STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER JESSICA ROSENWORCEL
Re: Amendment of Part 11 of the Commission’s Rules Regarding the Emergency Alert System, PS 
Docket No. 15-94; Wireless Emergency Alerts, PS Docket No. 15-91.
Twenty years ago this month, a child in Arlington, Texas was snatched by a stranger while riding 
her bike with her younger sibling.  This is a horror no parent should ever know.  It’s one I can’t even 
begin to imagine.  But that tragic event led to the creation of the AMBER Alert program.  This program is 
a nationwide partnership that combines the resources of law-enforcement officials, broadcasters, and 
wireless providers.  Since its inception it has been credited with saving nearly 800 missing or abducted 
children from across the country.  
The AMBER Alert program is not the focus of our rulemaking today, but it strikes me as a 
powerful demonstration of the power of emergency alerts.  There is no shortage of other examples.  Take 
early last year in Sand Spring, Oklahoma when the alert system prompted the director of a school to lead 
60 children and adults into the basement.  While 100-mile-per-hour winds tore apart the building, leading 
to the collapse of the roof, no one was injured because they got the information they needed to stay safe.  
Last week, in Woodbridge, New Jersey, I toured an area damaged by Hurricane Sandy—another instance 
when emergency alerts helped limit inconceivable damage from Mother Nature’s wrath.  Closer to home, 
last weekend the mid-Atlantic was blanketed with snow—and broadcasting and emergency alerts played a 
formidable role in helping us safely ride out the storm.  
So emergency alerts can do great things.  But great programs do not thrive without continued 
attention and care.  The emergency alert program deserves this consideration.  It needs to be modernized.  
Thanks to our Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau this rulemaking starts the process to do just 
that.  It proposes a streamlined online filing process for State Emergency Alert plans.  It proposes 
expanded testing under real-life conditions.  It asks about changing technology—and it seeks to improve 
security of the Emergency Alert System and protect essential infrastructure from attack.  This has my 
unconditional support.