Support the LIFT America Act
On behalf of the nation’s 3,000+ Sheriffs, the National Sheriffs’ Association is urging you to contact your Representative and ask them to support the Next Generation 9-1-1 Act of 2021 as part of the LIFT America Act. It is of the utmost importance to support this infrastructure to ensure that law enforcement, and all first responders, will be able to effectively save lives and keep their communities safe.
Last week, the House Energy & Commerce Committee introduced the Leading Infrastructure For Tomorrow’s America Act, or LIFT America Act. Part of this large piece of legislation is the “Next Generation 9-1-1 Act,” which would “authorize the Next Generation 9-1-1 Implementation Coordination Office to provide $15 billion in grants for fiscal years 2022-2026 for the deployment and implementation of Next Generation 9-1-1 services across the country. Next Generation 9-1-1 would protect American lives by making 9-1-1 systems interoperable and more resilient and by allowing callers to send text messages, images, or videos to 9-1-1 to help first responders better assess the nature of emergencies and protect callers when they can’t speak to 9-1-1 dispatchers.” (From Energy & Commerce website, TITLE 1, Subtitle E)
Even though 9-1-1 systems are critical infrastructure in every community, they are underfunded and technologically inadequate to address the needs and expectations of the American people in the 21st Century. While 9-1-1 operations are state and local functions, the investment of federal resources in this critical infrastructure will ensure that all communities in the United States, be they rural, urban, or tribal, will have a secure, resilient, interoperable, and reliable way of receiving, processing, and responding to requests for emergency assistance.
NSA is part of a coalition of public safety organizations whose goal is to secure the best outcome for public safety professionals and the communities they serve as they carry out their life-saving missions. You can learn more about the Next Gen 9-1-1 Coalition at ng-911coalition.org.
Members of the Coalition include: NSA, Major County Sheriffs of America, Major Cities Chiefs Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police, International Association of Fire Chiefs, Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association, National Association of State EMS Officials, and tAssociation of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International.
