An Opportunity to Gain Co-Sponsors for H.R. 691

If you aren't familiar with the Spectrum Protection Act, you can read it here:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.00691

You can get some background on the problem from testimony by Jim Haynie, W3JBP, June 11, 2003 to the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet regarding an identical previous bill. That's available at:

http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Hearings/06112003hearing951/Haynie1536.htm

From reading H.R. 691 carefully, I am convinced that if it had been in effect five years ago, BPL would have gained less traction. BPL reduces the utility of the HF bands, and the HF bands have no equivalent. Whether you agree with that speculation or not, this legislation will be good for us if we can get it passed. The bill needs at least 220 co-sponsors. You can help.

The bill has eight co-sponsors at this writing. There may be more by the time you see this post. In Maryland, we have found four steps; done together, work well to sign up co-sponsors with minimal effort. All four steps are essential.

1. Telephone messages and e-mails from individual constituents to the representative's office. Simply say "I am a constituent and I would appreciate your support for H.R. 691, the Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act." Or send a QSL card to the district office with a note on it saying "Please support H.R. 691." Find these addresses in the blue section of the phone book or on the representative's website. Remember to put your street address on all correspondence so they can confirm that you are a constituent. Staff members have told us that several dozen messages from constituents is enough to make an impression.

2. Have your club president send a letter on club stationery to the district office. We found the following to be effective:

_______________________________

"Dear Congressman [name]:

On behalf of our [number] members (see attached) who reside in the 1st District we urge you to co-sponsor H.R. 691, the Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 2005.

As a volunteer service, the U.S. Amateur Radio service is prohibited by Federal law and international agreement from accepting compensation. Therefore, we are unable to participate in the FCC's spectrum auctions. Our access to the frequency bands we depend on to conduct community-based emergency communications, international people-to-people diplomacy and technical training for young people is threatened. H.R. 691 will secure our access to the needed spectrum and enable us to continue our 90-year tradition of serving the nation.

Supporting information is enclosed and we will be pleased to answer any questions.

Sincerely,

____________________________________________

Attach a list of the names and addresses of the members who reside in the district. The addresses are needed to confirm that club members really are constituents. This is important. Part of the process is educating the Congressman and his staff about Amateur Radio so be sure to enclose a few pages describing your club's activities and training programs for the recent past. Be sure to emphasize emergency and public service communications. Include copies of any commendation letters the club has received from local, state or supported agency officials.

3. During a congressional recess organize a visit to the representative in their district office. Remember to call ahead and schedule the appointment. See the schedule for recesses at http://www.house.gov/house/2005_House_Calendar.shtml . Plan to be in and out in ten minutes. Don't waste words: just rephrase the letter to sound conversational. Do a little research and find out what your representative is interested in by reviewing the bills they support. A keyword search of http://thomas.loc.gov on the representative's name will reveal all the bills and resolutions they are supporting. In addition, look at the biography on their website. If you can't get an appointment for a face-to-face meeting with the representative in the office, during the recess, there are other possibilities.

Check with your representative's office for a list of "town meetings" and plan on attending one in your area. Prepare as described above. I discovered that one of our local representatives had been a schoolteacher, so I supplemented my "elevator speech" with a couple of sentences about the ham astronauts speaking to the schoolchildren from the ISS. I could see a strong positive response, so I concluded quickly with, "We sure would appreciate your help with this, Congressman," and handed him the package. He promised to take care of it, and two days after our five-minute conversation at the "town meeting" he signed on as a co-sponsor.

If you are unable to see your representative at all during this recess, retain your momentum. Arrange a meeting with the staff member in the local office and educate them on Amateur Radio and the need for H.R. 691. Close by asking them to recommend co-sponsorship to the representative. Staff members are not flunkeys; many have degrees in law or political science. Some of our representatives became co-sponsors solely on the basis of staff recommendations.

4. Send "Thank You" notes to the representative after they sign on as a co-sponsor. Make sure the club president sends a thank you letter. Separately thank any staff members who helped. It's a small world.

Keep track of the co-sponsors at this site:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:HR00691:@@@N

Allow two weeks for the representative's staff to review H.R. 691 and prepare a recommendation for the representative. If your representative does not show up as a co-sponsor after two weeks, then follow up by e-mail or phone and ask the legislative aide responsible for telecommunications issues if the Congressman needs any additional information to make his decision.

The entire process is surprisingly easy, and very satisfying.

Member Comments: