Note: From our friends at Prometheus. No excuses on this one, make the call now and your community . . . could become more of a community.
Support the LPFM Bill!
Hello supporters of low power FM Radio, and Greetings from the
Prometheus Radio Project! Read below to get your Congressmembers signed
on to expand low power FM radio to America's cities, smaller
communities, and your neck of the woods. Please read and forward
widely!
You last heard from us in late June, when community radio hopefuls and
broadcasters alike announced a breakthrough in the fight to bring low
power FM radio licenses to thousands more cities and towns. On June
21st, Congressman Mike Doyle (D-PA) joined Congressman Lee Terry (R-NE),
as well as Senators John McCain and Senators Maria Cantwell, to
introduce the Local Community Radio Act of 2007. This bill -- H.R. 2802
in the House and S. 1675 in the Senate -- is what we have been fighting
for for years -- a chance for community radio hopefuls from Omaha to
Orlando to get new licenses to build their own low power FM radio
stations. (Learn more about how Congress limited low power FM radio in
most American cities here --
http://www.prometheusradio.org/take_action/lpfm_in_congress ).
The Senate spoke up in 2005 and 2006 in support of low power FM --
passing bills out of the Senate Commerce Committee to expand the service
twice. This is the first time in seven years that the House of
Represenatives has considered expanding low power FM radio to your
community. The fight is going well, but it needs your help and support.
Since June 21st, 23 members of Congress have signed on to cosponsor H.R.
2802, the Local Community Radio Act. And other offices are committing
to share their support!
Your grassroots support is critical. For example, because local
community radio supporters at WRFU-LP contacted their Representative,
Congressman Tim Johnson, a Republican from Urbana Illinois, and asked
him to expand Illinois' access to great community radio stations like
WRFU-LP, Rep. Johnson will be signing on to the legislation to expand
low power FM radio.
Because Jay Inslee (D-WA), the Democratic Congressman who represents the
Seattle area, heard from so many great local folks that they want low
power FM in the Northwest, he has moved to cosponsor this vital
legislation.
And on Tuesday, Congressman Mike Doyle asked the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) if they continued to support expanding low power FM
radio to America's cities -- all five Commissioners agreed.
Please help us to continue this momentum and get more Congressmembers to
support low power FM radio. If we are able to get more Congressmembers
to cosponsor this bill over the next week before Congress goes on
vacation -- we'll be in great shape for a vote to expand community radio
in the fall. No one will do this work for you -- we need you to make
this call, or write a letter, for community radio, today.
You can find your Congressmember's information at
http://www.congress.org, or by calling the Capitol Switchboard at
202-224-3121. You can also look them up at
http://www.freepress.net/lpfm/ .
And when the staff for the office picks up, you can say something like:
"Hi, my name is ______________, and I'm a constituent of Congressmember
_______ and Senators _____ and ______. We need access to more local
media to support workers, families, and communities across our area and
across the state. Senators John McCain and Maria Cantwell, and
Congressman Doyle and Congressman Terry, just introduced legislation to
expand Low Power FM radio to our area and to many of America's biggest
cities. I ask Congressmember _________ and Senators ______ and _______
to cosponsor this bill, the Local Community radio Act of 2007 -- HR
2802, and Senate Bill 1675. Thank you!"
We need you to do this today. Please make this call to your
Congressmember now, and forward this note to others who care about
community radio!
Thanks for fighting to expand low power FM radio,
Hannah Sassaman
PS -- Want more background? Read House Bill 2802 here:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.2802: -- and read Senate
Bill 1675 here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:S.1675: .
Or get summaries of low power FM facts at http://www.expandlpfm.org ,
http://www.prometheusradio.org , or http://www.freepress.net/lpfm.
Check and see if your Congressmember has cosponsored the low power FM
radio bill here --
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR02802:@@@P -- some
Congressmembers have committed to signing on, like the ones mentioned
above, but aren't listed yet!
PPS -- Read a few great stories about the low power FM bills at
MyDD.com:
http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/6/21/13024/5742
At the Black Agenda Report:
http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=259&Itemid=39
And from the United Methodist Church:
http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nl/content3.asp?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=2072531&ct=4027825
PPS -- Here's Mr. Doyle's question on low power FM radio today, at the
Congressional Oversight Hearing for the FCC:
In 2004, the FCC issued a report to Congress on the Low Power FM
Interference Testing Program after getting public comment on the
engineering studies it commissioned. After reviewing all the facts,
data and potential for interference, the FCC said in that report quote
"Congress should re-address this issue and modify the statute to
eliminate the third-adjacent channel distant separation requirements for
LPFM stations." Anyone disagree with that?
(silence) Good.
Let the record show that the silence was deafening. My friend, Lee
Terry and I have a bill to allow the FCC to expand the benefits low
power FM onto more places on the radio dial across the country. LPFM
has been critical during emergencies like Hurricane Katrina, to
religious groups trying to spread their message and to community groups
interested in serving their community. It's my hope that the Commission
will continue to support these stations until and after we get this bill
signed into law.