This is not an official government website.
© 2026 PLEJ LC. All rights reserved.
Congressional Daily Record
This section captures a floor statement or debate entry. It mentions legislation such as Kari's Law Reporting Act, members such as Rick W. Allen.
Issued
April 20, 2026
house side of the record
People
3
Linked members mentioned in this section
Legislation
1
Bills and resolutions linked from this section
Committees
0
No linked committees in this section
Senate Holds
0
No hold activity linked here
Source Document
Connected Data
People mentioned
Bills and resolutions
Source Control
Reader mode is for comprehension. The linked government PDF is the official published source.
Download official House Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. ALLEN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5201) to direct the Federal Communications Commission to publish a report on implementation of the Kari's Law Act of 2017, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5201
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Kari's Law Reporting Act”.
SEC. 2. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF KARI'S LAW ACT OF 2017.
(a) Report.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall publish on the
website of the Commission a report regarding the enforcement
by the Commission of section 721 of the Communications Act of
1934 (47 U.S.C. 623), which shall include—
(1) a summary of the extent to which multi-line telephone
system manufacturers and vendors have complied with such
section;
(2) potential difficulties and obstacles in complying with
such section;
(3) potential ways, if necessary, to improve the policies
of the Commission to better enforce such section; and
(4) recommendations to Congress, if necessary, on further
legislation that could mitigate problems like those that are
addressed by such section.
(b) Definitions.—In this section:
(1) Commission.—The term “Commission” means the Federal
Communications Commission.
(2) Multi-line telephone system.—The term “multi-line
telephone system” has the meaning given such term in section
721(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 623(f)).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) and the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. McClellan) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.
General Leave
Mr. ALLEN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material in the Record on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Mr. ALLEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, H.R. 5201, Kari's Law Reporting Act, led by Representative Matsui.
killed in a motel room in Marshall, Texas, in 2013. Ms. Hunt's 9-year- old daughter tried to call 911 for help four times from the motel room phone, but the call did not go through because the phone system required dialing 9 for an outbound call before dialing 911.
offices, campuses, and hotels, to allow direct 911 dialing without extra digits when a 911 call is made. This legislation would require the FCC to issue a report within 180 days to determine the extent to which multiline telephone system manufacturers are complying with Kari's Law Act of 2017. Requiring these systems in large buildings or campuses will help save lives in case of an emergency.
This legislation has strong bipartisan support. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5201, the Kari's Law Reporting Act. This is an important bill that follows up on legislation signed into law in 2018.
child unable to reach 911 when it mattered most. During what became a fatal domestic dispute in a hotel room, she repeatedly dialed 911 to call for help, but the call was never connected because the hotel system required guests to dial a prefix to make an external call. The young daughter of the victim did exactly as she was taught and correctly dialed 911, but that one digit ultimately stood between Kari Hunt and the help that she needed that day.
serve entities like office buildings and hotels, to reconfigure their systems to enable callers to simply dial 911 without a prefix to reach emergency assistance.
with Kari's Law, and so this legislation will provide Congress and the FCC with the tools necessary to track down delinquent providers and ensure they comply with the law. This is critically important so that tragedies like that of Kari Hunt do not happen again.
leadership on this important bill, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5201.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui), the ranking member.
Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I rise in support of H.R. 5201, Kari's Law Reporting Act.
In an emergency, there is no room for confusion or delay. Every second counts, and every American should have confidence that when they dial 911, help is on the way.
bill. It builds upon Kari's Law, which Congress passed in 2018, to require multiline telephone systems to allow direct dialing of 911 without needing to dial an extra digit.
couldn't reach emergency services from a hotel phone because she didn't know she needed to dial an extra 9 first.
FCC to report on compliance in hotels, offices, and facilities nationwide.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the Kari's Law Reporting Act.
{time} 1650
Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 5201, the Kari's Law Reporting Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their support of this bill and Ms. Matsui for her work on this bill.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, I encourage a “yes” vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gimenez). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5201.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.