Doris Matsui Highlights Failures in 911 Call Frequency and Urges Federal Action

Public Safety Communications Challenges

• 🚨 Emergencies require every second to count, yet Americans sometimes face uncertainty about whether 911 will connect.
• ⚠️ The Camp Fire in Northern California (2018) highlighted significant communication failures, with over half of initial 911 calls not getting through and emergency alerts being inconsistent.

Modernizing Emergency Systems

• 💡 Communities like Elk Grove are making progress by modernizing emergency communications with cloud-based systems and integrating real-time information centers.
• 🚀 Elk Grove is leading by integrating drone first response operations to enhance situational awareness and officer safety.
• 🏛️ However, local efforts are insufficient without strong federal follow-through and support.

Legislative Efforts for 911 Improvement

• 💸 House Republicans previously walked away from a bipartisan bill to fund Next Generation 911 through Spectrum auction proceeds, diverting funds to corporate tax breaks instead.
• 🤝 Congressman Matsui is working with Congressman Belaracus on two bipartisan bills: the Emergency Reporting Act and the Car's Law Reporting Act.
• 🔍 The Emergency Reporting Act aims for transparent accountability after failures to prevent repeat disasters.
• 📞 The Car's Law Reporting Act ensures companies comply with existing laws, addressing issues like the inability to call 911 without dialing an extra digit first, a situation described as something that "should never happen in America."

Future of 911 Systems

• 🎯 Congress needs to strengthen resiliency, improve coordination, and ensure 911 is easily reachable during critical moments.
• 🗣️ The hearing aims to understand what's working, identify remaining gaps, and determine the next steps for Congress.