I have been communicating this information the past few months from Chwat &
Co. with the respective Directors for information and generation of letters,
but have failed to send it to group as a whole. I apologize for the
oversight.
Joel
ARRL Weekly Update on Hill Visits
Week of June 25, 2007
Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA), Monday June 25
We met with Ramesh Nagarajan of Representative Lois Capps' (D-CA) office,
whose member sits on the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Ramesh is the
Legislative Assistant who handles the Energy and Commerce Committee work for
the Congresswoman. He recently started handling Telecom issues for his
boss, so we first discussed amateur radio operators and their importance in
emergency communications operations. He was not very familiar with BPL, so
I explained the problem that it is causing for amateurs, as well as state
and local police operations, including California, which utilizes the above
"low-band VHF". He said he would talk to his boss about cosponsoring. I
told him I would remain in touch with him should any new developments occur.
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), Monday June 25
We met with Sonya Wendell of Representative Bart Stupak's (D-MI) office,
whose member sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on
Telecommunications and the Internet. Sonya is the Legislative Director for
Rep. Stupak. She has been handling telecom for her boss for awhile, and was
therefore familiar with amateur radio operators. She also admitted that she
is familiar with our issue because their office has received letters on the
issue (this I took to be very good news). I explained the interference
problem, as well as the impact that this will have on emergency
communications. She asked a few questions, and seemed interested in the
issue (likely to help respond to constituent letters, I am guessing)! Sonya
said she would talk to her boss about this, and would get back to me. I
will follow up with her.
Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Monday June 25
We met with Cristina Batt of Representative Engel's (D-NY) office, whose
member sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on
Telecommunications and the Internet. Cristina is the Senior Legislative
Assistant who handles Telecom for her boss. She admitted that she knew very
little about amateur radio operators, so I explained to her what we do and
how we are involved in emergency communications operations. I thought she
would be especially interested to learn of our assistance during 9/11, as
her boss represents a district just north of Manhattan. I also showed her
the ARRL article about the New York Public Safety Commission Recognizing BPL
Interference concerns. While she admitted not knowing about the
interference to amateur radio operators, she certainly was interested to
learn that the issue is more about public safety. She said she would talk
to her boss about it, and I will follow up with her next week.
Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK), Monday June 25
We met with Jon Oehmen of Representative John Sullivan's (R-OK) office. His
boss sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Jon is the Legislative
Assistant who handles Telecom for his boss. He was familiar with amateur
radio operators, as well as BPL. I explained to him that we have a problem
with the interference caused by BPL, and we are concerned about this as a
public safety issue. He admitted that he did not think that this was an
issue that his boss would become active on, but he welcomed us to remain in
touch with him should the bill come before the committee or new developments
arise.
Senator Larry Crapo (R-ID), Monday June 25
We met with Mike Quickel of Senator Crapo's (R-ID) office, to discuss the
possibility of introducing the antenna legislation for ARRL. Senator Crapo
has been a supporter of ARRL before, as he introduce the Spectrum bill for
us last Congress. First, Mike was very appreciative of ARRL to reach out to
him. He admitted that he had been handling the spectrum bill for five years
and had not met in person with anyone from ARRL. I thanked him for his
support of ARRL issues in the past, and explained the antenna issue to him.
After listening, Mike explained that he did not think his boss would be
supportive of further restricting land use, especially since land rights are
already fairly restricted "out West." I asked him to consider it, and he
said he would think about talking to the Senator about it. I then used the
opportunity to suggest that if he didn't think the Senator could be helpful
on the antenna bill, he could think about cosponsoring the recently
introduced BPL bill by Senator Pryor. In fact, I got an email from him
asking more questions just the other day, and it sounds like the Senator
wants to be helpful. I am going to drop information by his office next week
about S. 1629, and I will follow up with him on our request.
Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE), Tuesday June 26
We met with Brad Schweer of Representative Lee Terry's (R-NE) office.
Representative Terry sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee
on Telecommunications and the Internet. Brad is the legislative assistant
who handles Telecom for his boss. He admitted being fairly new to the
Telecom issues, however when I began talking about the interference problems
caused by BPL, this sparked Brad's interest. He explained that his boss
just introduced a bill with Rep. Doyle (D-PA) regarding low-power FM and
interference problems. Brad explained that his boss is sympathetic to the
interference problem, and this is something his boss might be interested in.
He did say that his boss works with the utility companies. I also explained
to him that Nebraska is one of the states that use the above "low-band VHF"
for police operations. Brad said he would talk to his boss about
cosponsoring, and I will follow up with him regarding our request.
Rep. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Wednesday June 27
We met with Charlotte Newman of Representative Chris Murphy's (D-CT) office.
This meeting was scheduled to discuss the possibility of Rep. Murphy
introducing ARRL's antenna legislation. Charlotte was very familiar with the
issue, and she explained that she had met with folks from ARRL earlier this
year regarding this same issue. She looked over the materials I gave her,
and asked if there would be any opposition to Rep. Murphy introducing such a
bill. I told her that homeowners associations and private property rights
groups would not be very pleased, but I stressed the congressional precedent
as well as "reasonable accommodation" of the antennas. She also asked if we
were talking to other members of the Connecticut delegation. She said she
would talk to her boss about this. I will follow up with her next week.
Rep. John Larson (D-CT), Wednesday June 27
We met with Elizabeth Muro of Representative Larson's (D-CT) office. This
meeting was scheduled to discuss the possibility of Rep. Larson introducing
ARRL's antenna legislation. I was scheduled to meet with Jackie Primeau,
but she had to staff her boss for an event, so I talked with Elizabeth. I
gave her the background about amateur radio operators, and explained the
problems we are having with antenna placement, and the legislation we are
looking to be introduced. She told me about a problem one of Rep. Larson's
constituents had with the placement of a flag in a homeowner's association.
I guess the story made the newspapers, and while Rep. Larson wasn't able to
offer a legislative solution (which I gently corrected her and told her
about a bill in the House), she seemed genuinely interested in our issue.
She said she would talk to Jackie about our request. I will give Jackie a
call next week to follow up and see if the Congressman would be interested
in sponsoring our legislation.
Rep. Gene Green (D-TX), Thursday June 28
We met with Vince Jesaitis of Representative Gene Green's (D-TX) office,
whose member sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Vince is the
Legislative Assistant who handles Telecom issues for his boss. Vince was
not very familiar with amateur radio, so I explained what we do, our
presence in the district, and our importance in volunteering during
emergencies. I told him our problems with the interference caused by BPL.
He said he was unaware of it, likely because he was not aware that there is
any BPL deployment in Houston. Vince did say he would look into the issue,
and I will follow up with him on our request.
Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Thursday June 28
We met with Lars Hydle of Representative Edolphus Towns' (D-NY) office,
whose member sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on
Telecommunications and the Internet. Lars is the Legislative Counsel who
handles Telecom for his boss. He admitted that he is new to Telecom issues.
I first explained amateur radio operations to him, as well as our voluntary
presence as an emergency communications back-up during 9/11, as his boss
represents Brooklyn. I also showed him the ARRL article about the New York
Public Safety Commission Recognizing BPL Interference concerns. He was
curious to learn if any New York members were cosponsors of the bill, or if
any Congressional Black Caucus members were cosponsors. I welcomed his boss
to be the first! He said he would talk to his boss about our request, and I
have already followed up with him this week. I will follow up again in a
couple of weeks.
Perhaps the Hudson Division Director, Frank Fallon, N2FF, can generate a
letter from a New York contact in support of our visit. Attached, please
find a letter that can be faxed to Lars, and please have a copy sent here as
well.
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Friday June 29
We met with Jason Mahler of Representative Eshoo's (D-CA) office. His boss
sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on the Internet and
Telecommunications. Jason is the Chief of Staff and handles Telecom for his
boss. He admitted being vaguely familiar with amateur radio, and when I
told him that there are over 3,700 hams in Rep. Eshoo's district, he was
shocked to hear this. We agreed this must be one of the highest numbers in
the nation. He thought maybe it was because his boss represents Silicon
Valley, which is very "tech" friendly. We discussed the interference
problems, and he admitted he had not heard from any amateur radio operators
about the problem. He said his boss works with broadband companies as well.
I clarified that we are not opposed to BPL, just the interference potential.
It did not sound like his boss would cosponsor, because she is friendly with
both sides of the issue, but he welcomed me to remain in touch with him.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Friday June 29
We met with Greg Louer of Representative Blackburn's (R-TN) office, whose
boss sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Greg is the legislative
director for his boss, and handles telecom issues. He admitted not being up
to speed on amateur radio issues, but did say he met with Low Power FM
(which I explained was different - he was trying)! I explained about
amateur radio operators, the interference caused by BPL, and showed that
Tennessee is one of the 14 states that uses above the "low band VHF" for
state police operations. I talked with him about our goal of H.R .462. He
explained to me that Representative Blackburn would be hesitant to ask the
FCC to do anything, as she is friendly with Commissioner Tate, who is from
Nashville as well. He said his boss likely would not cosponsor, but he
welcomed us to remain in touch should our bill be considered by the
Committee.
