Subject: (Janet Newton) S. 800, Part two......
Date: Mon, 10 May 1999 222437 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Roy L. Beavers" <rbeavers@llion.org>
To: emfguru <rbeavers@llion.org>
--------------------------------------------------
Hi everybody:
Here is Part two..... The draft letter......
......As a long-time "Main Street" Republican, may I say to my
friends John McCain and John Ashcroft -- the kind of knee-jerk
anti-environmentalism (relief from liability for the special
interests) that has been "slipped into S. 800 is hurting "our" party
more and more as we consistently become identified as willing to favor
the BIG $$$$$$ spenders rather than the people...... There are a great
many pro-environmental (and property rights!!) people on "main street."
Roy Beavers (EMFguru)
rbeavers@llion.org................
...It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness...
.................PEOPLE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROFITS...............
..........DRAFT LETTER..................
Senate Commerce Committee
SR-241
Washington, D.C. 20515 Tel: (202) 224-5184 Fax: (202) 224-9334
Dear Member of the Senate Commerce Committee:
Re: Concerns about overturning State tort liability law
protecting rights of residents, consumers, and property owners
Do not allow S. 800 or HR 438 - Wireless Communications and
Public Safety Act of 1999 - to take these rights away
I understand HR 438 passed the House and as S.800 introduced by
Senators McCain, Burns, Dorgan, and Wyden, is now being considered in the
Senate. I support this bill's establishing '911' as the national number
to use for emergencies.
However, I understand this bill grants immunity or other
protection from liability to wireless telecommunications companies which
is at least to the same scope and extent as now granted in States to
regulated local exchange wireline companies. This is wrong. Wireline
telephone companies are public utilities and as such negotiate with each
State government their prices and services, and negotiate immunity or
other protection from liability in exchange for granting benefits to
residents of the States, and are subject to fines and penalties.
Yet, S. 800 ignores these benefits the public gains by
negotiations in exchange for granting certain immunity. Instead, HR 438
allows the wireless carriers to receive the same immunity from liability
as the wireline companies even though wireless companies are typically
much less regulated and do not have to meet service, price, or penalty
requirements in order to win immunity from liability. Under S. 800 this
immunity extends to including any act or omission involving:
"development, design, installation, operation, maintenance, performance,
or provision of telecommunications service."
This is wrong. Besides getting no benefits, if Congress enacts
HR 438, it will be impossible for consumers and citizens in general to
get any compensation from harm, including loss of property values, due to
wireless facilities. In addition, there is growing public concern about
possible adverse health effects from cellular phones and from the
microwave transmitters on nearby towers or rooftops. Depending on how
various State laws are written the Courts could interpret immunity
granted by S.800 as pertaining to potential adverse effects from the
signals of these transmitters, including potential adverse health ef
fects to ourselves or animals, electrical interference, visual impacts
and 'eye sores', and associated loss of business, home, or farm property
values. The bill also grandfathers in immunity for existing facilities.
This is not acceptable. The Federal government does not belong involved
in States' tort law.
The American taxpayers and residential, business, or farm
property owners should not now be asked to give away this avenue of
recovering the future costs of harm due to the presence of wireless
facilities and their signals or harm from cellular phones. What is
needed in S. 800 and HR 438 is:
(1) to add a statement that any immunity from liability does not pertain
to impacts of wireless facilities or their signals on our health, our
quality of life, the environment, or our property values;
(2) to remove provisions granting immunity regarding the "development,
design, installation, operation, maintenance, performance, or provision of
telecommunications service", and at best, limit immunity to transmission
failures or other errors when all was done that was reasonably achievable
to prevent such failures,
(3) to fund local E911 communications needs, research health effects of
this technology, and research alternative technologies that may have
less risk - funds may come from federal property leases to wireless
carriers.
(4) to let our states and towns use the latest scientific findings to
protect our health by regulating the placing, constructing, and modifying
of wireless facilities and the microwave radiation exposure from their
signals.
(5) to require that wireless phones list amount of microwave radiation to
the head and body when in use or worn.
Respectfully yours,
___________________________Name(print)______________________Date:______
Street address:_________________________________________________________
City: ____________________State: ________________ zip: _________
OPTIONAL: Tel: ______________________ Fax: _____________________
Email: ______________________________
c.c. Senator John McCain, Chairman, Senate Commerce Committee
Senator _________________________ at U.S. Senate, Washington DC 20510
Senator _________________________ at U.S. Senate, Washington DC 20510
Representative ______________________ at U.S. House of Representatives
Washington DC 20515
Archive provided courtesy of WaveGuide, http://www.wave-guide.org
Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.feb.se/EMF-L/EMF-L.html