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Hon. David Red]

Assistant Secretary for Communications Information and

NTIA Administrator

National Telecommunications Information Administration (N TIA)
US. Department of Commerce

1401 Constitution Ave, NW.

Washington, DC. 20230

Dear Assistant Secretary Redl:

Congratulations on your continuation. I know your comniitment to the issues you worked with
us on at the House Energy 85 Commerce Committee will be carried through at NTIA, and I very

much look forward to working with you and my colleagues in Congress to accomplish our
shared goals.

You and I have both seen how advances in communications technology speeds the rapid
exchange of ideas, enhances global innovation, and improves our overall standard of

living. Indeed, sophisticated technology allows the vast majority of Americans to carry out
many activities of daily living at the push of a button. But in the event of an emergency,
arguably when such advanced capabilities are most critical, many citizens discover our nation?s
disaster and emergency reaponse systems are still operating on antiquated 20th century
technology.

That?s why I?m pleased with the recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) pursuant to the
Next Generation 9-1-1 Advancement Act 0f2012, legislation I authored to assist in the
implementation of IP-enabled emergency services and applications, including the establishment
of IP backbone networks and the software infrastructure needed to interconnect the multitude of
emergency response organizations. While I am disappointed that the statutory rollout date for
these grants has lapsed by nearly ?ve years, I?m encouraged by the current Administration?s
leadership in recent emergency response activities, and by your commitment to this important
program as well.

However, in order for these grants to be effective, we must also take care to ensure scarce,
dedicated Next Generation 9-1-1 funding is utilized for the intended purpose of upgrading the
existing call center network. Unfortunately, the previous administration made no discernible
effort to combat state 9-1-1 fund diversion. In fact, FCC reports show from 2009?2015 nearly $1
billion has been diverted from its stated purpose of enhancing emergency response capabilities
nationwide. I?m further disturbed that in my home state of Illinois alone, while $659 million was
collected in 9-1-1 fees from consumers, $93 million was diverted for other purposes. This is
unacceptable.

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In an era in which homeland security, natural disasters and other daily emergencies are a part of
our everyday reality, public safety telecommunications professionals serve as a critical lifeline to
the public, and particularly to the most vulnerable members of our society. Whether it is
responding to a ?ood, tornado or hurricane, a terrorist threat or a local 9-1-1 emergency, their
work is counted on to saves lives on a dain basis. As such, I respectfully request you do
everything within your authority to discourage states from diverting these essential ?mds from
the lifesaving applications for which they were intended, and for which taxpayers believe they
are being used. Every time a state engages in such behavior, it threatens the commitment of
Federal funding assistance.

I look forward to your response on how fee diversion degrades Federal support, and how we can

go about getting these vital funds to the people and technologies they are targeted to assist.

Sincerely,

John himkus
Member of Congress

CC: Governor Bruce Rauner