[MIham] HR 462 this is not a political appointment

[Frank]

The form letters mentioned below: is after the signature address.

House Bill HR 462



House bill HR 462 would protect Amateur Radio from interference from
unlicensed devices, e.g. various Part 15 devices and BPL. To put emphasis
behind this bill we need amateurs to write their congressperson asking them
to sign on as a sponsor or at least to vote in favor when it comes to a
vote. I've attached a copy of a "form letter" issued by the ARRL for hams to
use. I would recommend that they change the first paragraph to a more
personal statement.



Would you ask each member to "send me a copy" as that will be forwarded
through division to our representative in DC?



Some of you will be receiving a contact from LAA's within you district,
please cooperate with them and help get out the letters.

 A few weeks ago I sent you an e-mail with an attachment asking for your
support in recruiting volunteers as Legislative Action Assistants (LAAs). I
would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the effort as we did
quite good on recruitment, however, we still have a long way to go to fill
all 15 Michigan Congressional Districts. I would ask you to run the
recruiting attachment once again. In your lead-up would you mention that
this is "not a political appointment".  The closest we get to politics is
that the LAA is required to meet with their MI US Congressional District
Representative or his/her staff. The rest of the duty is trying to get hams
within their district to write their congressperson asking them to support
the ARRL position on matters coming to a vote that would affect Amateur
Radio.



This is a Division appointment made by Great Lakes Director Jim Weaver,
K8JE. At this time I think we are ahead of KY but behind OH in recruitment.
Buckeyes ahead of the Wolverines, couldn't happen even in football?


Many thanks and 73.



Scotty, KB8APS



Robert "Scotty" Wright KB8APS

LAC Great Lakes Division, ARRL

3160 Walker Road, Muskegon, MI 49444

(231)777-2122 - kb8aps at arrl.net





Modify the letter to personalize it if you have time, sign it and send it --
soon.



The draft letter is:



--------------------



The Honorable __________

United States House of Representatives

____________ House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515



Dear Congressman/woman ___________:



      On behalf of nearly 700,000 federally licensed Amateur Radio operators
across the nation, I wish to bring to your attention an issue that affects
emergency communication operations.  As a voter in your district, I request
that you become a cosponsor and support passage within the House Energy and
Commerce Committee, Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, of
H.R. 462, the "Emergency Amateur Radio Interference Protection Act."  This
bill urges the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct a very
targeted but comprehensive evaluation of "broadband over power line" (BPL)
systems that may interfere with public safety and other licensed radio
services.



       BPL utilizes electric power lines to serve as conductors of broadband
signals. Unfortunately, because the power lines are not shielded, they also
act as antennas and radiate signals into the air.

These radiated signals interfere with radio receivers tuned to the same
frequency range. BPL has only been deployed to a very limited extent, but
amateur radio operators and several state public safety commissions report
they are already experiencing severe interference that the FCC has been
unable or unwilling to correct.



       Because no infrastructure is needed for it to communicate, the
amateur radio service is the only 100 percent fail-safe emergency
communication system in the world.  Interference from BPL emissions is
significantly disrupting this capability.  The impact on emergency
communications extends beyond amateur radio operations.  Fourteen states
utilize a similar frequency range for state police operations, and nine of
these states use it as their primary radio band.  The interference concern
has also been echoed by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the
Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO),
and the National Public Safety

Telecommunications Council (NPSTC).



       In deploying broadband, it is vital that further understanding and
causation of interference be studied by the FCC.  H.R. 462 will accomplish
this goal, by allowing the FCC to ascertain what additional rules governing
BPL systems, if any, should be adopted by the FCC in order to reduce the
interference potential to a reasonably low level.

The FCC has authority to study this issue, as it is the primary agency
responsible for adopting rules in BPL systems.  Unfortunately, the 2004
rules governing BPL are not sufficient to reduce the probability of harmful
interference to reasonable levels.  This non-controversial study language
was included as part of H.R. 5252, the Communications Opportunity, Promotion
and Enhancement Act (COPE) of 2006.



       Amateur radio operators, like myself, are not opposed to broadband
services.  On the contrary, we usually tend to be early adopters of new
technology.  However, BPL represents a significant potential interference
source for radio services using certain frequency ranges.  Unlike BPL, other
methods of providing broadband Internet services to consumers, such as
cable, DSL, wireless and Fiber to the Home, do not pollute the radio
spectrum.



       It is imperative that there is a comprehensive evaluation of the
interference potential of BPL to public safety services and other licensed
radio services.  The potential impact on public safety communications must
be taken into consideration.  Please cosponsor and support passage of H.R.
462, or support its inclusion in a comprehensive broadband bill.  Thank you
for your attention to this matter.



                              Sincerely,







                              Name, Title, Contact Information











Volunteers Needed

for

ARRL's Grassroots Legislative Action Program



My name is Robert "Scotty" Wright, KB8APS. I've been appointed by the Great
Lakes Director Jim Weaver, K8JE as the Legislative Action Coordinator (LAC)
for the State of Michigan.



The ARRL recently adopted a program called "Grassroots Legislative Action".
The purpose of the program is to organize hams, at the local level and
communicate with their US Congressional Representatives on matters dealing
with Amateur Radio.



Part of my responsibility is to recruit and train volunteers for the post of
Legislative Action Assistants (LAA) within Michigan. Ideally I would like to
have three LAAs, to work as a team, in each of Michigan's fifteen US
Congressional Districts.



The duties of the LAAs are not overly time consuming; much of the work can
be accomplished casually without the rigors of schedules. I break the duties
into four groups:



1. Training and Organization. Training materials and organizational forms
are available as well as training seminars from time to time.



            2. Familiarization. Get to know your representative and staff.



3. Awareness. Get to know the ARRL affiliated clubs and their members in a
given district, either by visits or e-mails, emphasizing the value of a
letter from a constituent. These three items should be done, hopefully,
before a bill comes on the horizon.



4. Action. Once a bill is introduced, a series of sequential action steps
are planned.  These are likely:

·       To ask selected LAA teams to visit the home offices of US
Representatives or Senators who belong to key legislative committees that
will consider the legislation first.

·       To ask all LAA teams to visit the home offices of their US
Representatives of Senators.

·       Finally, to ask all members to write letters to their US
Representative and Senators.



In each of these action steps all background material, information to be
left with the Representative or Senator or his aide and boilerplate letters
will be developed and provided to us by ARRL HQ.



To learn more information or to volunteer, contact me at kb8aps at arrl.net I
will respond with some material for you to browse, followed by a phone call
to get things started. Success of this program could determine the future of
Amateur Radio as we know it today. If you would like to become involved in a
worthwhile project, this could be it.



In the mean time check out the article "The ARRL Legislative Action Program
Needs You" in February's 2007 QST by Great Lakes Director, Jim Weaver, K8JE