Efforts to pass E-911 funding were delayed last week when the Hou...
Efforts to pass E-911 funding were delayed last week when the House Rules Committee rejected an amendment to the House intelligence reform bill (HR-10). Rep. Shimkus (R-Ill.), sponsor of E-911 legislation (HR-2898) that passed the House last year, offered…
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language as an amendment to HR-10, but it was rejected. A spokesman for Shimkus said House leaders wanted to keep the bill clean. HR-10 would enact several intelligence reform measures recommended by the 9/11 Commission. Industry sources said there were ongoing talks between staff for Senate sponsors and House Commerce Committee staffers on differences between House and Senate E-911 bills. While the House proposed spending $100 million a year on E-911 upgrades, Senate legislation (S-1250) sponsored by Senate Communications Subcommittee Chmn. Burns (R-Mont.) proposed $500 million. Burns recently said he was talking with Senate Majority Leader Frist (R-Tenn.) about moving a $250 million funding bill in the Senate. Industry sources said House members wanted E-911 legislation that was tighter in size and scope. Fiscally conservative members worried that the Senate bill allotted too much, sources said. Other House members also worry S-1250 is too broad and too many entities are eligible for funding, sources said. That issue has riled some public safety entities in states that have already devoted significant resources to E-911 - - and argue it’s unfair to give grants to states with lackluster funding of E-911 after other states have made strides toward E-911 funding without federal assistance, sources said. Burns and co-sponsor Sen. Clinton (D-N.Y.) would still like to move the bill independently on the floor, but are prepared to attach it to other legislation, an industry source said. Shimkus recently said the Senate should simply pick up the House version of the bill, to avoid scheduling a conference this late in the legislative session. Also, the fate of E-911 efforts in the Senate is unclear; Senate Appropriations Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) is pushing for E-911 provisions as part of the spectrum relocation trust fund (HR-1320), which has stalled in the Senate.TL