As legislators work on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Mel Maier, CEO of APCO International, cautioned that its exclusion of funding for Next Generation 911 (NG911) could pose significant national security risks. He emphasized that the bill’s omission is a major oversight as it leaves critical public safety infrastructure underserved and unmodernized.
“This bill does many good things,” Maier told Fox News Digital. “However, it leaves something out that’s very important, and that’s funding for Next Generation 911 and failing to modernize that first call for help.” Maier explained that NG911 is not merely a modernization project but a necessity for public safety and national security amid ongoing threats such as rising cyberattacks and the recent U.S. strike on Iran’s nuclear program.
He pointed out that the vulnerabilities in the current 911 system could be exploited by malicious actors. “We know that cyberterrorists and threats are being directed against 911 today, and it’s affecting us today,” he said. “Ransomware attacks have taken down 911 centers, police departments, fire departments, EMS agencies across the U.S. We need to stop that.”
Despite these warnings, the funding for NG911 was not included in the current legislative proposal. Maier emphasized the need for a bipartisan effort in Congress to ensure the necessary funding is secured. “We do believe that working with Congress in a bicameral and bipartisan way is the only effective way to make this happen,” he said. “We’ve had assurances from Congress on both sides of the aisle that this is a national priority.”
APCO supports legislation introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, which includes foundational language crafted in collaboration with public safety experts. However, Maier noted that the bill still lacks a specific funding source. “That bill in Sen. Klobuchar’s office right now has foundational and fundamental language that we support,” he said. “Public safety has supported it. We’ve helped craft that language. However, it does not identify a funding source. That’s missing. Without it, it will not move forward.”
A 2018 federal cost analysis estimated that a national rollout of NG911 would require $15 billion. Without this investment, Maier warned of a fragmented emergency response system, with disparities between states that have invested and those that have not. “Some states have invested in Next Generation 911 infrastructure and technologies. Others have done nothing,” he said. “That leaves us with haves and have-nots across the nation. We want to have cities, communities, townships, villages, rural areas, tribal areas, territories all getting the same services. It should be across the nation, the same for everyone.”
The current 911 system still runs on infrastructure built in the 1960s and 1970s, which was never designed to support video, multimedia messaging, or geolocation data. “Next Generation 911 allows that information to reach the 911 center, and then it can be pushed out to those field-based responders,” Maier said. “That information itself can be critical in getting the best information to the right person quickly enough that they can make a difference and save lives. Next Generation 911, if implemented nationwide today, will save lives today.”
President Donald Trump is pushing his party to pass the sweeping tax cuts and spending package in time for him to sign it by the Fourth of July. The spending package includes sweeping legislation and implements many of the president’s campaign promises.