Enhancing First Response Act

The bill would direct the FCC to hold at least one public hearing each year covering any disaster event for which the Disaster Information Reporting System — a voluntary outage-tracking tool activated during emergencies — was active for at least seven days. Within 120 days of each hearing, the FCC would issue a report covering the number and duration of broadband, voice, and mobile outages; the approximate number of affected users; impacts on 9-1-1 call centers; and recommendations for improving network resilience. The bill would also require the FCC to publish a separate report within one year examining unreported 9-1-1 outages and the value of including visual information in outage alerts sent to emergency call centers.

The bill would direct the Office of Management and Budget to reclassify public safety telecommunicators — 911 dispatchers — as a protective-service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system within 30 days of enactment. Finally, the FCC would be required to publish a report within 180 days assessing compliance with Kari's Law, which requires multi-line telephone systems to allow direct 9-1-1 dialing, and recommending further action if needed.

The FCC, which would face new hearing and reporting obligations; the Office of Management and Budget, which would have to reclassify a job category within 30 days; 911 dispatchers (public safety telecommunicators) who would gain a new occupational classification; communications providers required to participate in or respond to the FCC's outage-reporting processes; and state, tribal, and local governments, first responders, and residents in areas affected by communications outages.

For 911 dispatchers, the reclassification would formally recognize their protective role in federal workforce statistics, potentially affecting how funding, training resources, and policy attention are directed to that workforce. For communities hit by disasters, the FCC reporting requirements would create a structured public record of communications failures and a mechanism for identifying systemic fixes — something not currently mandated by law.

The FCC would hold annual public hearings — inviting state and local officials, residents, first responders, utilities, and providers — covering all DIRS activations of seven or more days in the preceding year, then produce a written report within 120 days of each hearing. A separate outage-reporting study must be published within one year. The Kari's Law compliance report is due within 180 days. All FCC reports would be posted publicly on the FCC's website, with confidential company-specific information withheld. OMB's reclassification of 911 dispatchers must occur within 30 days of enactment.