The Senate has passed the Enhancing First Response Act, a bill that reclassifies 9-1-1 operators as members of the first responders system. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, highlighted the significance of this legislation and noted that Washington state had already implemented a similar change in 2022. This state-level action led to new training and certification requirements for 9-1-1 operators and improved retention rates.
“911 operators answer the most important calls of our lives,” said Sen. Cantwell. “This bill recognizes their public service and life-saving actions by classifying them as part of the first responder system. My home state of Washington has helped lead the way on this issue, classifying 911 operators as first responders in 2022. I thank Senators Klobuchar and Blackburn for their leadership on this issue.”
According to data cited in support of the bill, 9-1-1 operators handle more than 240 million emergency calls each year, averaging about 600,000 calls daily. They serve as the initial point of contact during emergencies, provide immediate guidance such as CPR instructions, collect critical information, and coordinate responses from police, fire departments, and medical personnel.
The Enhancing First Response Act was introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), with additional co-sponsors including Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Angus King (I-Maine), John Thune (R-S.D.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho).
Key provisions in the legislation include updating federal job classifications so that 9-1-1 dispatchers are considered “protective service” workers rather than “clerical workers.” The bill also directs the Federal Communications Commission to produce reports after major natural disasters assessing how many people could not reach emergency services during those events and to recommend improvements for system resiliency.
Additionally, the FCC is required to study unreported outages affecting 9-1-1 services and develop recommendations to improve outage reporting processes between mobile carriers and emergency centers. Another requirement is an FCC report on compliance with Kari’s Law among multi-line telephone system manufacturers; this law mandates systems allow direct dialing to emergency services without extra digits.
The full text of the bill can be accessed HERE.
