May 23, 2016 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H2885 on which a recorded vote or the yeas ‘‘(9) INVESTIGATIVE OR LAW ENFORCEMENT OF- When her mother testified in front of and nays are ordered, or on which the FICER.—The term ‘investigative or law enforce- the Subcommittee on Communications vote incurs objection under clause 6 of ment officer’ has the meaning given such term and Technology, she spoke so bravely rule XX. in section 2510 of title 18, United States Code.’’. of the agony Kelsey’s family endured Record votes on postponed questions The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- during that time. She described their will be taken later. ant to the rule, the gentleman from Or- ordeal in painful detail. What does a f egon (Mr. WALDEN) and the gentleman parent go through when a child is miss- from Maryland (Mr. SARBANES) each ing? You do not eat because you do not KELSEY SMITH ACT will control 20 minutes. know if your child is eating. You do Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I move The Chair recognizes the gentleman not sleep because you wonder if your to suspend the rules and pass the bill from Oregon. child is sleeping. It is, to quote Missey, (H.R. 4889) to amend the Communica- GENERAL LEAVE ‘‘pure hell.’’ tions Act of 1934 to require providers of Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask Missey and Greg Smith have made it a covered service to provide call loca- unanimous consent that all Members their mission to prevent this type of tion information concerning the tele- may have 5 legislative days in which to tragedy from ever happening again. communications device of a user of revise and extend their remarks and to They began facilitating safety aware- such service to an investigative or law insert extraneous materials in the ness seminars for parents and for stu- enforcement officer in an emergency RECORD on the bill. dents. They also began to push for leg- situation involving risk of death or se- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there islation to address the very problem of rious physical injury or in order to re- objection to the request of the gen- obtaining timely cell phone location spond to the user’s call for emergency tleman from Oregon? data—only location data, that is all we services, as amended. There was no objection. are talking about here—and only dur- The Clerk read the title of the bill. Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield ing life-threatening emergencies—just The text of the bill is as follows: myself such time as I may consume. life-and-death situations and only loca- H. R. 4889 Imagine that your child is missing. tional data. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- You know that she was abducted from The legislation we are considering resentatives of the United States of America in a parking lot, but you don’t know today, which is named in honor of their Congress assembled, where she is now or how to find her. daughter, is a major step toward that SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. Grasping for any possible lead, you ask goal. The Kelsey Smith Act requires This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Kelsey Smith her cell phone carrier to provide the lo- cell phone providers to provide law en- Act’’. forcement with access to device loca- SEC. 2. REQUIRED EMERGENCY DISCLOSURE OF cation—and just the location—of her CALL LOCATION INFORMATION TO cell phone, hoping that it will lead you tion data in an emergency situation, LAW ENFORCEMENT. to her, but you are told they don’t re- when a victim is in danger of death or Section 222 of the Communications Act of 1934 lease that information. So you wait. serious harm or when the device has (47 U.S.C. 222) is amended— You rely on others to search for your been used to place a 911 emergency call (1) in subsection (d)— child by foot and by air, never knowing requesting emergency assistance. (A) in paragraph (4), by redesignating sub- This changes current law. You see, paragraphs (A) through (C) as clauses (i) if your child is alive or if your child is through (iii), respectively; dead, safe, or in pain. current law already permits carriers to (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through This nightmare came true for Missey provide the data, but it does not re- (4) as subparagraphs (A) through (D), respec- and Greg Smith 9 years ago last week quire them to. This places an unreason- tively; when their beloved daughter went able burden on wireless providers to de- (C) by striking ‘‘Nothing in this section’’ and termine what constitutes an emer- inserting the following: missing outside Kansas City, Kansas. By all accounts, Kelsey Smith—pic- gency and then live with the con- ‘‘(1) PERMITTED DISCLOSURES.—Nothing in sequences of their decisions, which this section’’; and tured here—was a vibrant and joyful (D) by adding at the end the following: 18-year-old girl. they now must do in the case of Kelsey ‘‘(2) REQUIRED EMERGENCY DISCLOSURE OF She was preparing to attend college Smith. CALL LOCATION INFORMATION TO LAW ENFORCE When time is of the essence, do you - in the fall where she planned to join in MENT.—Notwithstanding subsections (a), (b), want a lawyer in corporate head- the marching band. Kelsey loved to and (c), at the request of an investigative or law quarters to agonize over the legal defi- sing. She was the third of five siblings. enforcement officer, a provider of a covered nition of an ‘‘emergency’’ or do you Tragically, her life was cut short when service shall provide to such officer the call lo- want the law enforcement officers, who cation information, or the best available loca- she was kidnapped from a Target park- dedicate their lives to keeping us safe, tion information, of a telecommunications device ing lot in June of 2007 just 9 days after that is— to make that call? I opt for those who her high school graduation, a crime can save lives. ‘‘(A) used to place a 9–1–1 call requesting caught on the store’s security cameras. emergency assistance; or To date, versions of the Kelsey Smith ‘‘(B) reasonably believed to be in the posses- Her family and her friends spent 4 an- Act have been adopted in 23 States, but sion of an individual that the law enforcement guished days searching for her, know- a patchwork of laws that protect some officer reasonably believes is in an emergency ing she was in danger but unable to and leave others vulnerable is not good situation that involves the risk of death or seri- find her. They used every method they for the companies that must comply ous physical harm to the individual. could think of to help locate her, but with this law or, more importantly, for ‘‘(3) HOLD HARMLESS.—No cause of action the one tool that would eventually lead the American lives that this law can shall lie in any court nor shall any civil or ad- to finding her body was not accessible. ministrative proceeding be commenced by a gov- and will save. ernmental entity against any provider of a cov- Kelsey’s parents contacted her cell You see, Mr. Speaker, the committee ered service, or its directors, officers, employees, phone provider on the day she went believes we need a consistent Federal agents, or vendors, for providing in good faith missing and asked them to ping her law that law enforcement across the call location information or other information, cell phone in the hopes that it would country can use. Parents shouldn’t facilities, or assistance in accordance with para- assist them in their search. Despite re- have to forum-shop for the most favor- graph (2) and any regulations promulgated peated requests from the family and able law when their children go miss- under such paragraph.’’; from law enforcement, it took 4 days ing. What if it were your child? (2) in subsection (f)(1), by striking ‘‘subsection before the Smiths were able to obtain (d)(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (d)(1)(D)’’; I have heard the privacy concerns and the location data of Kelsey’s cell that some say have been raised by this (3) in subsection (h), by adding at the end the phone—4 days, Mr. Speaker, nearly 100 bill. We have worked diligently to following: hours of not knowing where their little make the bill as targeted as possible to ‘‘(8) COVERED SERVICE.—The term ‘covered girl had gone, where she had been balance legitimate privacy concerns service’ means— taken, or if they would ever see her with the importance of saving lives. By ‘‘(A) a commercial mobile service (as defined again. Yet, within 45 minutes of receiv- in section 332); or limiting the circumstances in which it ‘‘(B) an IP-enabled voice service (as defined ing that location data, when they fi- can be used and, most importantly, by in section 7 of the Wireless Communications and nally got it, Kelsey’s body was found. limiting the information that is avail- Public Safety Act of 1999 (47 U.S.C. 615b)). She was dead. able, we can ensure that it is only used

VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 May 24, 2016 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\K23MY7.006 H23MYPT1 emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with HOUSE H2886 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE May 23, 2016 in cases in which it is absolutely nec- committee after full hearings and ment on one hand with the rights of essary. through the full committee. In fact, it consumers and privacy concerns on the Mr. Speaker, we have heard from law was voted unanimously out of the full other hand. These protections would enforcement officers across the coun- committee. There were no voices of ob- not have in any way slowed law en- try that, when people are in emergency jection. forcement’s ability to find people in an situations, every second counts, and This Wednesday, May 25, is National emergency. They would simply have that delay can mean the difference be- Missing Children’s Day. According to made sure that consumers are pro- tween life and death. The Kelsey Smith the FBI, in 2015, there were more than tected after a search takes place. This Act takes the burden of decision- 460,000 reports of missing children was a good deal. Unfortunately, the making away from cell phone providers made to law enforcement in the U.S. path taken in the current Congress was and places it with law enforcement, How many of these missing children different. who are trained specifically to make carry a cell phone? Even if the Kelsey This year’s bill, the one that we are this kind of determination. Smith Act leads to the recovery of only debating now, disregards the hard work The Kelsey Smith Act has been suc- one of those missing children, isn’t it that went into finding a bipartisan cessfully used in multiple States where worth it? As a parent, I can tell you agreement on the Kelsey Smith Act in it is already law. In fact, in Kansas, we that, for the families of missing chil- the last Congress. During markups in have an infant here named Aubrey. Au- dren, it certainly is. the Energy and Commerce Committee, brey was innocently in her car seat in We have the opportunity to equip law Democrats offered amendments that a car, in the backseat of the vehicle, enforcement with another tool to aid would modify H.R. 4889 back to what when somebody carjacked the car while them in emergency situations, a tool was agreed to in the last Congress. It her parents were standing near it, just that costs nothing and uses informa- would have kept the requirement that feet away. tion that already exists. Let’s seize carriers provide the requested informa- Can you imagine? Her parents are this opportunity. tion to law enforcement, but the right there, and somebody jumps in the Now, I know there will be those who amendment would have provided a sim- car and drives off with it as you stand will argue that somehow we didn’t go ple consumer safeguard. It would have hopelessly, unable to do anything as far enough in privacy. Well, guess required that law enforcement seek a their little daughter, Aubrey, was in- what. My State of Oregon passed an al- court order within 48 hours after it side. most identical bill, unanimously, and makes an emergency request. So it The local police department used the it is a very blue State, Mr. Speaker— would in no way have stood in the way Kelsey Smith Act in Kansas to track full Democratic house, Democratic sen- of an emergency request; it would have the cell phone that was still in the car, ate, Democratic Governor. Not a single just required law enforcement to seek and they were able to successfully re- member objected. That is what this that court order after the emergency cover the baby, Aubrey, who was version of the bill is based on. request. unharmed, in about 30 minutes. Multiple other States have different Such modifications would address b 1415 reporting requirements for members of some of the concerns that have been raised regarding the potential abuse of Officer Dan Friesen credited the safe their law enforcement community. We H.R. 4889. It would not hamper law en- recovery to the Kelsey Smith Act, say- honor what the States have done and can do. We don’t take that away. We forcement’s ability to have quick ac- ing that the ‘‘technology is very help- cess to lifesaving location data when ful to us and is made possible by the don’t override that. They can go far- ther if they want in terms of what they they are presented with an emergency Kelsey Smith Law.’’ situation. Thanks to Kelsey and Greg and want their State law enforcement offi- We recognize that Chairman WALDEN cers to do or not do. We simply address Missey Smith, little Aubrey is safe in was concerned that he could not sup- the issue related to the telephone car- the arms of her family once again. In port last year’s deal, the version from riers and what they must do when the words of her mother: ‘‘We are so last Congress, because it was not com- happy to have Aubrey home with us called upon in life-and-death situations pletely consistent with the law in his and can’t picture life without our baby to save the lives of little girls like Au- home State. That is why our proposal girl.’’ Because of the Kelsey Smith Act, brey and like Kelsey. added a provision to protect existing Let’s honor Kelsey’s memory by en- they do not have to. State laws. Unfortunately, our efforts Mr. Speaker, this law goes beyond suring that her lasting legacy isn’t the were rebuffed. just kidnapping cases, however. The story of her death but, rather, the We continue to stand ready to work Kansas Sheriffs’ Association told us it story of how she continued to make a together again, but I cannot support has also been used in cases of adults difference to save lives. this bill in its current form without en- with dementia and missing people who I reserve the balance of my time. suring that additional protections are are in danger due to lack of life-sus- Mr. SARBANES. Mr. Speaker, I yield in place. taining medication, severe weather, or myself such time as I may consume. I reserve the balance of my time. other life-threatening circumstances. I rise in opposition to H.R. 4889. Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield I thank my friend from Kansas, Con- I do want to say the Democrats con- such time as he may consume to the gressman KEVIN YODER. He has been tinue to support the intention behind gentleman from Kansas (Mr. YODER), tireless in his advocacy for this legisla- this bill. What happened to Kelsey the proponent of this legislation who tion. He first brought this bill to my Smith is clearly a tragedy that should brought it before us. attention last Congress and continued not be allowed to happen again. Her Mr. YODER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to push for its passage again this year. family, who have advocated for these today to honor the life and legacy of He has been an advocate for Kelsey and changes in the law, deserve our respect Kelsey Ann Smith of Overland Park, her family throughout the process, and and are true heroes. But we cannot sup- Kansas. I rise today on behalf of this bill would not have advanced this port this effort to force the bill Kelsey’s Army, people all across the far without Congressman YODER’s through without including the com- country who have put themselves in work. monsense consumer protections that the shoes of Greg and Missey, who have I also want to thank Greg and Missey resulted from strong bipartisan work also had children who have been ab- Smith, who are in the gallery today, in the last Congress. ducted and understand that we need for their courage in the face of their In the 113th Congress, the Committee commonsense public safety laws like tragedy. Because of their willingness to on Energy and Commerce passed a this on the books to ensure that we can speak about their daughter and what version of the Kelsey Smith Act, a save lives and ensure that these types happened to her, we are here today version that included specific protec- of abductions and murders never hap- with the opportunity to prevent trage- tions for consumers’ privacy closer in pen again in our country without the dies like this one that befell Kelsey line with what is required under the ability to stop them as quickly as pos- Smith. Fourth Amendment. The legislation sible. Now, I think it is important to note was a negotiated outcome that care- June 6, 2016, will mark 9 years since this legislation passed out of the sub- fully balanced the needs of law enforce- Kelsey Smith, an 18-year-old Shawnee

VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 May 24, 2016 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\K23MY7.007 H23MYPT1 emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with HOUSE May 23, 2016 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H2887 Mission West student, was kidnapped tion data from her cell provider. It Mr. Speaker, this body often debates in broad daylight from a Target park- took 4 days while an entire community the merits of protecting Americans ing lot by a predator who would sexu- searched for Kelsey with no success. It from the threat of harm versus giving ally assault and murder her soon after. took 4 days because, under current law, up certain civil liberties. In this case, I remember it like it was yesterday. We providers are not required to provide we are blessed with modern technology all, in Kansas and in my community, location data. They are permitted to in that affords law enforcement with a felt immediately associated with the an emergency situation, but it is up to tool to save lives without Americans grief and pain that Kelsey’s parents their discretion. giving up any of their privacy. were feeling. Parents worried about So the question for this body is: Do Now, I thank my predecessor, Rep- their own children. They understood you want to leave this up to a cell resentative Dennis Moore, and my what was happening, and they wanted phone provider, for the lawyers and the former colleague, Todd Tiahrt of Kan- to help. executives there to decide, or do you sas, who began this effort shortly after So Kansans and people in my commu- want trained law enforcement making Kelsey’s death. I also thank Represent- nity helped search for Kelsey for days. this decision based upon a reasonable atives LYNN JENKINS, MIKE POMPEO of As Chairman WALDEN so eloquently belief of an exigent emergency cir- Kansas, and my colleague from across spoke in favor of this bill, it is an an- cumstance? the aisle, EMANUEL CLEAVER of Mis- guish to have your child be missing and It is analogous; I think we all would souri, who have worked with me in this you cannot do anything about it. agree. I think the folks on the opposite fight. I also thank Chairman UPTON Kelsey’s mother, Missey, says that side of the aisle would agree that there and Chairman WALDEN for working when your child is missing, as a parent is certainly a Fourth Amendment right swiftly over the last month to move you don’t eat and as a parent you don’t to protect your home and your dwell- this important legislation forward. Most of all, I would like to thank the sleep because you don’t know if your ing, probably the greatest Fourth two most important people in this child is eating or sleeping. I am a fa- Amendment protection right of all. room, who advocated for this bill day And yet, if an officer was driving by ther of two little girls. I cannot imag- after day, Greg and Missey Smith. But and saw an exigent circumstance, saw ine the pain and suffering Missey and for their support and guidance, for her husband, Greg, who are with us someone who was in jeopardy of phys- their ability to share their tragedy here today, have endured from Kelsey’s ical harm or emergency, they have the with the world and channel it into loss. No parent should have to. ability to break into that home to save goodness, for being here today and So today we are going to hear dif- that life. throughout the entire legislative proc- ferent debates and arguments about This information is even less secure. ess as we moved this bill forward, this how the bill could be changed or im- It is much more in the public domain. movement would not be possible. So proved or differences could be made, A cell phone provider already has the God bless you, Greg and Missey, and but the reality is this law is not on the right to release it. We are saying that God bless Kelsey. books in 28 States, and those children decision should be made by law en- Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to are not protected. We cannot, as a forcement. support the bill’s passage today. I House, allow this to stand. What breaks my heart every time I strongly urge the Senate to waste no So I ask my colleagues to dig deep in recount Kelsey’s story is, when finally time in following suit. Let’s send their heart to think about putting her cell phone location information Kelsey’s law to the President’s desk themselves in their shoes and to not was handed over, police found Kelsey’s this year for his signature so we can do block this legislation, to let this legis- body within 45 minutes. A search that something truly meaningful in a bipar- lation come forward. I promise you it floundered for 4 days could have ended tisan way and so we can save lives. is popular in your district. I promise in 45 minutes. We know for a fact, as Mr. SARBANES. Mr. Speaker, let me you a majority of Americans will sup- Chairman WALDEN articulated, that say again that Democrats strongly sup- port this. Opposing this bill is simply other lives have already been saved in port the intention behind this bill, but wrong and shameful. States that have adopted this law. we cannot support it as it is currently In the 9 years since Greg and Mr. Speaker, a Federal framework is drafted. We believe that we can do bet- Missey’s daughter was taken from needed to save lives across the entire ter. them, they have dealt with this un- country, not just in a patchwork of I urge Members to vote ‘‘no’’ on H.R. speakable, horrific experience with States that have adopted this bill. It is 4889. grace and determination. Rather than up to this body to set that framework, I yield back the balance of my time. falling into the depths of despair, like which would be a ceiling for State leg- Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield anyone could imagine them to do, they islatures to follow. If certain States myself such time as I may consume. channeled their grief into the passion feel that additional privacy protec- I am, of course, disappointed that the to help others who find themselves in tions, such as suggested by my col- Democrats cannot support this in its Kelsey’s situation. They traveled the leagues across the aisle, must be put present form. United States fighting to pass State- into place, they are well within their The bill that we worked on last year, level versions of the bill we are consid- jurisdiction to do so. by the way, never made it to the House ering today, and they have done so I believe any concerns articulated by floor, and this one did. with great success, with 23 States hav- others are overblown in this situation. b 1430 ing passed a version of the Kelsey As someone who has spent my career in The time is now to act. The time is Smith Act. this body fighting for the privacy now to help families find abducted chil- Today, this body will have the rights of Americans—we just passed dren, parents suffering from dementia chance to honor Kelsey’s memory and the Email Privacy Act 419–0, and all of who are carrying the device and need Greg and Missey’s tireless advocacy by us supported that—and fought to mod- help saving their lives. bringing the law to all 50 States. In the ernize our Fourth Amendment rights This is very narrowly written. As my words of Missey Smith, we have the with regard to email privacy, I feel colleague from Kansas (Mr. YODER) rare opportunity to ‘‘save lives without comfortable in saying this bill strikes said: Read the bill. it costing one cent.’’ the right balance. It does not give you We have. It is very narrowly written. The Kelsey Smith Act creates a nar- the information on the phone. It does Location, emergency only, life and row exception for law enforcement offi- not give you content. It does not give death. You dialed 911 seeking help. cers to gain access to limited call loca- you anything other than the pings on States still have the ability to talk tion information of an individual’s cell the phone in the case of an emergency. about all these other provisions they phone in the event of an emergency, It doesn’t even give you GPS tracking. may want. We do not preclude that. We like a kidnapping. In those cases, every It does not infringe upon our constitu- honor the right of States, local legisla- second counts. tional rights. Any of us, as parents, tures to come and add restrictions if Unfortunately, in Kelsey’s case, it would be thankful that we voted for they want to do that for post-action re- took 4 excruciating days for law en- this bill today, should something hor- porting, subpoenas, whatever they forcement to finally obtain the loca- rific happen in our lives. want to do.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:20 May 24, 2016 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\K23MY7.008 H23MYPT1 emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with HOUSE H2888 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE May 23, 2016 But in the meantime, can’t we just install, manage, or operate for use in the ter was killed—stabbed by her es- save lives? Can’t we just pass some- United States such a system, unless such tranged husband in a Texas hotel room thing that gives certainty to the tele- system is configured such that a user may while their children were in the room. communications providers that when directly initiate a call to 9-1-1 from any sta- While that story is obviously horri- tion equipped with dialing facilities, without they get that law enforcement call, dialing any additional digit, code, prefix, or fying enough, especially as a parent, they have to provide that data of sim- post-fix, including any trunk-access code my true shock came from the next part ply the location when everybody agrees such as the digit ‘9’, regardless of whether of the story. Kari’s 9-year-old daugh- that somebody’s life is in the balance? the user is required to dial such a digit, code, ter, doing as she had been taught from I urge my colleagues to support this prefix, or post-fix for other calls. an early age, had repeatedly tried to bill. ‘‘(c) ON-SITE NOTIFICATION.—A person en- dial 911 from the hotel phone to get Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance gaged in the business of installing, man- emergency help. Repeatedly her little aging, or operating multi-line telephone sys- fingers pushed the buttons 9–1-1, but of my time. tems shall, in installing, managing, or oper- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The ating such a system for use in the United because the phone required another 9 question is on the motion offered by States, configure the system to provide a no- to get an outside line, she was never the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. WAL- tification to a central location at the facil- able to reach the emergency assistance DEN) that the House suspend the rules ity where the system is installed or to an- her mother so desperately needed and and pass the bill, H.R. 4889, as amend- other person or organization regardless of lo- she so desperately tried to access. ed. cation, if the system is able to be configured What her grandfather, Hank Hunt, The question was taken. to provide the notification without an im- told me next will stay with me forever. provement to the hardware or software of The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the He said that as he sat with his grand- the system. daughter in the lobby of the police de- opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being ‘‘(d) EFFECT ON STATE LAW.—Nothing in in the affirmative, the ayes have it. this section is intended to alter the author- partment just hours after the death of Mr. SARBANES. Mr. Speaker, on ity of State commissions or other State or his daughter, his granddaughter looked that I demand the yeas and nays. local agencies with jurisdiction over emer- at him and said: ‘‘I tried 4 times, Papa, The yeas and nays were ordered. gency communications, if the exercise of but it didn’t work.’’ ‘‘I tried 4 times, The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- such authority is not inconsistent with this Papa, but it didn’t work.’’ ant to clause 8 of rule XX, further pro- Act. Through this tragedy we learned the ‘‘(e) ENFORCEMENT.—This section shall be difficult truth that many multiline ceedings on this motion will be post- enforced under title V, except that section poned. 501 applies only to the extent that such sec- telephone systems, like the kinds often found in hotels and offices and univer- f tion provides for the punishment of a fine. ‘‘(f) MULTI-LINE TELEPHONE SYSTEM DE- sities, require that users dial an addi- KARI’S LAW ACT OF 2016 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘multi-line tional digit to use an outside line, even Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I move telephone system’ has the meaning given when they are trying to call 911. to suspend the rules and pass the bill such term in section 6502 of the Middle Class Mr. Speaker, this is simply unaccept- Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 (H.R. 4167) to amend the Communica- able. In the heat of an emergency, U.S.C. 1471).’’. every person in America deserves the tions Act of 1934 to require multi-line (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— telephone systems to have a default (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in peace of mind to know that on any configuration that permits users to di- paragraph (2), section 721 of the Communica- phone 911 actually means 911, period. rectly initiate a call to 9–1-1 without tions Act of 1934, as added by subsection (a) We teach our children from a very dialing any additional digit, code, pre- of this section, shall apply beginning on the young age what to do in an emergency: fix, or post-fix, and for other purposes, date that is 2 years after the date of the en- dial 911. We all hope that they will actment of this Act. as amended. never need to use that knowledge, but (2) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (b) or (c) of The Clerk read the title of the bill. we want them to know what to do. I such section 721 shall not apply to a multi- don’t know too many parents who also The text of the bill is as follows: line telephone system that was installed be- teach their kids to think about dialing H.R. 4167 fore the date that is 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act if such system is 9 or 8 or some other number to get an Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- outside line. resentatives of the United States of America in not able to be configured to meet the re- Congress assembled, quirement of such subsection (b) or (c), re- H.R. 4167, known as Kari’s Law, seeks spectively, without an improvement to the to remedy this problem. The legisla- SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. hardware or software of the system. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Kari’s Law tion requires multiline telephone sys- Act of 2016’’. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- tems to be configured so that dialing SEC. 2. CONFIGURATION OF MULTI-LINE TELE- ant to the rule, the gentleman from Or- 911 directly connects to public safety. PHONE SYSTEMS FOR DIRECT DIAL- egon (Mr. WALDEN) and the gentleman In addition, the law requires that a ING OF 9-1-1. from New Jersey (Mr. PALLONE) each central point of contact for each sys- (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Commu- will control 20 minutes. tem be notified when someone calls for nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is The Chair recognizes the gentleman emergency assistance, a provision in- amended by adding at the end the following: from Oregon. tended to help emergency responders ‘‘SEC. 721. CONFIGURATION OF MULTI-LINE TELE- access buildings and actually locate PHONE SYSTEMS FOR DIRECT DIAL- GENERAL LEAVE ING OF 9-1-1. Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask the emergency caller. ‘‘(a) SYSTEM MANUFACTURE, IMPORTATION, unanimous consent that all Members Now, these fixes are simple changes SALE, AND LEASE.—A person engaged in the may have 5 legislative days in which to to the system in most cases, costing business of manufacturing, importing, sell- revise and extend their remarks and in- little, if any, money, and taking very ing, or leasing multi-line telephone systems sert extraneous materials in the little time, but apparently without a may not manufacture or import for use in RECORD on the bill. legal requirement, there is no way to the United States, or sell or lease or offer to The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there guarantee that every MLTS will be sell or lease in the United States, a multi- configured for dialing 911 directly. line telephone system, unless such system is objection to the request of the gen- pre-configured such that, when properly in- tleman from Oregon? Some businesses, including many ho- stalled in accordance with subsection (b), a There was no objection. tels, have taken steps to fix this prob- user may directly initiate a call to 9-1-1 from Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield lem already, and I applaud them for any station equipped with dialing facilities, myself such time as I may consume. doing so voluntarily, but there needs to without dialing any additional digit, code, Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. be consistency across our great land, prefix, or post-fix, including any trunk-ac- 4167, the Kari’s Law Act of 2016. Mr. Speaker. If you are a traveler stay- cess code such as the digit ‘9’, regardless of Mr. Speaker, when I first heard of the ing in a hotel, you shouldn’t have to whether the user is required to dial such a tragic story of Kari Hunt, I was in dis- wonder during an emergency whether digit, code, prefix, or post-fix for other calls. ‘‘(b) SYSTEM INSTALLATION, MANAGEMENT, belief. In his testimony before the Sub- you are in one of the States or counties AND OPERATION.—A person engaged in the committee on Communications and that have adopted Kari’s Law when the business of installing, managing, or oper- Technology, Kari’s father, Hank, time comes for emergency help. We ating multi-line telephone systems may not shared with us the way that his daugh- need a Federal law to provide certainty

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