Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 2001 Introduced
 ARRL First Vice President Joel Harrison, W5ZN; ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP; and Rep Michael Bilirakis--outside the House Energy and Commerce Hearing Room. |
NEWINGTON, CT, Mar 8, 2001--The Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 2001 is now officially HR 817. Rep Michael Bilirakis of Florida introduced the bill on March 1 in the US House of Representatives. Last week, ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, and ARRL First Vice President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, visited the Congressman's office to thank him personally for his continuing interest in protecting Amateur Radio frequency allocations.
 ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP (left), outlines the League's "Big Project" Amateur Radio education initiative to Peter Tenhula, Chief of Staff to FCC Chairman Michael Powell. |
The measure has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The bill seeks to amend the Communications Act of 1934 by requiring the FCC to make no reallocation of primary Amateur and Amateur-Satellite allocations, diminish any secondary Amateur and Amateur-Satellite allocations, or make additional allocations within amateur allocations that would substantially reduce their utility without also providing equivalent replacement spectrum.
 ARRL First Vice President Harrison (left) and President Haynie flank ARRL Legislative Affairs Manager Steve Mansfield, N1MZA, as they depart FCC headquarters. |
In what has become an important annual event, officers of the League Board of Directors traveled to Washington for a three-day round of visits with senators and congressmen and their staff members. The primary goal was to meet with members of Congress with committee assignments relating to telecommunications and who might be actively involved in legislation that could affect Amateur Radio.
Haynie and Harrison also visited the FCC, where they spoke with Peter Tenhula, Chief of Staff to FCC Chairman Michael Powell. Haynie was upbeat about the impact of the visits. "Once again we had an opportunity to tell our story about Amateur Radio and the important function it serves, especially in public service and education," he said.
The full text of H.R. 817 is available on the Web. Enter "H.R. 817" in the search by Bill number section of the page.
Page last modified: 03:01 PM, 13 Mar 2001 ET
Page author: awextra@arrl.org
Copyright © 2001, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Previous: FCC Suspends Ham Ticket of Alleged Radio Pirate, Starts Revocation Proceedings
Next: Vintage AM Radio at Dayton
