U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) has supported the committee approval of the Making National Parks Safer Act, a bill aimed at improving emergency response in the National Park System by updating 911 call center technology. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where Hyde-Smith serves as a member, advanced the legislation (S.290) by voice vote.
Hyde-Smith is an original cosponsor of the bipartisan measure, which was introduced by U.S. Senator John Barrasso, M.D. (R-Wyo.). The bill would require the U.S. Department of the Interior to create a plan for upgrading National Park Service 911 call centers with Next Generation 911 (NG911) technology. This upgrade would allow call centers to receive text messages, images, and video submissions in addition to phone calls, helping emergency responders locate and assist callers more quickly and accurately.
“Our national parks are wonderful and beautiful public assets, but they can also be dangerous. We have the technology to make our national parks safer, which is why we want the Interior Department to determine the path to achieve an upgraded 911 system,” Hyde-Smith said.
The proposed improvements would also enable calls to be redirected to any operational call center during natural disasters or technical issues. The legislation instructs the Interior Department to work with state and local emergency operations, stakeholders, and relevant federal agencies when developing NG911 systems. It also requires an assessment of implementation costs across all national parks.
Other cosponsors include Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.). Organizations such as the Public Safety Next Generation 911 Coalition, National Emergency Number Association (NENA), and Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) support this legislation.
Hyde-Smith’s work on public safety aligns with her priorities as outlined on her official website, where she focuses on issues like infrastructure, rural communities, health care, veterans’ support, agriculture, energy policy, jobs and economic development throughout Mississippi.
She holds committee assignments on Senate Appropriations; Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; Energy and Natural Resources; and Rules and Administration committees (source). Hyde-Smith is recognized as Mississippi’s first woman elected to Congress (source), serving constituents statewide from offices in Washington D.C., Ridgeland, Gulfport, and Oxford (source).
