U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, applauded the Senate’s passage of three bipartisan Commerce Committee-approved technology and telecommunications bills, including his MOBILE NOW Act. The Senate also approved the Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2017 and Kari’s Law Act of 2017, both of which Thune is a cosponsor.
“The Senate’s passage of these bipartisan bills brings us a step closer to increasing access to spectrum that powers our 21st century tech economy, improving the quality and reliability of phone calls in rural communities, removing barriers to dialing 911 in emergencies, and cutting inefficiencies in federal bureaucracy,” said Thune. “I congratulate the sponsors and members of the Commerce Committee who advanced these bills and proved again that the Senate is working for the American people.”
The Senate passed the following Thune-sponsored technology and telecommunications bills:
- S. 19, Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless Act (MOBILE NOW Act), Legislation to increase spectrum availability for next-generation gigabit wireless services and foster broadband deployment.
Sponsors: Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.)
- S. 96, Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2017, Legislation to require the FCC to establish quality and reliability standards for rural phone networks.
Sponsors: Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.)
- S. 123, Kari’s Law Act of 2017, Legislation initiated after the murder of Kari Hunt in a hotel in Marshall, Texas, when Hunt’s daughter tried to call 911 but was unsuccessful due to a required “9” prefix on the hotel phone. This legislation bans the requirement of a prefix when dialing 911 for assistance.
Sponsors: Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), John Cornyn (R-Texas), John Thune (R-S.D.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
