READI Act
Latest action · Nov 18, 2020 Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 596.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 5, 2020
- Passed HouseNov 17, 2020
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Reliable Emergency Alert Distribution Improvement Act of 2020 or READI Act
This bill modifies how citizens receive emergency alerts through wireless and broadcast emergency alert systems.
Specifically, the bill includes emergency alerts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a type of alert that mobile subscribers may not block from their devices. (Currently, only alerts from the President may not be blocked.)
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must adopt regulations that encourage states to establish a State Emergency Communications Committee (SECC) and provide that each SECC meets at least annually to review and update its Emergency Alert System (EAS) Plan. The FCC must approve or disapprove the updated plan.
The FCC shall also (1) establish a system to receive from FEMA or state, tribal, or local governments reports of false alerts under the EAS or the Wireless EAS and to record such false alerts and examine their causes; (2) modify the EAS to provide for repeating messages while an alert remains pending; and (3) examine the feasibility of offering EAS alerts through the internet, including through audio and video streaming services.
Cosponsors 3
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Mar 5, 2020.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-FL | Gus M. Bilirakis | Original | Mar 5, 2020 |
| R-TX | Pete Olson | Original | Mar 5, 2020 |
| D-HI | Tulsi Gabbard | Original | Mar 5, 2020 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Mar 5, 2020Markup Jul 15, 2020Reported Nov 16, 2020 |
| Communications and Technology Subcommittee | Referred Mar 6, 2020Markup Mar 10, 2020Reported Mar 10, 2020 | |
| House | Transportation and Infrastructure Committee | Referred Mar 5, 2020Discharged Nov 16, 2020 |
| Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee | Referred Mar 9, 2020 |
Actions 17
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Nov 18, 2020Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 596.
- Nov 17, 2020Mr. Pallone moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Nov 17, 2020Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H5820-5823)
- Nov 17, 2020DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 6096.
- Nov 17, 2020Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H5820-5821)
- Nov 17, 2020Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Nov 16, 2020Reported by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 116-582, Part I.
- Nov 16, 2020Committee on Transportation discharged.
- Nov 16, 2020Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 480.
- Jul 15, 2020Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Jul 15, 2020Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
- Mar 10, 2020Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Mar 10, 2020Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote .
- Mar 9, 2020Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
- Mar 6, 2020Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
- Mar 5, 2020Introduced in House
- Mar 5, 2020Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H5820–H5823Text printed H5820 | Frank Pallone, Jr. D-NJ, Greg Walden R-OR, Gus M. Bilirakis R-FL, Jerry McNerney D-CA | Nov 17, 2020 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Sep 24, 2020H.R. 6096, READI ActAs ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on July 15, 2020
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 166, no. 44, March 5, 2020, page H1536.
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 2693 | READI Act | Related bill | Sep 29, 2020 |
| S 4049 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 | Related bill | Aug 7, 2020 |
| HR 4856 | READI Act | Related bill | Feb 27, 2020 |
Titles 9
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To improve oversight by the Federal Communications Commission of the wireless and broadcast emergency alert systems.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Reliable Emergency Alert Distribution Improvement Act of 2020
- READI Act
- Short Title(s) as Reported to House
- READI Act
- Reliable Emergency Alert Distribution Improvement Act of 2020
- Short Title(s) as Passed House
- READI Act
- Reliable Emergency Alert Distribution Improvement Act of 2020
- Short Title(s) from PCS (Placed on Senate Calendar) bill text
- Reliable Emergency Alert Distribution Improvement Act of 2020
- READI Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Broadcasting, cable, digital technologies
- Congressional oversight
- Emergency communications systems
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- Government studies and investigations
- Homeland security
- Internet and video services
- Internet, web applications, social media
- Science, Technology, Communications
- State and local government operations
- Telephone and wireless communication
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Nov 18, 2020Placed on Calendar Senate
- Nov 17, 2020Engrossed in House
- Nov 16, 2020Reported in House
- Mar 5, 2020Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
