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Congressional Daily Record
This section captures a floor statement or debate entry. It mentions legislation such as Lulu’s Law, members such as Gary James Palmer.
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May 20, 2026
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Download official House Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. PALMER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1003) to require the Federal Communications Commission to issue an order providing that a shark attack is an event for which a wireless emergency alert may be transmitted, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 1003
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 “Lulu's Law”.
SEC. 2. WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERTS.
(a) Definition.—In this section, the term “Alert
Message” has the meaning given the term in section 10.10(a)
of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor
regulation.
(b) Requirement.—Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission
shall issue an order to provide that a shark attack is an
event for which an Alert Message may be transmitted.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Palmer) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alabama.
General Leave
Mr. PALMER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Alabama?
There was no objection.
Mr. PALMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1003, Lulu's Law. This legislation is named after a courageous young woman from Mountain Brook, Alabama, Lulu Gribbin, who suffered serious injuries in a shark attack nearly 2 years ago, losing her left hand and part of her right leg.
first words she spoke were, “I made it.” What makes this even more heartbreaking is that a shark attack, possibly the same shark, occurred just a mile or two away only 90 minutes prior. Had an alert gone out warning of a shark attack nearby, these attacks might have been avoided because the victim's friends and family would have received notice prompting them to pull their loved ones from the water. But no such warning was sent.
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Lulu's Law provides a commonsense solution. State and local authorities can use wireless emergency alerts to notify the public when a shark attack has occurred or when dangerous conditions are present along the shoreline.
response to her attack. She has turned a tragic experience into an effort to help others by advocating for this bill and by founding the Lulu Strong Foundation to assist other amputees. I commend her for her resilience and determination to use her experience to help others overcome life-impacting injuries.
and leadership by taking steps to better protect beachgoers and prevent another shark attack from happening in the future.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation to help keep American beachgoers safe, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1003, the Senate companion to H.R. 2076, Lulu's Law, named after Lulu Gribbin of Alabama, who was attacked by a shark in 2024.
exclusively over broadcast television and radio channels. In the last 10 to 15 years, our emergency alerting capabilities have improved significantly as a direct byproduct of innovation and breakthroughs in wireless technology.
warnings via broadcast programming to receive alert information being distributed for any number of important situations. That is why the creation of the Wireless Emergency Alert, or WEA, system in 2012 marked a significant leap forward in our ability to disseminate warning and alert messages to the public.
and flash floods show up with little or no warning. One tragedy after another has demonstrated that being able to push emergency warning information out directly to cell phones in the danger zone is one of the most powerful tools that we have to save lives.
government the ability to reach Americans where they are. Cell phones are ubiquitous today, and the WEA system will only continue to be more effective as wireless providers and alerting authorities take steps to improve geotargeting and location accuracy.
towns that attract millions of visitors and billions in economic activity during the summer months. As we approach the Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start to New Jersey's beach season, this reminds us of the importance of being vigilant in and near the water while at the beach. It is particularly timely because, just yesterday in my district, a great white shark appeared off the coast of Asbury Park. We know that dangerous circumstances posed by sharks or rip currents leave even the most prepared swimmers in harm's way.
order that drives home the point that potential shark attacks are permissible uses of the WEA system. This is important because local authorities can and should use every tool at their disposal to keep the public informed of developments with clear actionable instructions for how to respond safely.
I strongly support the passage of S. 1003, and I reserve the balance of my time, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. PALMER. Mr. Speaker, I would point out that Lulu and her family are in the gallery observing the debate and will be here for the vote.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, as I say, I did not realize that she was up in the gallery. I appreciate all the help that she has done in moving this legislation because it is important. As I mentioned, this weekend is Memorial Day weekend. We just had a huge shark actually appear off the coast of Asbury Park, one of our premier beach destinations in my district.
Mr. Speaker, I can't stress enough the importance of this bill, and I urge my colleagues to vote “yes” on a bipartisan basis. I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PALMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his support. This is another example of how in a bipartisan manner we can do good.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote favorably for S. 1003, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Palmer) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 1003.
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. PALMER. 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.