United States 119th Congress Status: Passed Senate Bipartisan · 6 D · 6 R · 1 I cosponsors

S 725 — Enhancing First Response Act

Last action — Held at the desk.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced February 25, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Moderate chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a moderate chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 54% · moderate confidence

  • Passed Senate

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 13 sponsors

    1 primary, 12 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 3 parties (6 D · 6 R · 1 I) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Enhancing First Response ActThis bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to report on certain activations of the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS). DIRS is a reporting system that is activated during severe weather and other events impacting communications service and enables communications providers to report outages and other degradations to service.If the system was activated for at least seven days, the FCC must issue a preliminary report that includes information about the number, duration, and nature of all associated outages. The FCC must also hold at least one public field hearing in the area affected by the event, and it must issue a final report that includes recommendations for improving the resiliency of affected networks or recovery efforts.Separately, the FCC must publish a general report on (1) the volume and nature of 9-1-1 outages that are not required to be reported under current outage notification rules, and (2) the value to public safety agencies of the inclusion of visual information in outage notifications from communications providers.The bill also requires the Office of Management and Budget, by 30 days after the bill's enactment, to categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification System.Finally, the Office of the Inspector General of the FCC is directed to publish a report on the implementation of Kari’s Law, which requires multiline telephone systems to be preconfigured to allow users to dial 9-1-1 directly from any phone without dialing any additional code or prefix.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

6 added · 210 removed

Plain-language change summary

The recent changes to Bill S 725 include the addition of a header designating the bill as "Engrossed in Senate" and the confirmation of passage by the Senate. The previous version, which was reported in the Senate, included a title for the act and specific sections outlining definitions and provisions related to disaster information reporting. By removing these sections, the latest version streamlines the document and focuses directly on the enactment process rather than the preliminary definitions and goals.

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Latest
725 Reported in Senate (RS)] <DOC> Calendar No.
725 Engrossed in Senate (ES)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S.
146 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S.
725 _______________________________________________________________________ AN ACT To direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting, to categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system, and for other purposes.
725 [Report No.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1.
119-59] To direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting, to categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 25, 2025 Ms.
Klobuchar (for herself, Mrs.
Blackburn, Mr.
Heinrich, Mr.
Sullivan, Mr.
Lujan, Mrs.
Capito, Mr.
Markey, Mr.
Budd, Mr.
King, Mr.
Thune, Mr.
Kelly, Mr.
Crapo, and Ms.
Cantwell) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation September 2, 2025 Reported by Mr.
Cruz, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting, to categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, <DELETED>SECTION 1.
SHORT TITLE.</DELETED> <DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Enhancing First Response Act''.</DELETED> <DELETED>SEC.
2.
REPORTS AFTER ACTIVATION OF DISASTER INFORMATION REPORTING SYSTEM;
IMPROVEMENTS TO NETWORK OUTAGE REPORTING.</DELETED> <DELETED> (a) Definitions.--In this section:</DELETED> <DELETED> (1) Automatic location information;
automatic number identification.--The terms ``Automatic Location Information'' and ``Automatic Number Identification'' have the meanings given those terms in section 9.3 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.</DELETED> <DELETED> (2) Broadband internet access service.--The term ``broadband internet access service'' has the meaning given the term in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.</DELETED> <DELETED> (3) Commercial mobile service.--The term ``commercial mobile service'' has the meaning given the term in section 332(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
332(d)).</DELETED> <DELETED> (4) Commercial mobile data service.--The term ``commercial mobile data service'' has the meaning given the term in section 6001 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C.
1401).</DELETED> <DELETED> (5) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal Communications Commission.</DELETED> <DELETED> (6) Indian tribal government;
local government.-- The terms ``Indian tribal government'' and ``local government'' have the meanings given those terms in section 102 of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
5122).</DELETED> <DELETED> (7) Interconnected voip service;
state.--The terms ``interconnected VoIP service'' and ``State'' have the meanings given those terms in section 3 of the Communications Act of (47 U.S.C.
153).</DELETED> <DELETED> (8) Multi-line telephone system.--The term ``multi-line telephone system'' has the meaning given the term in section 721(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
623(f)).</DELETED> <DELETED> (9) Outage.--The term ``outage'' has the meaning given the term in section 4.5 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.</DELETED> <DELETED> (10) Public safety answering point.--The term ``public safety answering point'' has the meaning given the term in section 222(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
222(h)).</DELETED> <DELETED> (11) System.--The term ``System'' means the Disaster Information Reporting System.</DELETED> <DELETED> (b) Reports After Activation of Disaster Information Reporting System.--</DELETED> <DELETED> (1) Preliminary report.--</DELETED> <DELETED> (A) In general.--Not later than 6 weeks after the deactivation of the System with respect to an event for which the System was activated for not less than 7 days, the Commission shall issue a preliminary report on, with respect to such event and to the extent known--</DELETED> <DELETED> (i) the number and duration of any outages of--</DELETED> <DELETED> (I) broadband internet access service;</DELETED> <DELETED> (II) interconnected VoIP service;</DELETED> <DELETED> (III) commercial mobile service;
and</DELETED> <DELETED> (IV) commercial mobile data service;</DELETED> <DELETED> (ii) the approximate number of users or the amount of communications infrastructure potentially affected by an outage described in clause (i);</DELETED> <DELETED> (iii) the number and duration of any outages that prevent public safety answering points from receiving caller location or number information or receiving emergency calls and routing such calls to emergency service personnel;
and</DELETED> <DELETED> (iv) any additional information determined appropriate by the Commission.</DELETED> <DELETED> (B) Development of report.--The Commission shall develop the report required by subparagraph (A) using information collected by the Commission, including information collected by the Commission through the System.</DELETED> <DELETED> (2) Public field hearings.--</DELETED> <DELETED> (A) Requirement.--Not later than 8 months after the deactivation of the System with respect to an event for which the System was activated for not less than 7 days, the Commission shall hold not less than 1 public field hearing in the area affected by such event.</DELETED> <DELETED> (B) Inclusion of certain individuals in hearings.--For each public field hearing held under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall consider including--</DELETED> <DELETED> (i) representatives of State government, local government, or Indian tribal governments in areas affected by such event;</DELETED> <DELETED> (ii) residents of the areas affected by such event, or consumer advocates;</DELETED> <DELETED> (iii) providers of communications services affected by such event;</DELETED> <DELETED> (iv) faculty of institutions of higher education;</DELETED> <DELETED> (v) representatives of other Federal agencies;</DELETED> <DELETED> (vi) electric utility providers;</DELETED> <DELETED> (vii) communications infrastructure companies;
and</DELETED> <DELETED> (viii) first responders, emergency managers, or 9-1-1 directors in areas affected by such event.</DELETED> <DELETED> (3) Final report.--Not later than 12 months after the deactivation of the System with respect to an event for which the System was activated for not less than 7 days, the Commission shall issue a final report that includes, with respect to such event--</DELETED> <DELETED> (A) the information described in paragraph (1)(A);
and</DELETED> <DELETED> (B) any recommendations of the Commission on how to improve the resiliency of affected communications or networks recovery efforts.</DELETED> <DELETED> (4) Development of reports.--In developing a report required under this subsection, the Commission shall consider information collected by the Commission, including information collected by the Commission through the System, and any public hearing described in paragraph (2) with respect to the applicable event.</DELETED> <DELETED> (5) Publication.--The Commission shall publish each report, excluding information that is otherwise exempt from public disclosure under the rules of the Commission, issued under this subsection on the website of the Commission upon the issuance of such report.</DELETED> <DELETED> (c) Improvements to Network Outage Reporting.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall investigate and publish a report on--</DELETED> <DELETED> (1) the value to public safety agencies of originating service providers including visual information to improve situational awareness about outages in the notifications provided to public safety answering points, as required by rules issued by the Commission;</DELETED> <DELETED> (2) the volume and nature of 911 outages that may go unreported under the outage notification thresholds of the Commission;
and</DELETED> <DELETED> (3) recommended changes to rules issued by the Commission to address paragraphs (1) and (2).</DELETED> <DELETED>SEC.
Show all 51 changed rows (11 more)
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3.
REPORTING OF PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATORS AS PROTECTIVE SERVICE OCCUPATIONS.</DELETED> <DELETED> (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:</DELETED> <DELETED> (1) Public safety telecommunicators play a critical role in emergency response, providing medical instruction, gathering lifesaving information, and protecting civilians and first responders.</DELETED> <DELETED> (2) The Standard Occupational Classification system is designed and maintained solely for statistical purposes, and is used by Federal statistical agencies to classify workers and jobs into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, analyzing, or disseminating data.</DELETED> <DELETED> (3) Occupations in the Standard Occupational Classification are classified based on work performed and, in some cases, on the skills, education, or training needed to perform the work.</DELETED> <DELETED> (4) Classifying public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation would correct an inaccurate representation in the Standard Occupational Classification, recognize these professionals for the lifesaving work they perform, and better align the Standard Occupational Classification with related classification systems.</DELETED> <DELETED> (b) Standard Occupational Classification System.--The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall, not later than days after the date of enactment of this Act, categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system.</DELETED> <DELETED>SEC.
4.
REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE KARI'S LAW ACT OF 2017.</DELETED> <DELETED> Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Commission shall publish a report regarding the enforcement by the Commission of section 721 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
623), which shall include-- </DELETED> <DELETED> (1) a summary of the extent to which multi-line telephone system manufacturers and vendors have complied with that section;</DELETED> <DELETED> (2) potential difficulties and obstacles in complying with that section;</DELETED> <DELETED> (3) recommendations to the Commission, if necessary, on ways to improve the policies of the Commission to better enforce that section;
and</DELETED> <DELETED> (4) recommendations to Congress, if necessary, on further legislation that could mitigate problems like those that are addressed by that section.</DELETED> SECTION 1.
Calendar No.
Passed the Senate September 10, 2025.
146 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S.
Attest:
725 [Report No.
Secretary.
119-59] _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting, to categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system, and for other purposes.
119th CONGRESS 1st Session S.
_______________________________________________________________________ September 2, 2025 Reported with an amendment
725 _______________________________________________________________________ AN ACT To direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting, to categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification system, and for other purposes.
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What Congress says this changes

S. Rept. 119-59

Published by the reporting committee Not generated — this is the committee's own “Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported”.

The committee states that this bill does not amend existing law. (S. Rept. 119-59)

Source: S. Rept. 119-59 · govinfo

Action History

  1. Introduced in Senate

  2. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

  3. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.

  4. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 119-59.

  5. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 119-59.

  6. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 146.

  7. Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.

  8. Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S6555; text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR S6555)

  9. Message on Senate action sent to the House.

  10. Received in the House.

  11. Held at the desk.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 12 co-sponsors · 534 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (12)

Not signed on (534)

534 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 534 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety technology
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does S 725 do?
Enhancing First Response ActThis bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to report on certain activations of the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS). DIRS is a reporting system that is activated during severe weather and other events impacting communications service and enables communications providers to report outages and other degradations to service.If the system was activated for at least seven days, the FCC must issue a preliminary report that includes information about the number, duration, and nature of all associated outages. The FCC must also hold at least one public field hearing in the area affected by the event, and it must issue a final report that includes recommendations for improving the resiliency of affected networks or recovery efforts.Separately, the FCC must publish a general report on (1) the volume and nature of 9-1-1 outages that are not required to be reported under current outage notification rules, and (2) the value to public safety agencies of the inclusion of visual information in outage notifications from communications providers.The bill also requires the Office of Management and Budget, by 30 days after the bill's enactment, to categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification System.Finally, the Office of the Inspector General of the FCC is directed to publish a report on the implementation of Kari’s Law, which requires multiline telephone systems to be preconfigured to allow users to dial 9-1-1 directly from any phone without dialing any additional code or prefix.
Who sponsors S 725?
S 725 is sponsored by Klobuchar, Amy (Democratic), Blackburn, Marsha (Republican), Heinrich, Martin (Democratic), Sullivan, Dan (Republican), Luján, Ben Ray (Democratic), Capito, Shelley Moore (Republican), Markey, Edward J. (Democratic), Budd, Ted (Republican), King, Angus S., Jr. (Independent), Thune, John (Republican), Kelly, Mark (Democratic), Crapo, Mike (Republican), and Cantwell, Maria (Democratic).
What is the current status of S 725?
This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced February 25, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track S 725?
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