US Rep Greg Walden, W7EQI (R-OR), is among the latest House members to sign on as an Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 cosponsor. One of the few radio amateurs in the Congress, Walden chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, which will hear H.R. 1301, the House version of the legislation. As of November 30, there were 117 cosponsors in the US House and 3 cosponsors for S. 1685, the US Senate bill, which cleared the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on November 18. ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, said cosponsorship by Walden, the subcommittee chair, is a highlight of the bill’s progress in the House.

“Rep Walden and his subcommittee staff have been very helpful all along the way,” she added. President Craigie also said it’s important that ARRL members continue to write, call, or e-mail their members of Congress, including those who already have become cosponsors.

“We want the members of Congress who signed on months ago to be reminded periodically that their help is important and appreciated by constituents,” President Craigie said. “Keeping Capitol Hill’s attention is not a one-and-done thing. Thanking our supporters is both good manners and good strategy.”

Other US House members who became H.R. 1301 cosponsors in November include three from Texas and two from Wisconsin: Reps Ron Kind (D-WI), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Gene Green (D-TX), Sam Johnson (R-TX), and Vela Filemon (D-TX)

The bill calls on the FCC to apply its “reasonable accommodation” standard to private land use restrictions. It would offer Amateur Radio operators the ability to negotiate with subdivisions that now preclude outdoor ham antennas to install an antenna.

More information on the Amateur Radio Parity Act is available on the ARRL website.