ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, has issued an urgent call for League Members to contact Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation members representing their states to urge their support of S. 1685, the US Senate version of the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015. President Craigie said the bill could be scheduled for mark-up in the committee as early as next week, and that opponents to S. 1685 have been rallying their supporters. She said the ARRL and its legislative consultants on Capitol Hill “are hard at work” to ensure that the mark-up goes favorably. President Craigie called for “a blast of support for the bill” from ARRL members living in states that committee members represent.

“We learned this morning that opponents of the legislation have asked their people to contact Senators on the committee to communicate what can only be called bald-faced lies about the legislation’s intent and effects,” President Craigie said on November 11. “They are the same lies addressed in our video.”

The ARRL also has written the committee to reiterate the reasons the legislation is needed and to contradict negative misinformation about its effects.

President Craigie said the message — by telephone or e-mail — is simple: “I’m a constituent and an Amateur Radio operator. I urge Senator __________ to support S. 1685, the Amateur Radio Parity Act, when it comes up for a vote in committee. Thank you.” Visit Contacting Your Congressional Representatives on the ARRL website for contact information for Members of Congress.

“Whether ARRL members use e-mail or telephone, the essential thing is to do it now and to urge other hams in their states to do it now,” President Craigie said.

S. 1685 and its US House twin, H.R. 1301, call on the FCC to extend the limited federal pre-emption of PRB-1 to cover private land-use restrictions such as deed covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs). If the legislation becomes law, radio amateurs living in antenna-restricted communities would have the opportunity to negotiate with homeowners associations to install antennas that reasonably accommodate Amateur Radio communication.

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Members, by State