Preserving Home and Office Numbers in Emergencies Act of 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1289, the PHONE Act.

As we stand here today, two new, fast-moving wildfires, the Glass and the Zogg fires, are blazing through my home State of California. Thousands of people had to evacuate their homes yesterday as a result of the fires, some of them in the middle of the night.

Since the beginning of this year, there have been over 8,100 wildfires that have burned well over 3.7 million acres in California alone. Nearly every part of the State has been ravaged by wildfires this year, and we are now only starting to approach what has historically been the most deadly and destructive part of wildfire season.

Worrying about deadly wildfires spreading quickly is the new norm that my constituents now live in, and worrying about whether they will have to evacuate their homes is part of this new norm.

Because of this legislation that we are considering today, the PHONE Act, which I am proud to cosponsor, my constituents, Californians, and Americans across the country who are impacted all too frequently now by natural disasters due to climate change will have to worry about one less thing when they are forced to evacuate their homes, and that is the ability to keep their phone numbers.

Under this legislation, communications providers will be prohibited from reassigning phone numbers of customers in areas covered by major natural disasters and declared disasters for the duration of the declaration, and that period may be extended.

The bill would also prohibit providers from assessing early termination fees to cancel service or connection fees to resubscribe at a new address for subscribers whose residence is inaccessible or uninhabitable due to a major disaster.

There is so much that wildfire victims have to worry about. We need to move quickly to ensure that the PHONE Act is signed into law, so there is one less thing on their plate.

It may not seem like a big deal, but if you lose your home, keeping the phone number will be an emotionally safe place. Losing your phone number after a disaster just adds insult to injury.

I want to thank my colleague from California, Mr. Mike Thompson, for his work in creating this legislation. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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