Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Media
Hearing
Evaluating Progress, Reauthorization of the Federal Public Safety Communications System

Testimony for the Record
Thomas A. Schatz
President
Council for Citizens Against Government Waste

January 28, 2026

Madam Chairwoman and members of the committee, my name is Thomas A. Schatz, and I am the president of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW).  I appreciate the opportunity to provide testimony for the record regarding the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and appreciate the committee’s review of the program as part of the reauthorization process.

CCAGW is a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing more than one million members and supporters nationwide.  Founded in 1984, CCAGW is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, which was established to follow up on the work of the President’s Private Sector Survey on Cost Control, also known as the Grace Commission, to eliminate waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement and inefficiency in government.

The lack of interoperability of first responders’ communications systems was one of the reasons the 9/11 Commission included in its recommendations the need to provide “close coordination during an actual incident.”  The commission noted that, “The inability to communicate was a critical element at the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and Somerset County, Pennsylvania, crash sites, where multiple agencies and multiple jurisdictions responded.  The occurrence of this problem at three very different sites is strong evidence that compatible and adequate communications among public safety organizations at the local, state, and federal levels remains an important problem.”[1]

Congress sought to address this problem by including the establishment of FirstNet in the 2012 Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act.[2]  FirstNet received an allocation of $7 billion from the AWS-3 spectrum auction to build a communications network solely dedicated for use by first responders.[3]  FirstNet was launched in 2018, and its authorization expires on February 22, 2027.  Early consideration of reauthorization is critical to provide certainty for continued interoperability of communications among first responders so they can safely carry out their missions.

FirstNet is available in all 50 states, with customized plans for first responders.[4]  There are more than 7.5 million FirstNet connections, covering more than 2.99 million square miles.[5]  In 2024, FirstNet was used during the multi-agency efforts to combat the wildfires sweeping across western states, including the Park Fire in California; the Lee Falls Fire in Oregon; and the Pioneer Fire in Washington.[6]

The system has also enabled firefighters in Brooks County, Texas to deploy a SatCOLT vehicle with its own cell site in support of more than 40 agencies and public safety personnel; allowed the Oxford, Alabama, police department to obtain a compact rapid deployable, miniature cell tower to assist first responders during emergencies in more rural areas; and helped solve Elizabeth, Colorado’s “patchy or nonexistent service” by installing mobile data terminals in ambulances and fire apparatus.[7]

On February 29, 2024, AT&T, the winning bidder for the FirstNet buildout, announced it would be paying more than $5.1 billion over five years to the FirstNet Authority, which plans to use the funds to support the “$8 billion commitment to enhance the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) that is being built and maintained by AT&T.” These sustainability investments by AT&T will total $18 billion over the 25-year life of its contract with FirstNet Authority.[8]

Providing first responders with continued and improved interoperable communications is critical to their safety and the lives of those they are protecting and rescuing.  They are the first to go into a dangerous situation and are often the last to leave.  The brave Americans who serve as first responders should be thanked every day for their hard work and diligent service to the nation.

I appreciate the opportunity to provide this written testimony.  Reauthorization of FirstNet as soon as possible will help provide first responders the certainty that they will be able to continue to do their jobs to protect and save without having to worry about interoperable communications.

[1] 9/11 Commission Report, Chapter 12, “What to Do?  A Global Strategy,” https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch12.pdf.

[2] Public Law 112-96, Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, February 22, 2012, https://www.congress.gov/112/plaws/publ96/PLAW-112publ96.pdf.

[3] Stew Magnuson, “FirstNet Fully Funded After Lucrative Spectrum Auction,” National Defense, April 1, 2015, https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2015/4/1/2015april-firstnet-fully-funded-after-lucrative-spectrum-auction.

[4] FirstNet Authority, “FirstNet: The History of our Nation’s Public Safety Network,” https://firstnet.gov/about/history.

[5] FirstNet, Built with AT&T, “America’s first responder network,” https://www.firstnet.com/.

[6] The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, “Park Fire,” July 29, 2025, https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2024/7/24/park-fire; Oregon Public Broadcasting, “Lee Falls Fire burns 280 acres, triggers evacuation order near Gaston,” August 8, 2024, https://www.opb.org/article/2024/08/08/lee-falls-fire-gaston/; National Park Service, “North Cascades Park Closures: Fire Closures – Trail, Area, and Camp Closures,” August 28, 2025, https://www.nps.gov/noca/planyourvisit/fire-closures.htm.

[7] FirstNet Authority, “Episode 70: Fighting wildfires in Southern Texas with FirstNet,” May 9, 2023, https://firstnet.gov/newsroom/podcast/episode-70-fighting-wildfires-southern-texas-firstnet; “Episode 66: Oxford Police leverages compact rapid deployable to boost emergency comms in Alabama,” November 10, 2022, https://firstnet.gov/newsroom/podcast/episode-66-oxford-police-leverages-compact-rapid-deployable-boost-emergency-comms; “Communicating Across Colorado’s Plains with FirstNet,” June 4, 2024, https://firstnet.gov/newsroom/blog/communicating-across-colorados-plains-firstnet.

[8] Donny Jackson, “AT&T filing with SEC outlines new payment schedule to FirstNet Authority,” Urgent Communications, February 29, 2024, https://urgentcomm.com/public-safety/at-t-filing-with-sec-outlines-new-payment-schedule-to-firstnet-authority.