ACTION ITEM: Amateur Radio Parity Act - Help Needed

[WA1SFH]

On Wednesday, November 11, 2015 3:50 PM, Betsey Doane <k1eict> wrote:

I have received a message from President Kay Craigie N3KN regarding the Amateur Radio Parity Act. Her message, reworded slightly for transmission here, is below. Club leaders: Please forward to your club lists if you don’t see it there. Thank you.

We are at a critical time for S. 1685, The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015, in the United States Senate. There is reason to think this legislation will be considered in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation as early as next week. That is an extremely important step in the bill's progress towards success.

As you can imagine, oppontnets of the bill are becoming very active and ARRL is taking steps to counteract that activity.

What needs to be done is quick and easy but I need you to do this today.

Connecticut Senator Blumenthal is an original co-sponsor of the bill, so we know he is on our side. But it never hurts to say thank-you to a friend.

Please phone the Senator's office in Washington, DC, at or phone a local office. Or send an e-mail to the Senator using his official web page.

The message is simple:
"I'm a constituent and an amateur radio operator. I appreciate the Senator's co-sponsorship of S. 1685, the Amateur Radio Parity Act. Thank you."

The Senator's Washington, DC, phone number is posted at http://www.arrl.org/contacting-your-cong...sentatives. For your convenience, it is (202) 224-2823.

His own web page showing local office numbers and an e-mail template is at http://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/.

Again for your convenience, his Hartford number is (860) 258-6940 and his Bridgeport number is (203) 330-0598.

Whether you phone or e-mail, the key thing is to do it now. As in, today.

Because it is a Federal holiday, his staff may not be answering the phones today. If so, please call back tomorrow.

Thank you and 73,
Betsey Doane, K1EIC SM CT

[N1ZN]

Send via Senator Blumenthal's website. They have it set up where you pretty much fill out a form with a message and send it. (For Subject I selected Other)

https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/contact/

N1ZN

[N1ZN]

Sent the message to Senator Blumenthal and received this reply two days later. Most likely a form letter reply but still good to receive a reply:

Dear Mr. Savage,
Thank you for your message regarding S. 1685, the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015. I appreciate hearing from you. The Amateur Radio Parity Act was introduced in the Senate by Senator Roger Wicker on June 25, 2015. I support this initiative to accommodate amateur radio operations on the operators’ own property.

As you may know, the federal government allocates radio frequencies to a diverse array of users, from HAM radio operators to the U.S. military.

There are more than 700,000 radio amateurs licensed by the Federal Communications Commission in the United States. Currently, amateur radio operators are often denied the ability to install reasonable and necessary equipment at their own personal residencies due to regulations.

Radio amateurs often provide valuable services to their communities. By allowing licensed users to have their own antennas, they can assist in emergency communication and rescue efforts by working with public service agencies when main lines are down, in critical times such as natural disasters. Cases in which HAM operators have aided in rescue efforts when other communications have failed can be seen during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, as well as in 2013, during the Boston Marathon bombing. On race day in Boston, amateur radio operators worked alongside the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency in providing real-time status updates regarding the developing situation and rescue efforts.

As you know, the Amateur Radio Parity Act would direct the Federal Communications Commission to amend their regulations to reasonably accommodate amateur operations. This legislation does not preempt homeowners’ association’s architectural guidelines or rules regarding amateur radio antennas. Additionally, antenna height, configuration, and aesthetics would continue to be subject to both municipal and homeowners’ association jurisdiction.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please feel free to contact me in the future with any additional questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Richard Blumenthal
United States Senate