As lawmakers advance the comprehensive One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the leader of the nation’s largest association of public safety communications experts cautions that neglecting to incorporate funding for Next Generation 911 (NG911) represents a critical national security lapse with implications for public safety.

“This bill accomplishes many beneficial objectives,” Mel Maier, the executive director and CEO of APCO International, shared with Fox News Digital. “Nevertheless, it omits a crucial element: funding for Next Generation 911 and the imperative to update that initial emergency contact.”

According to Maier, NG911 is essential not just as an upgrade initiative but as a crucial measure for public safety and national security, especially with the heightened alert following the U.S. action against Iran’s nuclear assets.

The current system still runs on infrastructure built in the 1960s and ’70s, which was never designed to support video, multimedia messaging, or geolocation data.

“Next Generation 911 allows that information to reach the 911 center, and then it can be pushed out to those field-based responders,” Maier said. “That information itself can be critical in getting the best information to the right person quickly enough that they can make a difference and save lives. Next Generation 911, if implemented nationwide today, will save lives today.”

By a 21-point margin, voters questioned in the most recent Fox News national poll opposed the federal budget legislation (38% favored vs. 59% opposed), which passed by the House of Representatives by just one vote last month. (Fox News )

President Donald Trump is pressuring his party to pass the sweeping tax cuts and spending package in time for him to sign it by the Fourth of July. The spending package includes sweeping legislation and implements many of the president’s campaign promises.