The Society of Broadcast Engineers continues to press for congressional support for a bill to increase the technical expertise at the FCC.
SBE General Counsel Chris Imlay and SBE Government Relations Committee Chairman Barry Thomas visited Washington last week. They met with staff from 10 House districts.
Specifically, SBE Government Relations Committee Chairman Barry Thomas and General Counsel Chris Imlay devoted a day to lobbying House members last week to urge their support. In an effort to secure co-sponsors for H.R.2102, Thomas and Imlay visited the offices of 10 lawmakers who sit on the Communications and Technology Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The bill is a companion to a Senate measure; it would authorize each FCC commissioner to add an engineer or computer scientist to his or her staff. Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., introduced H.R. 2102 in June. Since then, Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., and Rep. Tom Petri, R-Wis., have become co-signers.
The SBE says a visit to the office of Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., by Thomas and Imlay last week netted a commitment to co-sponsor the measure and that more co-sponsors are expected as a result of their most recent lobbying efforts.
The society wants members to write their representatives and urge them to co-sponsor the bill. The SBE posted a sample letter on its website.
-- Radio World
