The issue of 9-1-1 fee diversion may be more prevalent than previously reported and U.S. Reps. Greg Walden (R-OR) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) are concerned about what this might mean for public safety across the nation.
As required by federal law, each state imposes a surcharge on cell phone bills to fund implementation of wireless enhanced 9-1-1 and must report how the funds get spent to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In turn, the FCC then must submit annual reports to Congress that detail the collection and distribution of 9-1-1 fees by state.
Since 2009, 21 states and one U.S. territory have reported to the FCC that they’ve diverted more than $1 billion of 9-1-1 fees for purposes unrelated to 9-1-1, while other states, territories and the District of Columbia haven’t yet submitted their expenditures to the FCC, according to a July 23 letter the lawmakers sent to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.
“The amount of 9-1-1 funds that have been diverted for nearly a decade is troubling,” wrote Reps. Walden, chairman of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Blackburn, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. The letter also was signed by U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
“Diverting 9-1-1 fees may result in understaffed calling centers, training issues, longer wait times during an emergency, and inhibit the transition to Next Generation 9-1-1 systems so 9-1-1 call centers can flourish with digital age technologies,” wrote the lawmakers, who have requested a briefing from the FCC to better understand the practice’s impact on public safety, as well as how to prevent it.
The congressmen noted that “some progress has been made,” such as by two states that corrected filing errors from the previous reporting period to show “they are not diverters.” Other states have committed to ending the practice of diverting, they wrote.
Reps. Walden, Blackburn and Harper have asked Pai to schedule the congressional briefing for the Energy and Commerce Committee by July 30.