WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Vice Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, today called for improved E9-1-1 services for rural America during a Commerce Committee hearing on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and the future of 9-1-1 services. 

 

 

Last month the Senate approved an amendment sponsored by Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to upgrade the 9-1-1 system used to reach operators in an emergency. The amendment was originally introduced as a standalone bill (S. 93) and was added to S. 4, the Improving America's Security by Implementing Unfinished Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, which passed the Senate. The measure expedites funding for new 9-1-1 upgrades across the nation using money that Congress has already allocated and would fund the grant program established under the “Ensuring Needed Help Arrives Near Callers Employing 911 (ENHANCE) Act” which was signed into law in 2004. The reconciliation bill of 2005 made $43.5 million available from the auction of TV spectrum now scheduled for 2008.  This bill will make those funds available to public safety groups immediately.  The funds will be replaced after the auction is held, which is expected to be later this year.