Klobuchar: Nationwide Public Safety Communications System Needed to Keep Americans Safe

Press Release

At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar called for a national public safety network that would connect America's first responders across agencies and jurisdictions during crises. The United States does not currently have a national wireless system in place for first responders -- 10 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and six years after Hurricane Katrina. Klobuchar discussed the importance of a national public safety system with Raymond W. Kelly, the police commissioner of New York City, and other first-responder representatives and government officials.

"Our first responders are the heroes who protect our public safety on a daily basis, helping save lives and bringing criminals to justice," Klobuchar said. "We depend on them, and they depend on us to give them the tools they need to respond to crises swiftly and effectively."

Klobuchar asked Commissioner Kelly and Delaware Governor Jack Markell how their successful local and state first-responder networks could serve as good examples for a national network to connect first responders during times of national crisis. She also emphasized the importance of making sure rural communities benefit from a national network for first responders.

Klobuchar introduced bipartisan legislation last year, the Next Generation 9-1-1 Preservation Act of 2010, with Senator Richard Burr (R-NC). The bill would authorize the federal 9-1-1 Coordination Office to switch from a voice-centric system to a response system based on high-speed digital wireless networks. Call centers would then be able to send and receive texts, photos, video, and email in real time, providing eyewitness-quality information to first responders and eliminating potential language barriers.

Klobuchar is a cosponsor of legislation currently in the Senate, The Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act, that would dedicate 10 MHz of additional spectrum for use in a national interoperable public safety network for first responders.

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