SB QST @ ARL $ARLB013
ARLB013 Amateur Radio Spectrum Bill Introduced in Senate

ZCZC AG13
QST de W1AW  
ARRL Bulletin 13  ARLB013
From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  March 8, 2000
To all radio amateurs 

SB QST ARL ARLB013
ARLB013 Amateur Radio Spectrum Bill Introduced in Senate

The Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act bill now has supporting
legislation in the US Senate. Idaho Sen Michael Crapo has introduced
a bill that mirrors the house bill, HR 783. The Senate measure has
been designated S 2183.

''In introducing this bill, we want to do something for Amateur Radio
in return for all the good it has done the people of Idaho and
elsewhere in the US by providing a reliable means of backup
communication in times of emergency,'' Crapo said. He also pledged to
promote the bill in the Senate.

Like the House version, the Senate bill, if enacted, would require
the FCC to provide equivalent replacement spectrum should it ever be
necessary to reallocate Amateur Radio frequencies for some other
purpose.

The new Senate legislation was introduced with bipartisan
co-sponsorship from Senators Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Susan Collins
(R-ME), Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D-AR), Bob Smith (R-NH) and Olympia
Snowe (R-ME).

The bill's introduction comes on the heels of a visit to Capitol
Hill by the recently elected ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, and
First Vice President Joel Harrison, W5ZN.

So far, the House version of the spectrum bill has drawn bipartisan
support, with 140 cosponsors to date, and has met with no
opposition. However, Congress, and the all-important House and
Senate Commerce committees, have been preoccupied with
non-telecommunications matters and the Amateur Spectrum Protection
Act has not yet moved out of committee. The new Senate bill provides
additional motivation for the Congress to consider the legislation.
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