Emergency Reporting Act

Key Points

• This bill, introduced by Ms. Matsui, requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to hold public meetings after major disasters. These meetings would happen whenever emergency reporting systems are active for at least a week, ensuring the government hears from local residents and first responders about what went wrong.
• The FCC would be required to publish detailed reports on internet and phone outages after these disasters. These reports must show how many people lost service, how long the outages lasted, and specifically if people were unable to reach 9-1-1 operators during the emergency.
• The policy aims to make our communication networks more reliable by requiring the FCC to suggest ways to prevent future outages. By looking at what failed during past storms or fires, the agency can help companies build stronger systems that stay online when people need them most.
• The FCC would also investigate if current rules are missing small but important 9-1-1 outages that never get reported. They will look into whether providing visual maps of outages would help emergency workers respond faster to neighborhoods that are cut off from the world.