Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 375.
The Emergency Reporting Act directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to hold annual public hearings after significant activations of its Disaster Information Reporting System and to produce timely public reports on communications outages, impacts, and resilience recommendations. It also requires the FCC to investigate improving outage notifications to emergency communications centers, including the potential value and burden of adding visual information, and to recommend rule changes.
Progressives emphasize public-safety transparency and equity benefits
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a well-constructed study/reporting measure that specifies responsible entity, schedules, report content, publication, and relevant legal definitions, while also integrating with existing FCC systems and regulations.
The Emergency Reporting Act directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to hold annual public hearings after significant activations of its Disaster Information Reporting System and to produce timely public reports on communications outages, impacts, and resilience recommendations.
It also requires the FCC to investigate improving outage notifications to emergency communications centers, including the potential value and burden of adding visual information, and to recommend rule changes.
The Act limits new authority to what is explicitly provided and defines key terms.
Narrow, technocratic bill with low fiscal impact historically favored for enactment, but still requires Senate approval and signature.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a well-constructed study/reporting measure that specifies responsible entity, schedules, report content, publication, and relevant legal definitions, while also integrating with existing FCC systems and regulations.
Progressives emphasize public-safety transparency and equity benefits
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
The clearest budget scorecard attached to this bill: what it changes for direct spending, revenue, and the deficit.
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on January 21, 2026
Progressives emphasize public-safety transparency and equity benefits
Likely supportive overall.
The bill increases transparency, accountability, and data collection about outage impacts on communities and 9‑1‑1 systems, which aligns with priorities for public safety and equitable emergency response.
Concerns would focus on ensuring robust follow-through, privacy protections, and resources for underserved areas.
Generally favorable but pragmatic.
The measure promotes oversight and useful data without immediate heavy-handed regulation.
The centrist view will weigh benefits against compliance costs and seek clear timelines, cost estimates, and protections for confidential business information.
Skeptical.
While acknowledging public-safety intent, this persona worries the bill increases regulatory burden on communications providers and risks mission creep by the FCC despite the rule-of-construction language.
Emphasis will be on limiting new obligations and protecting proprietary information.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Narrow, technocratic bill with low fiscal impact historically favored for enactment, but still requires Senate approval and signature.
The House fast-tracked this bill — skipping normal debate — and it passed with a two-thirds majority. It now moves to the Senate.
Suspending the rules allows the House to bypass normal debate procedures and pass a bill immediately with a two-thirds vote.
Progressives emphasize public-safety transparency and equity benefits
Narrow, technocratic bill with low fiscal impact historically favored for enactment, but still requires Senate approval and signature.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a well-constructed study/reporting measure that specifies responsible entity, schedules, report content, publication, and relevant legal definitions, while also in…
Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.