Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act Included in Bicameral NDAA Compromise Bill Passed by the House
On December 10, the House of Representatives passed S. 1071, which consolidated the House- and Senate-passed versions of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into one, compromise bill. Within the bill was the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act, which was included in the Senate-passed version of the NDAA. The compromise bill now goes to the Senate, where it is expected to pass.
The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act would extend federal Public Safety Officers Benefits (PSOB) to first responders who die or are permanently disabled from certain occupational cancers caused by job-related exposures. To receive the benefits, the firefighter, or their family, must submit an application to the U.S. Department of Justice’s PSOB Office that shows that they were exposed to a known carcinogen while in the line of duty and the cancer diagnosis occurred more than 5 years from their first day in service and no later than 15 years after their last day of service. Eligibility is postdated to cover cancers diagnosed after January 1, 2020.
Next Generation 9-1-1 legislation introduced in the House
On December 10, Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC) and Representative Troy Carter (D-LA) introduced the Next Generation 9-1-1 Act (H.R. 6505). This is a bipartisan bill that aims to modernize our nation’s emergency communications systems and would help first responders save lives. It would update and reauthorize federal support for nationwide deployment of Next Generation 9-1-1 technology and create a framework for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to facilitate the transition once funds are appropriated. Our nation’s 9-1-1 system is in a dire need of an upgrade, and the IAFC looks forward to working with the Public Safety Next Generation 9-1-1 Coalition to increase awareness and hopefully enact this important legislation.
FCC releases new rules on Wireless Emergency Alerts
Also on December 10, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted implementation procedures for multilingual Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). These new rules will require commercial wireless carriers who participate in the WEA program to support multilingual templates not just in English, but also in the 13 other most used languages and American Sign Language (ASL). It was also announced that by the publishing of these new regulations, they now become effective in June 2028.