National parks get 911 upgrade—but Congress hasn't funded it yet
H.R. 7031 — Making National Parks Safer Act · Filed by Russ Fulcher (R-ID) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jan 13, 2026 · Hearing held
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What it does
This bill directs the Interior Secretary to assess emergency communications systems (911 centers) in national parks, identify which ones lack modern Next Generation 911 technology, estimate upgrade costs, and develop a plan to install the new systems. The bill requires consultation with state, local, and federal partners to ensure the upgraded systems work together seamlessly.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a directive to assess and plan modernization of emergency communications in national parks. It is straightforward infrastructure policy with no hidden provisions or narrow beneficiaries.
What the text implies
- The bill requires consultation with state and local officials but does not mandate their approval, preserving federal authority over park emergency systems while building interoperability.
- The assessment and plan are required but the bill does not appropriate funds for actual installation, meaning implementation depends on future congressional appropriations.
- Superintendents retain discretion to exempt parks already upgrading, potentially creating uneven coverage across the park system.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Ordinary citizens visiting national parks gain faster, more reliable emergency response through modernized 911 systems that can receive texts, images, and precise location data. The bill imposes no new costs on the public and creates no restrictions on citizen rights or remedies.
Who stands to gain
- telecommunications equipment manufacturers
- emergency communications software vendors
- systems integration contractors
Named in the bill
Department of Interior, National Park Service, Department of Commerce, Department of Transportation, Federal Communications Commission, State and local emergency operations, Next Generation 911 (NG911) technology providers
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Jan 13, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jan 13, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
- Mar 18, 2026 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Hearings Held”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $30,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 43 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Russ Fulcher, the sponsor, reported $350,070 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- International Association of Fire Chiefs — $30,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 17, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (4,894 characters) on Aug 12, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 17, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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