Using the backdrop of the thwarted attempt by terrorists to blow up airliners bound for the United States, Sen. Jim DeMint is urging Congress to pass the WARN Act. The act would create a system to use wireless technology to distribute emergency information to Americans in the event of natural disaster or terrorist attacks. Unfortunately, election-year politics -- or at least the fear of them -- have left this bill in limbo.

WARN stands for Warning, Alerts and Response Network, DeMint explained Tuesday in an op-ed column in The Greenville News. The act would create a way for emergency messages to be transmitted to Americans via their cell phones, BlackBerrys or handheld computers. The WARN Act would create only the foundation for this initiative, with private-sector providers delivering the warnings through their existing services.

"Everyone seems to agree this is an idea that's time has come," DeMint said Tuesday during a meeting with editors and reporters of The News. He's right. This idea could save lives next time disaster strikes.

DeMint said it's essential that Congress pass the act and let the private sector develop the details of delivering the messages, something he rightly says would streamline the system. It also would make it easier to adapt the system to future technology. Wireless carriers agree competition to develop the best way to deliver the messages would make it more effective, DeMint said.

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Though Americans are more accessible than ever before, they're also more mobile than ever before, which means the traditional methods of delivering emergency messages aren't as effective. Add the chaos that follows major disasters, and it's clear this nation needs a better way to get instructions to its citizens during crises.

This is simple legislation that simply makes sense given the times in which we live. Yet it hasn't been brought to the floor for a vote because of what DeMint characterized as "election-year politics." Republicans have refrained from bringing the bill to the floor because they fear Democrats will hold it up to preserve the notion that this is a "do-nothing Congress," or tack on a host of pet projects to what should be a slam-dunk bill.

That's unfortunate. The WARN Act deserves approval because of its the potential to save American lives, and it should not be held hostage by election-year partisanship.