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 Previous: The Amateur Radio Crossword Puzzler |  Next: FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Letters for the Period Ending June 12, 2004 |
NEWINGTON, CT, Jun 14, 2004--If radio amateurs want to get their concerns on the congressional radar screen, they need to let their elected senators and representative know about them, says the US Senate sponsor of the Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 2003. Idaho Republican Michael Crapo notes that the hundreds of topics lawmakers face each day--from the Iraq war to the budget and health care--already make it an uphill battle to get ham radio matters noticed. Amateurs, he suggests, have to take a little initiative.
 ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP (left), visits Sen Michael Crapo (R-ID). |
"It's not Mount Everest, but it's very difficult to get the attention of a senator or congressmen these days, unless their constituency engages them on it," Crapo said this week. "Every Senator and every Member of Congress focuses on those issues which their constituency tells them are of importance to them." In turn, when radio amateurs write, e-mail or call their elected officials, Crapo pointed out, it makes it a lot easier for him to gain attention for Amateur Radio issues.
ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, says he couldn't agree more. He maintains that a high level of membership constituent contact not only puts ham radio on the map for lawmakers but paves the way for League officials to follow up during their periodic visits on Capitol Hill. Contacting Congress on Amateur Radio measures such as the Spectrum Protection Act of 2003 and the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Consistency Act of 2003--HR 1478, the so-called CC&R bill--may not pay off now, Haynie says. But, increased awareness of Amateur Radio in general could prove important down the road.
"There are other issues that we have to deal with and other issues that will come up in the future," Haynie said. "The better visibility we have in Congress, the easier it will be to deal with them." That includes broadband over power line (BPL). Haynie cautioned that if BPL deployment becomes a major problem for amateurs, "we're going to have to have a lot of muscle on the Hill and try to influence the FCC in other ways."
Haynie says the League alone can't work magic on Capitol Hill or at the FCC. Supplementary membership contact, especially with US senators and representatives, is key. "All I'm asking the amateur community to do is to write those letters, talk about Amateur Radio and tell them the importance of it," he said.
Taking 10 minutes to write a letter or e-mail or even to send a QSL card that includes a brief message can go a long way toward lifting Amateur Radio out of the noise level for senators and representatives. "It's one of those things that Amateur Radio operators have to do," Haynie emphasized. "It makes a tremendous difference when we walk into their office or ask for an appointment."
Haynie said how lawmakers respond to members' communications urging cosponsorship of Amateur Radio-related bills or expressing an opinion on BPL also help let Amateur Radio know whom it can count on in Washington. "I'd sure like to be able to know who our friends are on the Hill and who will stand behind us when these types of issues are dealt with," he said.
So far, 103 House members have signed on as HR 713 cosponsors. The Senate version, S 537, has eight cosponsors. The CC&R bill, HR 1478, has 35 cosponsors.
The Spectrum Protection Act bills would require the FCC to provide "equivalent replacement spectrum" to Amateur Radio if the Commission were to reallocate primary amateur frequencies, reduce any secondary amateur allocations, or make additional allocations within such bands that would substantially reduce their utility to amateurs.
The CC&R bill, HR 1478--sponsored by New York Democrat Steve Israel--would require private land-use regulators such as homeowners' associations to "reasonably accommodate" Amateur Radio antennas consistent with the PRB-1 limited federal preemption.
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Sample letters and additional information--including the bills' texts and information on how to write members of Congress--is on the ARRL's "The Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 2003" Web page and on the "HR 1478, The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Consistency Act of 2003" Web page. The sample letters cite Amateur Radio's role in public safety and emergency communication, but the League encourages members to adapt the substance of the sample letters to their own style and emphasis.
For guidance on the best methods of contacting your members of Congress, see "Communicating with Congress," by Derek Riker, KB3JLF, on the ARRL Web site or in the April 2003 issue of QST (p 46).
Those writing their lawmakers on behalf of the Spectrum
Protection Act are asked to copy their correspondence to the League via e-mail,
specbill03@arrl.org.
Those writing on behalf of the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications
Consistency Act, HR 1478, are asked to copy their correspondence to ccr-bill@arrl.org.
| Previous: The Amateur Radio Crossword Puzzler | Next: FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Letters for the Period Ending June 12, 2004 |
