As lawmakers push forward with the sweeping One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the executive director and CEO of the oldest and largest organization of public safety communications professionals warns that its failure to include funding for Next Generation 911 (NG911) is a serious national security oversight with consequences for public safety.

“This bill does many good things,” Mel Maier, executive director and CEO of APCO International, told Fox News Digital. “However, it leaves something out that’s very important, and that’s funding for Next Generation 911 and failing to modernize that first call for help.”

NG911, Maier explained, is not just a modernization project but a public safety and national security necessity as the public remains on high alert following the U.S. strike against Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

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.