II)interconnected VoIP service; (III)commercial mobile service; and(IV)commercial mobile data service; (ii)the approximate number of users or the amount of communications infrastructure potentially affected by an outage described in clause (i);(iii)the number and duration of any outages that prevent public safety answering points from receiving caller location or number information or receiving emergency calls and routing such calls to emergency service personnel; and(iv)any additional information determined appropriate by the Commission.(B)Development of reportThe Commission shall develop the report required by subparagraph (A) using information collected by the Commission, including information collected by the Commission through the System. (2)Public field hearings(A)RequirementNot later than 8 months after the deactivation of the System with respect to an event for which the System was activated for not less than 7 days, the Commission shall hold not less than 1 public field hearing in the area affected by such event.(B)Inclusion of certain individuals in hearingsFor each public field hearing held under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall consider including—(i)representatives of State government, local government, or Indian tribal governments in areas affected by such event;(ii)residents of the areas affected by such event, or consumer advocates;(iii)providers of communications services affected by such event;(iv)faculty of institutions of higher education;(v)representatives of other Federal agencies;(vi)electric utility providers;(vii)communications infrastructure companies; and(viii)first responders, emergency managers, or 9–1–1 directors in areas affected by such event.(3)Final reportNot later than 12 months after the deactivation of the System with respect to an event for which the System was activated for not less than 7 days, the Commission shall issue a final report that includes, with respect to such event—(A)the information described in paragraph (1)(A); and(B)any recommendations of the Commission on how to improve the resiliency of affected communications or networks recovery efforts.(4)Development of reportsIn developing a report required under this subsection, the Commission shall consider information collected by the Commission, including information collected by the Commission through the System, and any public hearing described in paragraph (2) with respect to the applicable event.(5)PublicationThe Commission shall publish each report, excluding information that is otherwise exempt from public disclosure under the rules of the Commission, issued under this subsection on the website of the Commission upon the issuance of such report.(c)Improvements to network outage reportingNot later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall investigate and publish a report on—(1)the value to public safety agencies of originating service providers including visual information to improve situational awareness about outages in the notifications provided to public safety answering points, as required by rules issued by the Commission;(2)the volume and nature of 911 outages that may go unreported under the outage notification thresholds of the Commission; and(3)recommended changes to rules issued by the Commission to address paragraphs (1) and (2).3.Reporting of public safety telecommunicators as protective service occupations(a)FindingsCongress finds the following: (1)Public safety telecommunicators play a critical role in emergency response, providing medical instruction, gathering lifesaving information, and protecting civilians and first responders.(2)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.(3)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.(4)Classifying public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation 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.(b)Standard Occupational Classification systemThe Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall, not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system.4.Report on implementation of the Kari’s Law Act of 2017Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Commission shall publish a report regarding the enforcement by the Commission of section 721 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 623), which shall include—(1)a summary of the extent to which multi-line telephone system manufacturers and vendors have complied with that section;(2)potential difficulties and obstacles in complying with that section;(3)recommendations to the Commission, if necessary, on ways to improve the policies of the Commission to better enforce that section; and(4)recommendations to Congress, if necessary, on further legislation that could mitigate problems like those that are addressed by that section.
1.Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Enhancing First Response Act.2.Reports after activation of disaster information reporting system; improvements to network outage reporting(a)DefinitionsIn this section:(1)Automatic location information; automatic number identificationThe terms Automatic Location Information and Automatic Number Identification have the meanings given those terms in section 9.3 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.(2)Broadband internet access serviceThe term broadband internet access service has the meaning given the term in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.(3)Commercial mobile serviceThe term commercial mobile service has the meaning given the term in section 332(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)). (4)Commercial mobile data serviceThe term commercial mobile data service has the meaning given the term in section 6001 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401). (5)CommissionThe term Commission means the Federal Communications Commission.(6)Indian tribal government; local governmentThe terms Indian tribal government and local government have the meanings given those terms in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).(7)Interconnected VoIP serviceThe term interconnected VoIP service has the meaning given that term in section 9.3 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.(8)Multi-line telephone systemThe term multi-line telephone system has the meaning given the term in section 721(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 623(f)). (9)OutageThe term outage has the meaning given the term in section 4.5 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.(10)Public safety answering pointThe term public safety answering point has the meaning given the term in section 222(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222(h)).(11)StateThe term State has the meaning given that term in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153).(12)SystemThe term System means the Disaster Information Reporting System.(b)Reports after activation of the disaster information reporting system(1)Public hearings(A)RequirementEach year, the Commission shall hold not less than 1 public hearing relating to all events during the preceding 1-year period for which the System was activated for not less than 7 days.(B)Inclusion of certain individuals in public hearingsFor each public hearing held under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall consider including—(i)representatives of State government, local government, or Indian tribal governments in areas affected by such event;(ii)residents of the areas affected by such event, or consumer advocates;(iii)providers of communications services affected by such event;(iv)faculty of institutions of higher education;(v)representatives of other Federal agencies;(vi)electric utility providers;(vii)communications infrastructure companies; and(viii)first responders, emergency managers, and 911 directors in areas affected by such event.(2)ReportNot later than 120 days after the public hearing under paragraph (1) occurs, the Commission shall issue a report that includes, with respect to such event and to the extent known without requiring the collection of additional information—(A)the number and duration of any outages of—(i)broadband internet access service;(ii)interconnected VoIP service; (iii)commercial mobile service; and(iv)commercial mobile data service; (B)the approximate number of users and the amount of communications infrastructure potentially affected by an outage described in subparagraph (A);(C)the number and duration of any outages that prevent public safety answering points from receiving caller location or number information or receiving emergency calls and routing such calls to emergency service personnel; and(D)any recommendations of the Commission on how to improve the resiliency of affected communications or networks recovery efforts.(3)Development of reportsIn developing a report required under paragraph (2), the Commission shall consider information collected by the Commission, including information collected by the Commission through the System, and any public hearing described in paragraph (1) with respect to the applicable event.(4)PublicationThe Commission shall publish each report, excluding information that is otherwise exempt from public disclosure under the rules of the Commission or was submitted to the Commission with a proper request for confidential treatment as described in section 0.459 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, issued under this subsection on the website of the Commission upon the issuance of such report. The Commission shall not publicly disclose company-specific information.(c)Improvements to network outage reportingNot later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall investigate and publish a report on—(1)the value to public safety agencies of originating service providers including visual information to improve situational awareness about outages in the notifications provided to public safety answering points, as required by rules issued by the Commission;(2)the volume and nature of 911 outages that may go unreported under the outage notification thresholds of the Commission; (3)the balance between the value described in paragraph (1) to public safety agencies and the burden and practicality for originating service providers of including visual information in outage notifications as described in that paragraph; and(4)recommended changes to rules issued by the Commission to address paragraphs (1) and (2).(d)Rule of constructionNothing in this Act shall be construed to provide the Commission or any other person authority over any provider of broadband internet access service beyond what is specifically authorized under this Act.3.Reporting of public safety telecommunicators as protective service occupations(a)FindingsCongress finds the following: (1)Public safety telecommunicators play a critical role in emergency response, providing medical instruction, gathering lifesaving information, and protecting civilians and first responders.(2)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.(3)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.(4)Classifying public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation 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.(b)Standard Occupational Classification systemThe Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall, not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system.4.Report on implementation of the Kari’s Law Act of 2017Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall publish a report regarding the enforcement by the Commission of section 721 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 623), which shall include—(1)a summary of the extent to which multi-line telephone system manufacturers and vendors have complied with that section;(2)potential difficulties and obstacles in complying with that section;(3)recommendations to the Commission, if necessary, on ways to improve the policies of the Commission to better enforce that section; and(4)recommendations to Congress, if necessary, on further legislation that could mitigate problems like those that are addressed by that section. September 2, 2025Reported with an amendment
The bill's own words, from our database (synced from the GPO BILLS XML); paragraph breaks added at the bill's section boundaries, nothing else changed.
| Date | Chamber | All Actions |
|---|---|---|
| 02/25/2025 | Library of Congress | Introduced in Senate |
| 02/25/2025 | Senate | Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. |
| 04/30/2025 | Senate | Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably. |
| 09/02/2025 | Library of Congress | 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. |
| 09/02/2025 | Senate | 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. |
| 09/02/2025 | Senate | Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 146. |
| 09/10/2025 | Library of Congress | Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. |
| 09/10/2025 | Senate | Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S6555; text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR S6555) |
| 09/11/2025 | Senate | Message on Senate action sent to the House. |
| 09/11/2025 | House floor actions | Received in the House. |
| 09/11/2025 | House floor actions | Held at the desk. |
| Title Type | Title |
|---|---|
| Display Title | Enhancing First Response Act |
| Short Title(s) as Passed Senate | Enhancing First Response Act |
| Short Title(s) as Reported to Senate | Enhancing First Response Act |
| Short Title(s) as Introduced | Enhancing First Response Act |
| Official Title as Introduced | A bill to direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting, to categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system, and for other purposes. |
There are no amendments to this bill.
* = Original cosponsor
| Committee | Activity |
|---|---|
| Senate - Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | 09/02/2025 Reported By |
| Senate - Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | 04/30/2025 Markup By |
| Senate - Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | 02/25/2025 Referred To |
No related bill information was received for S. 725.
Policy Area: Science, Technology, Communications
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