First Responder Network Authority Reauthorization Act of 2026

Floor Speech

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Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as chairman of the Fire Services Caucus and as a former firefighter myself to speak in support of the reauthorization of FirstNet.

This bill is about making sure that the people are on the front lines and can do their jobs safely and effectively.

This year, we mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11, one of the darkest days in American history. After September 11, we learned what happens when communications fail. Firefighters, police, and EMS could not talk to each other across agencies. That breakdown made an already dangerous situation even worse.

Congress created FirstNet to fix that by building a dedicated nationwide network just for public safety. The legislation keeps the network in place and makes it stronger. It extends FirstNet for another 10 years so departments aren't left guessing about whether the system will still be there. It increases public safety representation on the board of FirstNet from three to five members, which means more firefighters and first responders helping guide how the network is built and improved.

It also allows the network to invest in newer technology, not just what was defined over a decade ago.

Anyone who is in the fire service knows the tools change. Communications systems have to keep up, or they fall behind very quickly.

There are also real accountability measures here such as annual reports on cybersecurity, independent evaluations of the contractors, and requiring plans to restore service after disasters.

If there is an outage, departments have to be notified within 30 minutes. That is the kind of standard first responders expect.

When I first joined the fire service, we did not always have dedicated networks like this. You were dealing with radios that did not always connect across jurisdictions. You were relaying messages instead of getting them directly. A system like this would have cut through that and made the response more coordinated.

This is not complicated. Better communications lead to better coordination, and that saves lives.

This passed out of committee 51-0. This agreement shows how important it is. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this effort.

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