[NLRS] Legislative action in NLRS land

[w0zq at aol.com]

I do not encourage cross posting from other reflectors, but this one is important for all of us to act upon - 

73, Jon
W0ZQ


Greetings Minnesota Amateurs;

I’m sending this message to you as a request for you to get involved
with a piece of legislation making it’s way through the US Senate.  
 
S 1536 specifically is this:  
 
 “Avoiding Life-Endangering and Reckless Texting by Drivers Act of
2009 or the ALERT Drivers Act - Requires the Secretary of
Transportation to withhold 25% of a state's apportionment of certain
federal-aid highway program funds for the fiscal year if the state has
not enacted or is not enforcing a law that: (1) prohibits, except in an
emergency, an operator of a motor vehicle from writing, sending, or
reading a text message using a hand-held mobile telephone (excluding as
voice-activated device); and (2) requires, upon conviction of a
violation of such prohibition, the imposition of certain minimum
penalties.”
 
What I am encouraging you to do is to write Senator Klobuchar and ask
her to support an amendment, which exempts Amateur Radio from this
bill. This is vital to our ability to operate mobile for everything
from pleasure to emergency communications.  Most of us have some ham
gear in our vehicles, and we need to ensure that we can continue to use
them when we desire.  Currently the bill is in committee, and that is
where the changes can be made.

The ARRL has a special section for Government Relations on its web site
that can provide you with additional information on legislation that you
encourage your Senators or Congressman to support.
http://www.arrl.org/arrl-legislative-action-program

Below you will find an example letter (which you can modify if you
wish) that you can send to Senator Klobuchar requesting her support for
the amendment.  You are requested to send letters c/o Chwat's office
(ARRL’s representative in Washington DC) by fax, U.S. mail, or as
attachments to e-mails, for in-person delivery by Chwat's staff.
The relevant information is:

* As a signed attachment to an email to arrl at chwatco.com
* As a signed fax to 703-684-7594
* As a regular letter to:

John Chwat
Chwat & Co.
625 Slaters Lane
Suite 103
Alexandria, VA 22314

Thank you for your time and consideration, and I hope you will join me
in this effort.

73!

Kent

Kent Olson
KAØLDG
Vice Director, Dakota Division
_____________________________________________

 
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
302 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Attn: Daniel Schill
Fax: 202-228-2186
 
Dear Senator Klobuchar,
 
I understand that S. 1536, “The ALERT Drivers Act,” will be voted
upon in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. As an
amateur radio licensee and member of the American Radio Relay League,
representing over 680,000 amateur radio licensees nationwide, including
11,344 in the state of Minnesota, I urge you to support an amendment to
S. 1536 that exempts amateur radio licensees from this type of ban. The
amendment would seek to exempt “two way mobile radio transmitters or
receivers used by licensees of the Federal Communications Commission in
the Amateur Radio service.”
 
The form of communication used by amateur radio licensees is
fundamentally different from that of cell phone users. Amateur radio
utilizes simplex, two-way radio communication in which relatively
little time is spent transmitting—unlike cell phones. Additionally,
the mobile radio sets used by amateur radio operators are typically
permanently mounted on the floor of the motor vehicle and do not
interfere with operation of the vehicle. In fact, after more than 50
years of amateur radio in the U.S., we are unaware of any evidence that
mobile radio operation has contributed to driver inattention. Amateur
radio licensees are public-service minded citizens who use their
radio-equipped motor vehicles to aid others, and they focus on driving
in order to perform these services.
 
Please contact our Washington representative, John Chwat, if you can
help us by sponsoring this amendment. Please contact him at
john.chwat at chwatco.com or (703) 684-7703.
 
Thank you,
 
Your name & contact information

--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Minnesota Section
Section Manager: Richard H Jackson, KS0J
ks0j at arrl.org