Congress Approves 9/11 Bill

Both the U.S. House and Senate approved major legislation last week that implements some of the recommendations made earlier by the 9/11 Commission. The bill includes the authority to borrow $43.5 million to fund grants authorized by previous legislation, the ENHANCE 911 of 2004. NENA issued a statement saying it was grateful to Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Ted Stevens (R-Alas.) for sponsoring that portion of the bill, noting that otherwise funding would have been delayed until at least 2008 when spectrum auction proceeds are expected to fully fund the 911 bill. The bill passed last week also includes grants under a new “Improve Communications for Emergency Response Grant Program” that covers funding to states and regions for interoperable communications systems.