House passes the Emergency Reporting Act
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass
APR 20, 2026 · 7:19 PM ET
Nearly unanimous: 386 to 7. Cleared the 262 needed by 124 votes.
What the House was voting on
This vote was about the Emergency Reporting Act, a law designed to fix communication breakdowns during natural disasters. When hurricanes, fires, or floods knock out phone and internet service for a week or more, this bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to hold public meetings and release detailed reports on what went wrong. It also forces the agency to study how 9-1-1 emergency centers receive information about service outages, ensuring that help can still be reached even when the local network is damaged.
Pass the Emergency Reporting Act quickly, with no amendments, by a two-thirds vote.
Refuse to pass it this way. It can come back under a rule.
Requires the FCC to investigate outage-reporting gaps and report on communications failures during major emergencies.
Passed the House 386–7 on April 20, 2026. Now waiting in the Senate, 396 days after it was introduced.
- SUSPENSION
- Suspending the rules lets the House pass a bill fast, with no amendments and 40 minutes of debate, if two-thirds agree.
262 is two-thirds of the 393 members voting yes or no. Members voting “present” or absent don’t count.
- SUSPENSION
- Suspending the rules lets the House pass a bill fast, with no amendments and 40 minutes of debate, if two-thirds agree.
Nearly unanimousNearly unanimous.
Every vote on H.R. 5200, in both chambersEvery vote on H.R. 5200
- APR 9Reported by Energy and CommerceREPORTED
- APR 20#126THIS VOTESuspend the rules and passPASSED386–7124 votes to spare over the 262 needed.
Coverage of this vote and its bill1 story from 1 outlet
Lean describes the outlets, not the vote.
