Senate Subcommittee Shows Support for Plan to Build NG911 for National Park Emergencies
A Senate Natural Resources National Parks Subcommittee hearing Tuesday featured limited but positive discussion about the Making National Parks Safer Act (S-290) amid a larger focus on a slate of more than two dozen other measures on the agenda. S-290 would require the Interior Department to develop a plan within one year to install next-generation 911 technology at the National Park System's emergency communications centers. Tuesday's hearing didn’t touch on lingering questions about how Congress would fund NG911 upgrades after Republicans decided in July against allocating future spectrum auction revenue for that purpose in the budget reconciliation package, previously known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (see 2507080065).
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Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., S-290’s lead sponsor, said during the hearing that the measure “improves the speed and accuracy of emergency responders in locating and assisting callers in need of emergency assistance. These moments make a difference between visitors being able to receive quick care and continue their trip or facing more serious medical complications in the event of a national disaster or technical issues.” U.S. “public safety technology needs improvements and resources to ensure that visitors can continue to enjoy our national parks without worry,” he said. “This is a bipartisan bill that ensures visitors who may need assistance can be reached in an accurate and timely manner. These much-needed updates will improve the operations of our national parks and protect the safety of visitors.”
Senate National Parks Chairman Steve Daines, R-Mont., indicated support for S-290. “The beauty and the attraction of many of our national parks is the ability to get away from the world … far removed from highways and city lights,” he said. “However, that also means that when an emergency happens, it is difficult, if not impossible, to contact emergency services.” He asked Mike Caldwell, associate director of park planning, facilities and lands at NPS, how NG-911 can “be used to increase emergency services while also protecting the natural beauty and the getting-away-from-it-all experience we see when going to our parks.”
Caldwell, who endorsed S-290, said NG911 tech upgrades will provide “better location data and better situational awareness as to where folks are enjoying their parks. These improvements are largely invisible to visitors, so they strengthen the emergency response without deterring the parks’ natural beauty or history.”