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Prepared - May 14, 2009 By: Darrell R. Norris - WA3AJQ ===================================================== I found this article to be very interesting. I realize some of our club members aren't ARRL members and therefore wouldn't have seen it. The ARRL Letter Vol. 28, No. 17 - May 1, 2009
On Wednesday, April 29, Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) introduced HR 2160 -- the "Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009" -- in the US House of Representatives. This bill, if passed, would "promote and encourage the valuable public service, disaster relief, and emergency communications provided on a volunteer basis by licensees of the Federal Communications Commission in the Amateur Radio Service, by undertaking a study of the uses of Amateur Radio for emergency and disaster relief communications, by identifying unnecessary or unreasonable impediments to the deployment of Amateur Radio emergency and disaster relief communications, and by making recommendations for relief of such unreasonable restrictions so as to expand the uses of Amateur Radio communications in Homeland Security planning and response." The bill has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce . If enacted into law, HR 2160, would instruct the Secretary of Homeland Security to undertake a study and report its findings to Congress within 180 days. The study would spell out uses and capabilities of Amateur Radio communications in emergencies and disaster relief. The study shall:
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall utilize the expertise of the ARRL and shall seek information from private and public sectors for the study. The bill currently has five co-sponsors: Madeleine Bordallo (Guam), Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) and Bennie Thompson (D-MS). Representative Thompson currently serves as Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security. Representatives Jackson-Lee, Lofgren and Kilroy are members of that committee. "We understand that Representative Jackson-Lee was very impressed with the radio amateurs she encountered on a visit to an Emergency Operations Center in Houston during Hurricane Ike last September," said ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ. "We are grateful to her and to the five original co-sponsors for their support of Amateur Radio and the encouragement that their bill offers." ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, concurred: "We are excited to have Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee introduce HR 2160. It is extremely encouraging to have the support of a number of original co-sponsors -- including several members of the House Homeland Security Committee -- who recognize the importance of Amateur Radio's long history of public service." ===================================================== Club Activities On April 19th , both club members and non members, provided communications for the Indiana MS walk. We have several club members now planning for the ARRL field day 2009 on June 27th and 28th . If your interested in participating, please let us know. Final discussions will take place during our meeting on June 2nd, please plan to attend. We still have our ARES net every Monday night on the two meter repeater, 146.190. Terry Carnahan KB3JOD, is our net coordinator and is looking for people to serve as net control, so please consider helping out. Robert Zugates, KB3JOF, is the ARES Emergency Coordinator. It looks as though our club picnic will be at Jimmy St Clair's home sometime in September of this year, exact date to be determined later.? We’re still hoping to get our 2009 club roster finalized and put on our website soon. ===================================================== Thanks and 73's,Darrell R. Norris - WA3AJQ |
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Birthdays : May: Charles Devett K3CJD; Melissa Carnhan KB3MDS; Michael Reynolds K3UX; June; Alton Strong N3PHL; Elmer Sorisio KB3WG; David Dzelsky N3DZ; |
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