H.R. 5200 · Where this bill is now
In the Senate
Passed the House Apr 20, 2026. Received Apr 21, 2026; no Senate vote yet
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryFCC investigates 9-1-1 outages and emergency communications
This bill asks the FCC to look into when 9-1-1 systems and other emergency communications go down. The FCC would publish a report on how many of these outages happen, what causes them, and whether adding visual information to outage alerts would help. The FCC would also hold yearly public hearings after major disasters or severe weather events that affect communications networks, then publish reports on what went wrong and how to make these systems more reliable.
How it affects you
If you call 9-1-1 during an emergency, this bill aims to help ensure the system works better. The reports the FCC publishes could help communications companies fix problems that cause outages, making emergency services more dependable when you need them most.
Read the official summary (Reported to House, Apr 9, 2026)
Emergency Reporting Act
This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to investigate and report on emergency communications outages (e.g., 9-1-1 outages).
Specifically, the FCC must publish a general report on (1) the volume and nature of 9-1-1 outages that are not required to be reported under current outage notification rules, (2) the value and practicality of including visual information in outage notifications from communications providers, and (3) recommended changes to FCC rules to address these issues.
Separately, the FCC must hold annual public hearings on events for which the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) was activated for at least a week. (DIRS is a reporting system that is activated during severe weather and other events impacting communications service. It enables communications providers to report outages and other degradations to service.) After each such hearing, the FCC must issue a report that includes information about the number, duration, and nature of all associated outages, along with recommendations for improving the resiliency of affected communications services or networks. Such reports must generally be made public on the FCC website.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionH. R. 5200
AN ACT
Emergency Reporting Act
Sponsor: Rep. Doris O. Matsui (D-CA-7) · Introduced Sep 8, 2025 · Science, Technology, Communications · 4 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Apr 21, 2026: “Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 375.”
How Congress voted
Official roll callsHouse · On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass · Apr 20, 2026
Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass Passed 386–7
| Party | Yes | No | Didn’t vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 198 | 0 | 16 |
| Independents | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Republicans | 187 | 7 | 22 |
7 members voted against most of their party: 7 Republicans voted No.
Congress votes on whole bills and amendments, not on single sections.
Sections
The wording of this bill hasn’t changed across its 4 official versions.