Anna Eshoo: “I thank our terrific ranking member for yielding time to me and for his leadership and that of our colleagues on the…”

“I thank our terrific ranking member for yielding time to me and for his leadership and that of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Kari's Law addresses a very serious problem and it has been outlined by Members on both sides of the aisle, and I support the bill. But it is very important for those who are listening into this discussion this morning that when anyone dials 911 from a hotel, from a large building of several stories, from office buildings, from our office buildings where our offices are--10 floors, 20 floors, 30 floors--seconds really matter and they can make the difference between life or death. You should not have to dial 9 or some other prefix to get help. We already know that that is what happened in this tragic situation where the 9-year-old daughter was witnessing the actual murder taking place by her father, the estranged husband of Kari. That woman lost her life. So what is missing in this legislation is accuracy for multiline telephone systems. Once your call reaches the 911 call center, whomever answers that call needs to know exactly where you are to dispatch first responders. Now, if you are in a single-family home, it is easy. But if you are in any one of these buildings, hotels, or office buildings, the first responders have to go floor by floor. That takes a long time. We know because we walk from floor to floor just to get over to the Capitol.…”