Letter to Relevant Bi-Partisan Committees and Members in House and Senate
October 2, 2020
The Honorable Mitch McConnell Senate Majority Leader
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House The Honorable Charles Schumer. Senate Democratic Leader The Honorable Steny Hoyer, House Majority Leader The Honorable Roger Wicker, Chairman - Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation The Honorable Kevin McCarthy, House Republican Leader The Honorable Maria Cantwell, Ranking Member - Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation The Honorable Greg Walden, Ranking Member - House Committee on Energy & Commerce
The Honorable Frank Pallone, Chairman - House Committee on Energy & Commerce RE: iCERT - Urgent Need for Congressional Funding for NG9-1-1 Service
The Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies (iCERT) writes to strongly urge you to provide critical funding for Next Generation 911 (NG911) systems. Such funding is necessary to ensure that the nation’s first responders have the most technologically advanced emergency response systems possible to protect and serve the public. The vital need for advanced emergency response capabilities is especially evident as the nation continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, a public crisis that is all-encompassing and unprecedented.
iCERT is a trade association representing those private sector companies that develop and deploy emergency response systems, services, and equipment for state and local government agencies. For the past few years, iCERT has worked with the nation’s largest public safety organizations to accelerate the implementation of NG911 through increased federal funding. We were encouraged to see the Next Generation 9-1-1 Act introduced in both the House and Senate last year (H.R.2760 and S.1479) but those bills have received little attention in recent months. Now is the time for our nation to invest in the advanced emergency response systems that our first responders and the public desperately needs.
Our nation’s emergency responders have always faced enormous challenges, but the COVID-19 crisis is challenging the nation’s emergency responses resources in a much more profound way. Never before have state and local government agencies faced a national crisis of this scale, affecting all states and localities simultaneously. First responders and 911 authorities need all of the tools available to address these and future challenges, and NG911 utilizes state-of-the-art technologies to provide emergency response services that are more advanced, more flexible, and more resilient than current 911 systems.
The current pandemic demonstrates the critical importance of having advanced emergency response systems. iCERT urges Congress to act promptly to fund NG911 so that first responders across the country have the resources they need to protect and serve the public.
Respectfully, /s/ Kim Robert Scovill Executive Director The Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies, Inc. www.theindustrycouncil.org executivedirector@theindustrycouncil.org Attachment - iCERT Members Listing