Where Things Stand As of Aug 15, 2023:

• On May 24, 2023, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee marked up and voted through HR-3557, either to the next committee or to the House floor; a decision to be made by House leaderships
• On July 26, 2023, the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Marked Up and Voted through Committee HR-4141, either to the next committee or to the House floor; a decision to be made by House leaderships

HR-3557 and HR-4141 are heavy-handed bills with unacceptable federal overreach into local land use, permitting, and franchise negotiations. Congress must respect the local zoning and permitting for wired broadband and wireless telecommunications infrastructure, as intended in prior Congressional Acts, to ensure that such infrastructures are only deployed as and where needed to serve the public interest and protect valuable public resources including safety, health and property.

If H.R. 3557 passes, it could result in a truly unrestricted proliferation of Wireless Telecommunications Facilities (WTFs) of any size in residential zones, near schools, parks, playgrounds, and sensitive care facilities without any local or community input.

Local governments have always been the stewards of these finite public resources and must remain so.

We need to stop HR-3557 and HR-4141.

REGISTER NOW to attend this 2-hour Zoom Meeting on Wednesday, August 16, 2023

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An excerpt from H.R. 3557:

“ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF RADIO FREQUENCY EMISSIONS.—No State or local government or instrumentality thereof may regulate the operation, placement, construction, or modification of personal wireless service facilities on the basis of the environmental effects of radio frequency emissions…

https://www.congress.gov/118/bills/hr3557/BILLS-118hr3557ih.pdf (pages 14-15)

Proposed House bills H.R. 3557 and HR-4141 are companion bills that, if signed into law, would establish an unnecessary and massive federal power grab designed to strip away nearly all state and local control in the permitting and review of Wireless Telecommunications Facilities (WTFs).

The bills would eliminate the cooperative federalism and local control principles that were upheld by the US Supreme Court in its 2005 Ruling in Abrams vs Palos Verdes. The bills would also violate the very purposes of the Act they aim to amend: the 1934 Communications Act, as amended in 1996 and 2012: promoting safety of life and property.

In H.R. 3557 , the wireless industry is proposing new expansive definitions of “Antenna“, “Communications Service” , “Personal Wireless Service“, and “Effective Prohibition” of Personal Wireless Service. The bill also attempts to establish unreasonable terms for WTF review and attempts to pre-empt local zoning authority with language like this:

“including with respect to an area that has not previously been zoned for personal wireless service facilities”

• Agenda 2030’s Sustainable Development Goals are deceptive goals designed to eliminate Americans’ God-given inalienable rights, freedoms and liberties. Don’t be confused by any “pleasant sounding” language in these UN Globalist goals; Agenda 2030 is the inventory and control plan that would create a digital prison in your community.
• The Agenda 2030 plan requires HR-3557 and HR-4141 to construct a 24/7 wireless surveillance system created by hazardous 24/7 RF-Microwave radiation antennas placed far too close to homes (closer than 2500 feet) at far too high radio signal strengths (more than -85 dBm in areas accessible to people)
• Agenda 2030 would enable the unlimited taking of personal property/wealth to enrich governments and Globlalist-sponsored public-private partnerships via Digital-ID, Digital Currency and Tracing/Tracking/Control of individuals’ movements and financial transactions.

Yes, it is that bad. We cannot allow this Digital Prison to be built in our communities. Instead, Americans can stand together to eliminate HR-3557’s and HR-4141 in order to preserve:

1. Americans’ God-given inalienable rights, freedoms and liberties
2. Local control over the construction of last-mile telecommunications and broadband infrastructure,
3. States’, counties’ and localities’ rights to decide for themselves the best mix of wired broadband (fiber optic, coaxial and copper lines) and wireless infrastructure.

We must oppose and not comply with any plans or actions that would enable federal, state and local governments to build such a 24/7 wireless surveillance infrastructure in our communities. The vast majority of internet access can and should be provided by fiber optic cables directly to homes and businesses to protect Americans from the public safety, privacy and property value hazards created by a 24/7 wireless surveillance infrastructure grid in residential zones. Wireless Telecommunications Facilities constructed in the public rights-of-ways in residential zones are simply not necessary for broadband.

Also, if we have learned anything over the last three years, NO so-called “pandemic”, “climate emergency” or “fear story du jour” justifies the elimination of Americans’ God-given inalienable rights, freedoms and liberties. We cannot be fooled again.

Americans must stand together to fully oppose HR-3557’s and HR-4141’s attempt to build an “Agenda 2030” Digital Prison.

-Paul G.

Proposed bill H.R. 3557 aims to speed up the deployment of wireless and other communications facilities through a massive federal power grab that strips away state and local control in the permitting and regulatory review processes – the very mechanisms designed to protect citizens from the threats posed by wireless facilities.

In May of 2023, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee passed H.R. 3557 – which completely eliminates the ability of Americans to use State and local governmental authorities to modify placement of wireless antenna facilities based on the safety of life and property, and on aesthetic and historic values.

This is a very heavy-handed example of federal overreach into local land use, permitting, and franchise negotiation decisions. Local people deserve the opportunity to decide whether public investment in, and/or ownership of, broadband infrastructure is the right choice for their communities. Congress must respect the fact that these processes are best managed at the level of government that is closest and most responsive to the people.

Local zoning and permitting for wired and wireless communications build outs, are intended, per prior Congressional Acts, to ensure that such infrastructures are only deployed as and where needed to serve the public interest and protect valuable public resources including safety, health and property.

If H.R. 3557 passes, it could result in a truly unrestricted proliferation of cell towers and small cell installations near schools, playgrounds, and homes without any local or community input.

We need to stop H.R. 3557.

H.R. 3557 would…

1. Override state and local government police powers and property rights and would preempt local authority to manage public rights-of-way and land use for telecommunications infrastructure. This represents a substantial federal overreach into the oversight of the placement of wireless facilities on public rights of way, which is a fundamentally local process and must remain so.
2. Empower providers to install facilities where they choose regardless of local zoning, thus eliminating the ability of local governments to impose reasonable standards.
3. Weaken the authority of local governments to regulate the use of our public rights-of-way, and diminishes their authority to locally determine appropriate compensation for such use.
4. Mandate that all wireless siting decisions be “deemed granted” if not denied by a local government within much shorter periods than the federal government for similar projects. The federal government has 270 days to act, while locals must act as fast as 60 days. It is not appropriate for Congress to apply stricter timelines and restrictions on local governments for these processes than it does on federal agencies.
5. Mandate that sites be constructed “without any further action by the government,” without notice to the local government, or obligation to comply with safety laws. This would provide no public safety protections for construction of facilities that had been “deemed granted.”
6. Impose artificially short timelines that are virtually impossible to meet, create technical grounds for defeating incompleteness notices and require local governments to draft, publish, and deliver a written denial decision with reasons to an applicant on the same day that the local governing body hears and votes on the application — a virtually impossible task because such written decisions typically require the examination and analysis of evidence presented to local council.
7. Require that “all proceedings required by a State or local government or instrumentality thereof for the approval of the request” be taken within the timeline.
8. Limit the fees that local governments could require which, unlike the current FCC rules, the local government must justify based on a complex rate-making formula.
9. Substitute the FCC for the local federal district court as the reviewing body for challenges to local government decisions regarding wireless facility applications, thus breaking the promise made by Congress in 1996 that local governments would not be required to travel to Washington to defend local decisions.
10. Impose new and similarly flawed timelines and “deemed granted” remedies on applications for wireline telecommunications facilities
11. Undermine the property rights of local governments and damage their ability to protect and preserve the safety, well-being, and aesthetics of their communities. Congress has historically recognized these rights in Sections 224, 253 and 332 of the Telecommunications Act.
12. Make virtually any local government decision not to allow the installation of a proposed wireless facility at a provider’s request a “prohibition” preempted by federal law.
13. Eliminate cable franchise renewals, thereby restricting the ability of state or local franchising authorities to enforce franchise obligations such as public, educational, and government channel capacity and facilities, customer service requirements, and system build-out requirements.
14. Grant cable operators the right to use local rights-of-way to provide non-cable services while prohibiting localities from imposing any fees on non-cable services for use of those rights-of-way.
15. Pre-empt local governments’ rights-of-way compensation and management authority, zoning powers, cable franchising authority, and property rights.
16. Impose costs on local governments, burdens on our taxpayers, interfere with public safety and otherwise remove local protections that are the heart of communities while offering no improvement in broadband service.
17. Create unfunded mandates on local governments and inhibit their ability to be directly responsive to residents and good stewards of public resources.
18. Bestow on broadband providers an unprecedented federal grant of access to state and local public property, but impose no obligations on those providers to serve “unserved” and “underserved” Americans.

The National Health Federation:

Americans are waking up to the assault of constant 24/7 exposure to radio frequency radiation (RFR) from wireless technology installed and being installed in our homes, cars, streets, local businesses, schools, and communities without our informed consent. While many property owners would prefer to restrict wireless facility expansion in residential neighborhoods, past and current legislation has made that extremely difficult for localities.

In Biden’s 2021 infrastructure bill (Public Law No: 117-58), Big Telecom received $65 billion towards the proliferation of unsafe and untested 5G (and beyond) technology without a single mention of safety precautions or even any monitoring of the increase in radiation levels within communities.[1] 

Over 90% of surveyed Americans don’t want wireless technology near their homes.[3]

In 2018, the National Institutes of Health’s National Toxicology Program (NTP) found wireless causes cancer and alters DNA.[4]

When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommended long-term safety studies of the Electromagnetic Frequency (EMF) environmental pollutant, Congress – tragically – defunded that effort.[5]

More recently in 2021, the D.C. Court of Appeals challenged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for lying about their wireless safety guidelines that were found not to be science-based.[6]

Instead of sitting idly by as America is saturated in wireless deployment, Congress needs to hold hearings on Big Telecom’s concealment of wireless health and safety dangers, and pass NHF-recommended legislation to initiate the monitoring of wireless radiation that will trigger mitigation measures when permissible RFR exposure levels are exceeded.[10]

Americans want affordable and safe wired connectivity in their communities, and Congress urgently needs to hold hearings about why we’re getting unsafe and untested wireless instead.

https://national-health-federation.rallycongress.net/ctas/dont-let-telecom-ignore-local-rights

The organizations listed below have co-signed the following letter to Congress. Contact them and ask them how you can help support their opposition to H.R. 3557.

The National League of Cities (NLC) is the voice of America’s cities, towns and villages, representing more than 200 million people. NLC works to strengthen local leadership, influence federal policy and drive innovative solutions. Contact: Angelina Panettieri, Legislative Director for Information Technology and Communications, at 202-626-3196 or panettieri@nlc.org

The National Association of Counties (NACo) provides essential services to the nation’s 3,069 counties, serving nearly 40,000 county elected officials and 3.6 million county employees. Since 1935, NACo unites county officials to advocate county priorities in federal policymaking and optimize county and taxpayer resources and cost savings while promoting exemplary county policies and practices. Contact: Seamus Dowdall, Assoc. Legislative Director, Telecommunications & Technology at 202-942-4212 or sdowdall@naco.org

The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,400 such cities in the country today. Each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. The Conference’s Task Forces examine and act on issues that demand special attention such as civic innovation, exports, hunger and homelessness, and brownfields, transportation and technology. Contact: David W. Burns, Assistant Executive Director, at 202-861-6765 or dburns@usmayors.org

The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors’ (NATOA) 400 members are local government staff and their advisors offering a wealth of experience and expertise on public rights-of-way management telecom work and communications issues on behalf of local government related to broadband, wireless, cable television, public, educational, and government (PEG) access, public safety communications, consumer protection and PROW management. Contact: Mike Lynch, Legislative Affairs Director, 703-519-8035, x202 or MLynch@NATOA.org

The Congressional representatives listed below have co-sponsored H.R.3557.

Contact their offices, ask them to take a closer look at the proposed bill and encourage them to change their minds, and remove their name as co-sponsors.

Click on the links below to access their websites.

Sponsor:

Earl L. “Buddy” Carter [GA-1]

Co-Sponsors:

Debbie Lesko [AZ-8]

Neal P. Dunn [FL-2]

Kat Cammack [FL-3]

Gus M. Bilirakis [FL-12]

Greg Pence [IN-6]

Tim Walberg [MI-5]

Bill Johnson [OH-6]

Nathaniel Moran [TX-1]

Dan Crenshaw [TX-2]

Randy K. Weber Sr. [TX-14]

Below is a wagon-load – 11,000 pages – of scientific evidence documenting harm from RadioFrequency / Microwave (RF/MW) Radiation: