Editor’s note: On June 8, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation voted on and passed S. 911, The Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Broadband Act of 2011. The legislation will now go to the full Senate for debate. Below is the response from APCO International President Bill Carrow on the latest developments.

Dear APCO Members:
Sometimes you have to stand up and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Yesterday was one of those days! Congratulations APCO and the Public Safety Alliance for an important victory in the US Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

You responded to our recent call to action to our members in key states whose Senators serve on the Committee. The results of your numerous calls, emails, and faxes that you generated to each office were evident in the overwhelming approval of S. 911, the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act, that was passed out of committee by an overwhelming 21-4 bipartisan vote.

Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV and Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison today led their Commerce Committee colleagues in sending S. 911 to the full Senate for consideration. This significant development follows several months of hard work, compromise and negotiation, and is consistent with public safety’s top priority to gain D Block allocation and federal funding necessary to realize a nationwide, interoperable public safety broadband network.

We have a long road ahead and we must stay vigilant in our grassroots effort to get the job done. Now every Senator in every state needs to be urged to co-sponsor the new Committee-backed bill, S. 911, as the full Senate takes up the measure within the next few weeks. We also urge our members to thank those Senators who voted for the bill in the Committee (see “yes” list below) for their support of public safety and to keep the pressure on those Senators who voted against the bill (see “no” list below) to change their vote.

Thank you templates and Senate contact information is available on the PSA website (www.psafirst.org/take-action).

We have demonstrated once again, that APCO’s core strength lies in our numbers. Thank you, again, and please remain vigilant because we must continue to press our case together to get the job done.

Sincerely,
William Carrow, president, APCO International

The Official Vote
For Senators in your state listed below who voted YES, please write to thank your Senator for voting to approve S. 911 in Committee:

• John D. “Jay” Rockefeller IV (WV D)
• Daniel K. “Dan” Inouye (HI D)
• John F. Kerry (MA D)
• Barbara Boxer (CA D)
• Bill Nelson (FL D)
• Maria Cantwell (WA D)
• Frank R. Lautenberg (NJ D)
• Mark L. Pryor (AR D)
• Claire McCaskill (MO D)
• Tom Udall (NM D)
• Mark R. Warner (VA D)
• Mark Begich (AK D)
• Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX R)
• John Thune (SD R)
• Roger F. Wicker (MS R)
• Johnny Isakson (GA R)
• Roy D. Blunt (MO R)
• John N. Boozman (AR R)
• Kelly A. Ayotte (NH R)
• Dean Heller (NV R)

For Senators in your state listed below who voted NO, please write to convey your disappointment that your Senator did not stand with public safety to support S. 911 in Committee:

• Olympia Snowe (ME R)
• Jim DeMint (SC R)
• Pat Toomey (PA R)
• Marco Rubio (FL R)