The purpose of introducing this legislation is to get enough co-sponsors as quickly as possible so that Rep. Greg Walden can contact the FCC and credibly say "Do it!" This strategy was given to us by Mr. Walden. This is why the push is for getting lots of co-sponsors, not asking Congressmen to vote for the legislation. Dave, Chris, Dan Henderson, and I met by conference call with Frank McCarthy and Matt Keelen of TKG on Thursday. Chris and TKG reported that meetings thus far with Congressional office staffs of Representatives from various parts of the country have been encouraging. This includes the meetings Mike Lisenco had with Representatives from his Division. TKG confirms that Mike Lisenco's practice of sending follow-up "thank you" e-mails to the staffers with whom we meet is important to do. We need constituent letters to members of Congress asking them to co-sponsor the bill. Mike's template is excellent, and Dan Henderson is developing others so that not all letters will be worded just alike. We do not plan a mass paper form-letter campaign along the lines of what was done in the past. Doug asked how to get the numbers of licensees in a Congressional district. I know Dan Henderson gets that information. I have asked him to let me know how we do that and will pass the information to you. Mike commented about outreach to non-members. He's right, but we have to be very careful about it because of our 501(c)(3) status. However, he noted some work-arounds such as communicating via clubs. The legislation is mentioned in the latest edition of Amateur Radio Newsline. Phone calls to Congressmen's offices are effective if members can speak naturally, not sound stiff like they are robots reading from a script. E-mails are also effective. Paper letters sent from members' homes are less effective because it takes forever to get them through security screening. At the National Convention we will have a booth dedicated to the legislation, where members will be able to generate communications to their Congressmen. Any paper letters produced at this booth will be hand-carried by TKG staff to Congressional offices. We will have a computer and printer at this booth and also the ability to generate electronic messages to Congressmen on the spot. If you would like to help at this booth for a while during the convention, please contact Dan Henderson. Also at the National we will have a forum devoted to the legislation on Saturday at 3 pm. TKG will be involved along with Directors, Vice Directors, and Officers who wish to participate. We will have a short video urging members to action. This video or a version of it will be on the web site and added to electronic QST. The main ARRL forum will also push the call for action. There will be a story in The ARRL Letter and an edition of the Legislative Action e-mail newsletter shortly. A web page about the legislation is in process. We will have a permanent link on the main web page to information about the bill so it won't get lost in the push-down stack. Directors, Vice Directors, and Officers have several options for meeting with our Congressmen. If you are willing to come to Washington to meet with Congressmen from your state (not just your own Representative), TKG will set up appointments and accompany you. This can be done in late July before Congress breaks for the summer or in September. We will find the money to cover your expenses. If that travel is not possible for you, you can meet with your own Congressman and any others in reasonable travel distance in their home district offices during the break in August. TKG will help you set up an appointment with a local office if you would like their assistance in doing it. Now as for the petition that somebody has started . we can't control what individuals do. The word "reasonable" is in the message, and that's all to the good. However, it's hard to know what any individual takes that to mean. If members ask us about this petition, I suggest telling them that it is not a substitute for communicating directly with their Representatives. Members of Congress want to know that this legislation is important to their own constituents and why it is important to them. They will not be tremendously impressed by a petition signed by people who can't vote for them. TKG's advice is that the more personal a communication can be, the better. We should definitely and proactively guide people away from unrealistic expectations. The title of the bill includes the word "parity" ("the quality or state of being equal or equivalent"). We are asking for a level playing field with respect to the provisions of PRB-1, not a blank check to go hog wild on your condo balcony. Finally, Representative Courtney from Connecticut, who became the Democratic original co-sponsor we needed to get the bill introduced plans to be at the National Convention. We don't exactly have his schedule information nailed down, but we will make a big to-do about him to thank him for his assistance. 73 - Kay N3KN