The House Energy and Commerce Committee will consider bills for a broadband census and to modernize the emergency 911 system for Voice Over IP.

The committee will weigh H.R. 3403, the 911 Modernization and Public Safety Act of 2007, and the Broadband Census of America Act of 2007, which passed a subcommittee unanimously this week.

The 911 Modernization and Public Safety Act aims to ensure that people using VoIP can reach 911 operators. The bill would give VoIP providers the same liability protections that other telecommunications providers have. The Broadband Census of America Act would require a detailed and comprehensive census of broadband availability across the nation, while directing the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to establish a grant program to help communities assess their broadband capabilities.

"Our laws must reflect advances in telecommunications technology and the ways in which Americans adapt to it," U.S. Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, said in a statement. "Today we approved two important pieces of legislation that will serve the interests of consumers by enhancing public safety and taking steps to make broadband more widely available."

Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, said that the E-911 legislation "reflects the growing consensus -- if not unanimity -- around the fact that current data collection methods used by the Federal Communications Commission are inadequate and highly flawed."

A subcommittee held a hearing on the Broadband Census Act in May and one on the 911 legislation last month.