Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 451, the Don't Break Up the T-Band Act, as amended by the Energy and Commerce Committee to include provisions from Republican Leader Walden's FIRST RESPONDER Act. Today's legislation will allow first responders to retain access to a critical band of spectrum as they continue to make plans to transition mission-critical voice functions to the FirstNet Network. The bill also takes a strong stand against States that divert vital resources away from maintaining and upgrading their 911 systems by creating strong safeguards to help prevent diversion of fees collected for 911 operations. Currently, States charge American consumers a monthly fee on their phone bills to support 911 services. Yet, some States do not use the money collected from this fee to support 911. Rather, they use it for other State priorities unrelated to providing critical 911 services or dispatching first responders during an emergency. In some cases, States siphon these funds directly into their general fund, and in other cases States use these fees for other public safety-type expenses that do not directly support 911 services. Those States are currently classified by the FCC as 911 fee diverters. To clarify what is considered a diversion, and what is considered to support 911 services, the bill directs the FCC to clarify its rules of what obligations or expenditures are acceptable.…”