Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris (both D-Calif) released the following statement in response to the vote by the Federal Communications Commission to improve the nation’s Wireless Emergency Alert system:

“Public safety is jeopardized when inadequate resources and technological shortcomings result in tragedy. In California, shortcomings in the Wireless Emergency Alert system recently led to local officials being unable to alert communities of imminent danger. As our state continues to recover from a record wildfire season, we need to continue to enhance the ability of officials to notify people during times of emergency. We cannot wait any longer to make improvements to their geo-targeting capabilities. 

“We thank the Federal Communications Commission for responding to the concerns that we first raised last fall, and are pleased they are moving forward to make the system a more effective emergency response tool for communities across the country. Going forward we will do all we can to expedite the implementation of these improvements, make sure they are successful, and work to examine other ways to improve Wireless Emergency Alerts.”

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