# 119-s-4950: ITS Codification Act

119-s-4950, ITS Codification Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4950
- As of: 2026-09-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4950
- Congress: 119
- Title: ITS Codification Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2026-07-13
- Sponsor: Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-18

## Summary

**Codifies the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) within the NTIA** and would create an initiative to improve emergency communication and tracking technologies for use in confined or shielded environments. - Would push development of technologies to locate people trapped in underground mines, collapsed structures, and other places where conventional radio fails. - Would make ITS a formal NTIA test center to study radio frequency emissions, spectrum propagation, spectrum sharing, and interference tolerance for Federal spectrum. - Would let ITS enter partnerships with private companies and other federal labs under existing authorities to develop technical specifications and a conformance architecture to improve device reliability. - Requires a public report to Congress within 18 months summarizing a needs assessment for measurement, technical specifications, and conformity testing.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN] (R-TN), 2026-07-28T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Emergency rescue communications standards: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would require the Assistant Secretary, through ITS, to start an initiative to improve emergency communications and tracking in confined or shielded spaces. ITS would work with private companies and federal agencies to do a needs assessment of measurement, technical, and conform…
- New federal spectrum research lab: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would make the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences a formal NTIA test center. The Assistant Secretary would run the lab and could delegate communications functions to it. ITS would focus on research and testing of radio‑frequency emissions, spectrum propagation, interferen…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-s-5238: For Our Republic Act
- 119-s-3597: National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026
- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act

## Sources
- [119-s-4950 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4950)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4744)
- [119-s-5238: For Our Republic Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5238)
- [119-s-3597: National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3597)
- [119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071)
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4950 (as of 2026-09-18).