[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 144 (Thursday, October 6, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 6, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
               RECOGNIZING ACHIEVEMENTS OF RADIO AMATEURS

  Mr. SWIFT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table the Senate joint resolution (S.J. Res. 90) to recognize 
the achievements of radio amateurs, and to establish support for such 
amateurs as national policy, and ask for its immediate consideration in 
the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate joint resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Washington?
  Mr. MOORHEAD. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I will not 
object, but I want to give the gentleman from Washington [Mr. Swift] an 
opportunity to tell us what is in this bill.
  Mr. SWIFT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell my good friend, with 
whom I have enjoyed working these many years, what a great pleasure it 
has been. Our committee, I have noted over the 16 years I have served 
on it, has had some fierce and wonderful battles, sometimes, not always 
along partisan lines, but never once do I know of an instance in which 
the fights were for partisan purposes. And I think the gentleman 
himself represents that spirit of cooperation which has been a hallmark 
of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
  I would tell the gentleman that the bill commends radio amateurs for 
their contributions.
  It urges the FCC to continue and enhance development of amateur radio 
service as a public benefit, and it encourages reasonable accommodation 
for the effective operation of amateur radios at all levels of 
government.
  I particularly want to commend the gentleman from Washington [Mr. 
Kreidler], the author of the companion House version of this resolution 
for his diligence in seeking and obtaining consideration and passage of 
this bill.
  Mr. MOORHEAD. Mr. Speaker, I support enactment of this legislation.
  (Mr. MOORHEAD asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. MOORHEAD. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate joint resolution, as follows:

                              S.J. Res. 90

       Whereas Congress has expressed its determination in section 
     1 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151) to 
     promote safety of life and property through the use of radio 
     communication;
       Whereas Congress, in section 7 of the Communications Act of 
     1934 (47 U.S.C. 157), established a policy to encourage the 
     provision of new technologies and services;
       Whereas Congress, in section 3 of the Communications Act of 
     1934, defined radio stations to include amateur stations 
     operated by persons interested in radio technique without 
     pecuniary interest;
       Whereas the Federal Communications Commission has created 
     an effective regulatory framework through which the amateur 
     radio service has been able to achieve the goals of the 
     service;
       Whereas these regulations, set forth in part 97 of title 47 
     of the Code of Federal Regulations clarify and extend the 
     purposes of the amateur radio service as a--
       (1) voluntary noncommercial communications service, 
     particularly with respect to providing emergency 
     communications;
       (2) contributing service to the advancement of the 
     telecommunications infrastructure;
       (3) service which encourages improvement of an individual's 
     technical and operating skills;
       (4) service providing a national reservoir of trained 
     operators, technicians and electronic experts; and
       (5) service enhancing international good will;
       Whereas Congress finds that members of the amateur radio 
     service community has provided invaluable emergency 
     communications services following such disasters as 
     Hurricanes Hugo, Andrew, and Iniki, the Mt. St. Helens 
     eruption, the Loma Prieta earthquake, tornadoes, floods, wild 
     fires, and industrial accidents in great number and variety 
     across the Nation; and
       Whereas Congress finds that the amateur radio service has 
     made a contribution to our Nation's communications by its 
     crafting, in 1961, of the first Earth satellite licensed by 
     the Federal Communications Commission, by its proof-of-
     concept for search and rescue satellites, by its continued 
     exploration of the low Earth orbit in particular pointing the 
     way to commercial use thereof in the 1990s, by its pioneering 
     of communications using reflections from meteor trails, a 
     technique now used for certain government and commercial 
     communications, and by its leading role in development of 
     low-cost, practical data transmission by radio which 
     increasingly is being put to extensive use in, for instance, 
     the land mobile service: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS OF CONGRESS.

       Congress finds and declares that--
       (1) radio amateurs are hereby commended for their 
     contribution to technical progress in electronics, and for 
     their emergency radio communications in times of disaster;
       (2) the Federal Communications Commission is urged to 
     continue and enhance the development of the amateur radio 
     service as a public benefit by adopting rules and regulations 
     which encourage the use of new technologies within the 
     amateur radio service; and
       (3) reasonable accommodation should be made for the 
     effective operation of amateur radio from residences, private 
     vehicles and public areas, and that regulation at all levels 
     of government should facilitate and encourage amateur radio 
     operation as a public benefit.

  The Senate joint resolution was ordered to be read a third time, was 
read a third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on 
the table.

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