WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) issued the following statement after his bill, the bipartisan Emergency Information Improvement Act of 2015 was passed by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs today. The legislation designates public broadcasting stations as one of several nonprofits eligible for federal assistance when damaged by storms and other disasters.
“Public radio and broadcast stations are an essential asset that provide critical information when a disaster strikes. The Emergency Information Improvement Act ensures that locally licensed stations are eligible for disaster relief funding in the event their facilities, which communities rely on, are impacted by a natural disaster. As we experienced during Hurricane Sandy, it is absolutely critical that we enable entities with broad communications reach to relay real-time information to the public. New Jerseyans and Americans who have endured severe weather disasters know all too well that access to emergency information can be a matter of life or death. Today, we made significant progress with the passage of this legislation out of Committee and I look forward to its passage by the full senate.”
Approximately 98 percent of the American population has access to a public radio or TV signal. Current federal emergency response and relief statutes are ambiguous on whether local public broadcasting stations are eligible for emergency financial assistance when damaged by storms and other disasters. This legislation designates public broadcasting stations as one of several nonprofits eligible for federal assistance when necessary to save lives and protect public property, these services cannot be reliably provided.
The Emergency Information Improvement Act was introduced in April with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). The bill text can be viewed here.