No Spectrum Auctions or other Wireless Radiation bills until FCC ensures Safety

ACTION FOR YOU TO TAKE:

1. Find your U.S. Rep & both Senators, here

2. Call the operator at 202-225-3121, to be connected to these 3 politicians, one at a time

3. Ask for the “telecom staffer”, to say “please exclude spectrum auction from reconciliation.  We already paid for a wired connection and antenna location decisions need to respect the informed consent of property owners”

4. If the staffer is unavailable, leave the above message with the front desk

5. Scroll to the bottom of this page to input your zip code to send this email to your politicians. If the software doesn't send, simply copy and paste this entire text (except for these directions) at the “contact” section of your politicians’ website; if edits are needed to conform to allowable space, shrink the text to ensure submission of your request

6. If connected with the telecom staffer, please ask them to “Zoom next week or month with the lobbyist for NHF, and email Contact-Us@thenhf.com to get us involved in scheduling the meeting

When Americans travel or live in rural areas, sometimes they lose cell phone or Internet coverage and goad their politicians to demand Telecom fill those gaps. The Safe Technology community doesn’t have a problem with deployment of most 4th generation (4G) cell towers, when limited in location by zoning for only industrial areas, along major highways, or on remote hilltops. Such towers can connect people at least 10 miles away, so they can properly be placed far enough away from our bedrooms, classrooms, and parks. For residential Internet connections, however, the telecommunications industry is resisting making a wired connection to especially remote property owners – lying that it’s too expensive and pushing instead for cell towers or even satellites, both of which spray radiation that is found dangerous in 80% of studies not tainted by industry funding. Against the wishes of the Safe Technology community, Congress wants to overload existing towers with an unlimited number of new antennas via passage of what are called “spectrum auctions” in section 43101 of a budget bill called “Reconciliation.”  

Americans already suffered some spectrum auctions in the last Congress as part of the Defense law, auctions of which necessarily will trigger a preemption section called 6409, leading to loading of additional antennas on already-approved cell towers. That’s 60 megahertz of frequencies pending auction any day now. What’s pending in Reconciliation is 600 more megahertz of spectrum auctions that will BURY existing towers with an unlimited number of additional antennas – regardless of local property owner opposition to antennas deployed outside their bedrooms, classrooms, and parks – that will spy on, fry, and coerce Americans.  Vote NO on spectrum auctions – whether in reconciliation of any other legislative vehicle.   

(But if additional spectrum frequencies must be auctioned, at a minimum please amend them to ensure these deployments are safe for Americans by requiring Federal Communications Commission (FCC) compliance with the court order as described below.)

Ignoring the Court on Wireless Dangers

The FCC was reprimanded in 2021 by DC’s Federal Appeals Court for capriciously claiming adequacy of its outdated, 1996 wireless radiation exposure limits while ignoring the more than 10,000 pages of scientific evidence of biological harm to humans and the environment. Not only is the FCC ignoring the courts, but also the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ignored its own 2019 National Toxicology Program’s finding of  clear and convincing evidence (highest level of scientific confidence) of DNA damage and cancer from wireless radiation. We even have whistleblower testimony from Swisscom and T-Mobile admitting “special caution for children.” Indeed, when independent of industry funding, 80% of studies find harm with wireless radiation. No wireless deployments should occur until FCC’s wireless exposure limits are based upon actual science.

Americans Already PAID for a WIRED Connection

Polls show that 2/3rds of Americans prefer a wired connection, and 90% of homebuyers decline realtor offers of homes located too close to a cell tower, crushing house values by 20%. The “Irregulators lawsuit” claimed landline payers had been charged an extra amount over the past decade in exchange for a promised WIRED connection (why this never happened led the court to “greenlight” states to investigate). But it’s with cell towers (or satellites) that Telecom instead wants to use to give “broadband” to residents – a bias that will only exacerbate the broadband digital divide.

WIRELESS under MAHA Investigation

Both of these technologies, unlike wireline, emit radiation under investigation by the Trump-ordered Make America Healthy Again commission for contributing to the real epidemic, chronic disease (which has exploded from 10% of Americans in 1990 to over 50% by 2010). One-third of Americans are sensitive to Electromagnetic Radiation – 5% seriously so. Several governors are cooperating with RFK JR (who’s chairing the above investigation) to ban smartphones from schools - to at least spare our children the health effects of wireless radiation.

No Liability for Environmental Harms, Which Include Effects on Humans!

When one bill sponsor learned in the last Congress that in the case of wireless, environmental effects INCLUDE those on humans, he paused his enthusiasm for dispensing with such reviews and his bill was pulled from an expected floor vote. Courts have interpreted that human health concerns are included in the 1996 Telecom law’s prohibition on cell-tower application opposition based upon environmental effects. That’s right, the one-third of Americans sensitive to wireless radiation may NOT sue Telecom if they’re physically harmed.  Despite environmental harms including human effects, there are bills (HR 1541 and HR 1655) that would dispense with environmental reviews under certain circumstances, when “co-locating” antennas in the former bill and repairing, in the latter bill, antennas after emergencies.  We learned during COVID-19 that it is unAmerican to spare crony conglomerates from liability for their harms. The Safe Technology community supports introduction of legislation to repeal the Telecom law section (704) barring environmental lawsuits, which include effects on humans.  

Ruining our Parks as a Haven

Congress has been ignoring the wireless catastrophe for years, including last year when their Parks law included Sections 141-143 that will carpet our national parks with antennas, rendering them unusable by the wireless injured and aggravating the fire hazard as several, recent forest fires were caused by wireless equipment. Regarding the increased fires that will occur because of the wireless-promoting sections of the Parks law, Congress is considering even more bills – S. 140 and HR 471 –  to burn up our trees (with these bills experimenting on fire prevention with a technology – wireless – responsible for the biggest fires in history).

Preemption ignores Property-Owner Informed Consent

Not only will spectrum auctions use preemption to hurt property owners, but also other bills will preempt local discretion on antenna location, including HR 278, HR 339 and HR 1617.  When householders can’t cooperate with local officials to zone antennas far from our bedrooms, classrooms and parks, we lose informed consent. If we have learned anything from COVID-19 corruption, it’s that mandates threaten informed consent – we have no interest in having antennas mandated near our children or property. To restore local antenna location discretion, we urge co-sponsorship of HR 8082 (Smith, from the preceding Congress).

Trapping Farmers and Depleting Yield

And just as Congress finished last year ending our Parks as a refuge for those seeking escape from digitalization, the FARM bill may return with wireless promotions like that contained in HR 1618, carpeting our farms with wireless equipment that will harm livestock, bankrupt farmers who can’t sustain the new variable cost of precision agriculture, and expose the domestic food supply to hacking by adversaries (since 5G is inherently insecure, as warned by a former FCC Chair).

Wireless is Not “Tech Neutral” & Should Not Be Subsidized

On Telecom’s claim (mentioned above) that rural resident wireless connectivity is too expensive, Congress has bills – S. 323 and HR 2670 – to promote what is called “tech neutrality,” allowing taxpayer money to go not to wireline but to wireless. This is dangerous, since wireless is not only more expensive (in the long run) but also inferior (in reliability & security). Despite the inferiority of wireless compared to wireline, Congress has bills to give money taken from taxpayers to wireless (HR 1455) or make broadband grants exempt from tax (HR 1870).

Respect Informed Consent & the Science

Americans want wired Internet and they’ve already paid for a connection to every home.  Government is suppressing the dangers of wireless and immunizing Telecom from liability for their harms.  Please restore liability and local control.  Overturn Telecom law Section 704 AND pass HR 8072 to restore local discretion on antennas location.