Emergency Reporting Act
Introduced September 8, 2025 · Last action April 21, 2026
Plain English Summary
This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission to hold annual public hearings and issue reports after the Disaster Information Reporting System is activated for emergencies lasting 7+ days, detailing network outages and their impact on emergency services. It also directs the FCC to investigate whether communications providers should include visual information in outage notifications sent to 911 centers and to assess unreported 911 outages.
Who benefits
Emergency communications centers and 911 dispatch operations gain detailed information about outages affecting their services; state, local, and tribal governments receive visibility into disasters and network failures within their jurisdictions; first responders and emergency managers obtain situational awareness to coordinate disaster response; the public indirectly benefits from improved emergency communications resilience and transparency; universities and research institutions can access data on disaster impacts for study.
Who pays / loses
Broadband internet access service providers, VoIP service providers, commercial mobile service providers, and communications infrastructure companies bear the administrative burden of participating in hearings and providing outage data to the FCC; telecommunications companies must evaluate the feasibility and cost of adding visual information to 911 outage notifications; these providers may face reputational or regulatory pressure based on outage data disclosed in public reports.
Funding & Lobbying Interests
Emergency management agencies and public safety organizations have financial and operational interests in improved outage reporting and network resilience. Telecommunications carriers and broadband providers have a stake in limiting the scope of mandated reporting and visual notification requirements. The bill does not specify funding appropriations; implementation costs fall on the FCC and participating telecommunications providers through existing regulatory authority.
Political Impact
Affected Groups
Emergency communications center personnel and 911 dispatchers (estimated 100,000+ nationwide) directly benefit from improved outage visibility. First responders and emergency managers in disaster-affected areas (varies by event) depend on network reliability and situational awareness. State and local governments in areas experiencing disasters lasting 7+ days (estimated hundreds to thousands per decade depending on disaster type) gain accountability and planning data. Telecommunications subscribers in disaster zones (millions during major events) are indirectly affected by network resilience improvements. Rural and tribal communities often have limited telecommunications infrastructure redundancy and stand to gain most from improved emergency communications.
Political Subtext
Proponents argue this bill increases transparency and accountability after major disasters, helping emergency responders and communities understand network failures and demand improvements. They contend visual outage information to 911 centers improves situational awareness and saves lives during emergencies. Critics from the telecommunications industry argue the bill creates administrative burdens and compliance costs for providers already reporting outages under existing FCC rules, and that mandating visual information in 911 notifications may be technically burdensome or unnecessary. Non-partisan telecommunications policy experts note that outage reporting rules have evolved incrementally since the 2012 Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act, and this bill continues that trend toward greater transparency without establishing new FCC enforcement authority beyond what exists in current rules.
Real-World Stakes
If this passes, emergency agencies will receive annual public reports documenting network failures during major disasters, creating a permanent record that may inform future infrastructure investment and regulatory action. Major disasters (Hurricane Katrina 2005, Superstorm Sandy 2012, California wildfires 2017-2020) caused widespread telecommunications outages that hindered emergency response; this bill would require post-event public analysis of those failures. Telecommunications providers will likely face pressure to improve network resilience or face public criticism in FCC reports. The visual information requirement investigation may lead to new FCC rules mandating technical enhancements to 911 outage notifications, increasing provider compliance costs. Rural and tribal areas with single-provider infrastructure may see increased regulatory scrutiny if their outages receive public visibility in FCC reports. Prior FCC outage reporting rules (16 CFR 64.2011 and successor regulations) showed that mandatory reporting has led to infrastructure improvements but also provider litigation over compliance scope.
Sponsor
Sponsor information not available.
Vote Record
No recorded votes.
Campaign Finance — Primary Sponsor
No campaign finance data available yet.
501(c)(4) disclosure: Contributions from 501(c)(4) "dark money" organizations are not required to be publicly disclosed and are not reflected in the figures above. Data sourced from FEC public disclosure filings.
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