[IsraelTimes] Public safety chief warns of national security risks as emergency infrastructure funding gets left behind.
| Let not the perfect be the enemy of the good. This is the first spending bill, not the last worked on by this session of Congess. Improvements to a working 911 system is a minor concern in comparison, and may not even be the rightful concern of the federal government, no matter how impassioned its cheerleaders. |
As lawmakers push forward with the sweeping One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the executive director and CEO of the oldest and largest organization of public safety communications professionals warns that its failure to include funding for Next Generation 911 (NG911) is a serious national security oversight with consequences for public safety.
"This bill does many good things," Mel Maier, executive director and CEO of APCO International, 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."
NG911, Maier explained, is not just a modernization project but a public safety and national security necessity as the public remains on high alert following the U.S. strike against Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
He emphasized that NG911 is also a matter of national security, especially considering escalating global instability and the increasing threat of foreign cyberattacks.
"Next Generation 911, at its heart, is really about national security," Maier said. "Whether it's cybersecurity from national threat actors, or from internal actors, we need to get that information to the field-based responders out there as quickly as possible."
Pointing to the recent concerns about sleeper cells in the U.S., Maier said that the vulnerabilities that the current system has could easily be jeopardized.
"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, NG911 funding was not included in the current "big, beautiful bill."
"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." 
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