On Thursday, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05), Co-Chair of the Natural Disaster Caucus, and Rep. Francis Rooney (FL-19) announced they have introduced H.R. 7131, the PHONE Act, a bipartisan bill to allow survivors of natural disasters who have lost their homes to keep their land line phone numbers at no cost while they rebuild.

Thompson’s district was impacted by the Atlas and Tubbs fires in October 2017 and the Mendocino Complex fires in August 2018. Rooney’s district was impacted by Hurricane Irma in September 2017.

“Survivors of natural disasters who have lost their homes deserve peace of mind knowing their phone number will be preserved and that they can easily transition back to that piece of normalcy once they have rebuilt,” said Thompson. “After the October 2017 wildfires, several constituents who had their homes destroyed came to me asking if there was anything I could to do restore the landlines they had for decades and today I am glad we have a legislative solution for them and other survivors like them. I will continue working to bring every federal dollar and resource to help my constituents and all survivors of natural disasters recover and rebuild.”

“The PHONE Act is common sense bipartisan legislation and will ensure that as victims of natural disasters go through the painful process of rebuilding following loss of property, they will have one less burden to bear,” said Rooney. “The recent devastation in Florida caused by Hurricane Michael is a stark reminder of the need to find every way possible to assist these victims.”

You can click here to learn more about H.R. 7131.