E-911 Advocates to Push for Funding
Supporters of E-911 will spend this congressional session lobbying for additional funding for E-911 programs. After the Bush Administration declined to fund E-911 in its 2006 budget request, E-911 advocates said Thurs. they would look to Congress and other sources for funding.
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Congress passed E-911 legislation last year that created a national E-911 coordination office in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and authorized $250 million in grant funding for E-911 projects. While NHTSA had a $10 million budget line for projects including E-911, advocates in Congress and the public safety community said Thurs. more money was needed. The grants are designed to help public safety answering points (PSAPs) build out E-911 infrastructure that will tell 911 operators wireless callers’ locations.
The Congressional E-911 Caucus will send letters to appropriators requesting more funding for E-911, according to a spokesman for Rep. Shimkus (R-Ill.), co-chmn. of the Caucus. House members are waiting for the House Appropriations Committee to organize itself before sending the letters, the spokesman said. A spokeswoman for Sen. Burns (R-Mont.), also co-chmn. of the Caucus, said Burns would work to get funding for E-911 programs in the Commerce Justice State appropriations bill. While the E- 911 coordination center is located in NHTSA, NTIA also has a hand in the office’s operations, and Burns’ spokeswoman said the grants could be funded through a CJS bill, rather than through Transportation Dept. funding. Sen. Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Eshoo (D-Cal.) are also co-chmn. of the Caucus.
At an E-911 Institute event Thurs., one E-911 supporter confidently predicted Congress won’t allocate the requested $250 million for E-911. David Aylward, of the ComCARE Alliance (which focuses on medical communications issues), told us he doesn’t expect $250 million in direct grants to the E-911 coordination office, but he does believe funding for E-911 deployment can be found in grants from the Dept. of Homeland Security. Aylward said DHS has billions in grants for first responders and other public safety matters, and some of those grants could be focused on E-911 deployment.
Aylward told the E-911 Institute that, while billions are being spent on emergency communications, much is for interoperable equipment. “911 has to be at the table,” Aylward said. He said E-911 was particularly critical now that the “tidal wave” of VoIP subscriptions was coming. Aylward and Shimkus said there was a recent case in Tex. of a VoIP subscriber unable to reach 911 during a home- invasion attack. Richard Taylor, former NENA pres., said 911 advocates were “trying to get their message out” about the importance of 911 funding. “We've not been around as long as the police chiefs and sheriffs,” Taylor said, saying 911 operators should be recognized as part of the first responder system along with police and fire personnel.
FCC Comr. Abernathy told the E-911 Institute that the FCC and private sector were moving forward with E-911 deployment, but more needed to be done. And while the FCC will fine carriers that aren’t meeting E-911 deployment requirements, she said she would rather see the carriers spending money on deployment than on fines that go into the federal treasury. Abernathy said one possible solution would be cellphones that can give users longitude and latitude information, so even if they're in a district without E-911 capabilities, a caller could relate location information to the 911 operator.