SB QST @ ARL $ARLB042   
   ARLB042 ARRL Calls on Members to Press for US Senate Passage of Amateur Radio   
   Parity Act   
      
   ZCZC AG42   
   QST de W1AW   
   ARRL Bulletin 42  ARLB042   
   > From ARRL Headquarters   
   Newington CT  November 17, 2016   
   To all radio amateurs   
      
   SB QST ARL ARLB042   
   ARLB042 ARRL Calls on Members to Press for US Senate Passage of Amateur Radio   
   Parity Act   
      
   ARRL once again is calling on its members to urge their US Senators to support   
   the Amateur Radio Parity Act (H.R. 1301) when it comes up in the Senate during   
   the "lame duck" session of Congress that adjourns in mid-December. The House   
   of Representatives approved the bill in September, but if the Senate does not   
   follow suit, the bill will die, and the entire process will have to be   
   repeated. ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, who chairs the   
   ARRL Board's Legislative Advocacy Committee and has been heavily involved in   
   efforts to move H.R. 1301 forward, said today, "The clock is ticking."   
      
   "We begin the e-mail campaign once again, as the US Senate returns to work   
   this week after a month-long hiatus," Lisenco said. "We were just beginning to   
   build momentum in the Senate following the   
   unanimous passage of the Parity Act in the House when Congress shut down for   
   the 4 weeks prior to Election Day."   
      
   The task is simple: Go to our Rally Congress page, enter your ZIP code, fill   
   in your name and address, press enter, and e-mails will go directly to your   
   Senators. Members may do this, even if they have already contacted their US   
   Senators for support.   
      
   Our Rally Congress page is at, https://arrl.rallycongress.net/ .   
      
   "We have to remind our legislators that we are still here and that we need the   
   Amateur Radio Parity Act to become law," Lisenco stressed. "We must to do this   
   now as we have, at most, only 4 weeks   
   left in the session to get the bill passed this year.  Otherwise, we will have   
   to begin the entire process in 2017 with a new 115th Congress."   
      
   There are no guarantees, Lisenco said, and we are subject to the political   
   bickering that goes on daily between the parties, despite the fact that the   
   bill is truly a bipartisan effort. "In order to have a chance at overcoming   
   political obstacles that have little or nothing to do with the legislation, we   
   need our voices to be heard," he said. "And we need that input today."   
      
   September's victory in the US House was the culmination of many years of   
   effort on ARRL's part to gain legislation that would enable radio amateurs   
   living in deed-restricted communities to erect efficient outdoor antennas that   
   support Amateur Radio communication. The measure calls on the FCC to amend its   
   Part 97 rules "to prohibit the application to amateur stations of certain   
   private land-use restrictions, and for other purposes." While similar bills in   
   past years gained some traction on Capitol Hill, it was not until the   
   overwhelming grassroots support from the Amateur Radio community for H.R.   
   1301, and ARRL's relentless and strident efforts on Capitol Hill that this   
   bill made it this far.   
      
   As the amended bill provides, "Community associations should fairly administer   
   private land-use regulations in the interest of their communities, while   
   nevertheless permitting the installation and   
   maintenance of effective outdoor Amateur Radio antennas. There exist antenna   
   designs and installations that can be consistent with the aesthetics and   
   physical characteristics of land and structures in community associations   
   while accommodating communications in the Amateur Radio services."   
      
   NNNN   
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