NTIA needs to develop E-911 grant guidelines as required under a ...
NTIA needs to develop E-911 grant guidelines as required under a law passed 2 years ago, Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Inouye (D-Hawaii) said Thurs. in a letter to NTIA Dir. John Kneuer. NTIA has made “little or no effort”…
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to establish grant criteria for the program, but instead has relied on the Administration’s failure to ask for funds for E-911 grants to justify inaction “in the face of this explicit congressional directive,” said the letter, also signed by 5 other Democrats. The situation is critical since many public safety answering points (PSAPs) are unable to upgrade their emergency response systems without the grants, the letter said. According to the National Emergency Number Assn., nearly half of the counties in the country lack a PSAP that can locate 911 calls made from a wireless phone, it said: “Respectfully, we ask that you reconsider your agency’s present position and move quickly under your existing operational budget to develop grant guidelines.” The senators said they intend to secure sufficient funding for the program.