H.R. 5918: To direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting.

116th Congress · introduced 2020-02-14 · Science, Technology, Communications · Latest: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

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Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2020-02-14 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA-6] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

To direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting.

Plain summary

This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to report on certain activations of the Disaster Information Reporting System (the system through which communications providers report their operational status during times of crisis) and to adopt specified rules related to network outage reporting. If the system was activated for at least seven days, the FCC must issue a preliminary a report that includes (1) the number and duration of any service outages, (2) the approximate number of users or the amount of infrastructure potentially affected by a service outage, and (3) the number and duration of any outages at public safety answering points (PSAPs) that prevent the PSAPs from receiving and routing emergency calls to emergency service personnel. The FCC must also hold at least one public field hearing in the area affected by the event, and it must issue a final report that includes recommendations on how to improve the resiliency of affected communications or networks recovery efforts. The FCC must also determine the circumstances under which it shall require certain service providers to notify a PSAP of a communications service disruption that prevents the origination of 9–1–1 calls or the delivery of information that allows the PSAP to identify the number of or locate a 9–1–1 caller. Further, the FCC must require this notification to be made and specify the appropriate timing of the notification.

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

To direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and to make improvements to network outage reporting.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA-6] · 4 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Mike Thompson (D-CA), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA-6] reported raising $7.8 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

Agencies named in this bill

Federal Communications Commission: its federal spending and other bills that name it

Found automatically: the agency's full official name appears in the bill title. A bill can affect agencies it does not name, so this list may be incomplete.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116hr5918.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/hr>

Record fed-us-cong116-hr5918 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116