Outlook for Congressional Action in 2022
Monday, December 20, 2021 12:39 PM Subject: NG911 Legislative Funding - Year End Update
Dear iCERT members –
This past weekend the U.S. Senate concluded their work for the year. Since returning from the Thanksgiving break, the Senate had been negotiating between members of the Democratic majority and with the White House on the Build Back Better Act (BBB Act), which as we informed you previously, includes nearly $500 million dedicated to NG911. Although Senate leadership had expressed a desire to have a Senate vote on the BBB Act before Christmas, an agreement to do so was not reached prior to the Senate recessing for the year. At this time the situation regarding the BBB Act continues to be very fluid and uncertain.
iCERT has and will continue to actively lobby the Congress, in cooperation with our partners in the public safety space, to ensure that funding for NG911 included in the BBB Act remains intact during this critical stage in the process. Although the proposed NG911 funding is a significant investment compared to any previous federal funding for 911, it does not meet the widely acknowledged level of funding needed to modernize the 911 network across the country. However, this funding does represent a down payment for the NG911 effort. To be clear, iCERT is committed to continuing to actively work with Congress and public safety stakeholders to secure additional funding for NG911 going forward.
As always, thanks for your participation in and support of iCERT.
Happy Holidays.
GK
George Kelemen
Executive Director