FRED UPTON, MICHIGAN CHAIRMAN ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS FRANK PALLONE , JR ., NEW JERSEY RANKING MEMBER ~ongress of tbe Wntteb ~tates J!>ouse of ll\epresentatibes COMMITIEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE 2125 RAYBURN Hous E OFFICE Bu1LDING W ASHINGTON, DC 20515-6115 The Honorable Tom Wheeler Chairman Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street SW ' Washington, DC 20554 Dear Chairman Wheeler: Majority (2021 22!>-2927 Minority (202) 225- 3641 November 2, 2015 We urge you to make sure that emergency alerts are available to all Americans­ regardless of what language they speak. The Commission first asked whether the Emergency Ale11 System (EAS) should include alerts in multiple languages nearly a decade ago. Indeed, the Commission has reviewed this issue tluˇee times and has a robust record on which to make a decision . The time has come for the Commission to act on this critically imp011ant issue. With extreme weather events due to climate change on the rise, it is paramount that all people in the United States have equal access to lifesaving emergency ale11s . As of 201 1, the Census Bureau reports that 2 1 percent of the U.S. population speaks a language other than Engli sh at home. Our country' s experiences with Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy make the importance of these alerts all too evident. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supports the extension of alerting to the non-English speaking population, and the State of Florida already broadcasts emergency alerts in both English and Spanish. The FCC and industry have already taken the initial steps towards implementing a multi­ lingual emergency alert system. EAS participants are now required to make sure the devices they support can receive and retransmit Common Alerting Protocol (CAP)-formatted EAS ale11 messages. The Commission itself has noted that CAP allows fo r the inclusion of multiple translati ons of an alert. We commend the FCC for making this first-step toward equally protecting non-English speakers. But we believe the FCC should take the next step before the next disaster strikes. We appreciate the FCC's ongoing efforts to protect the U.S. population during times of emergency and crisis. We look forward to the FCC ensuring that all members of our society have equal access to these lifesaving ale11s. 1101 The Honorable Tom Wheeler November 2, 20 15 Page 2 Frank Pallone, Jr. Ranking Member Michael F. Doyle Member Member Diana DeGette Member Sincerely, ~ 1 Rankjng Member "--&trbcommittee on Communications & Technology ~dJv- Peter Welch Member 1171!:-Claf! ~ U.: mber ~~a~ / ~n&~ Doris Matsui Member The Honorable Tom Wheeler November 2, 20 15 Page 3 cc: T he Honorable Mignon C lyburn Commissioner Federal Communications Commission The Honorable Jess ica Rosenworcel Commissioner Federal Communications Commission The Honorable Aj it Pai Commissioner Federal Communications Commission T he Honorable Michael O ' Riell y Commissioner Federal Communications Commission