Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. TONKO. I rise in support of H.R. 1301, the Amateur Radio Parity Act.

Mr. Speaker, I commend both cosponsors here, Mr. Kinzinger of Illinois and Mr. Courtney of Connecticut, who have placed common sense into this legislative format that will drive fairness, I believe, into the equation for amateur radio operators.

Operators provide essential services in times of emergencies, and they should not be prohibited from building their facilities. They provide a very useful role in our given neighborhoods and communities. H.R. 1301 will provide for new rules that will help these operators navigate homeowner association restrictions when they are attempting to build their given stations.

The bill, Mr. Speaker, strikes the right balance to ensure that homeowner associations can impose reasonable regulations for amateur radio towers, but it would also make sure that amateur radio enthusiasts can continue to operate.

I do congratulate Chairman Walden and Ranking Member Eshoo for their work to come up with an agreement that everyone can support based on the efforts of the cosponsors of the legislation.

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Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, the cosponsors of this legislation have struck a very sound balance between the interests of the homeowner associations and amateur radio operators. It is done in a spirit of bipartisanship. So for those reasons, I strongly suggest we support the measure.

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