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Congress Needs To Hear From You
In 2006, Congress will undertake its first comprehensive rewrite of telecommunications laws since the enactment of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. For this reason, the alarm industry is coming to Washington, DC on February 7 and 8, 2006 to talk with Congress about several industry issues--VoIP, Monitoring Reciprocity, and the provision of analog (AMPS) services by cellular carriers.
CSAA and the Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC) want to invite you to join us in Washington on the afternoon of February 7 for a briefing at a local hotel, followed by a day of Congressional visits on
February 8.
Background
The industry through the Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC) has identified two legislative issues:
- the potential disruption of alarm monitoring services when Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone service is installed and
- the growing need for alarm monitoring license reciprocity.
In addition, the AICC wants to make Congress aware of our members' concerns that the FCC will no longer require cellular carriers to provide analog (AMPS) service after February 18, 2008.
These are all key industry issues and Congress will only address them in a way which is favorable to the industry if you come to Washington on February 7 and 8 to let them know of your concerns.
To help you in your discussions with your congressman/congresswoman, below are links for some documents of interest:
- A background paper on the three issues - VoIP, Reciprocity, and Cellular analog (AMPS) services.
- A list of the key House and Senate members that we want to visit.
- A draft letter that you can send to your Representative/Senator to seek a meeting during January. Remember if they say no at home, then it enhances our ability to get a meeting for February 8.
While we must meet with all the Committee members, there are some members that we would like to especially target, and who we want our members to visit during the House and Senate recesses.
For a sample letter to request this meeting, click here.
Please visit the following House members before January 31:
- House Energy and Commerce Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) from Arlington, Texas
- House Energy and Commerce Ranking Democrat John Dingell from Dearborn, Michigan
- House Energy and Commerce Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) from Kalamazoo, Michigan
- House Energy and Commerce Telecommunications Subcommittee Ranking Democrat Ed Markey, from Medford, Massachusetts
and the following Senate members before January 18:
- Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK)
- Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Democrat Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
- Senate Commerce Committee Technology Chairman John Ensign (R-NV)
- Senate Commerce Committee Technology Ranking Democrat John Kerry (D-MA)
- Senate Commerce Consumer Affairs Subcommittee Chairman George Allen (R-VA)
- Senate Commerce Consumer Affairs Subcommittee Ranking Democrat Mark Pryor (D-AK)
If you are planning to attend, please contact Steve Doyle at director@csaaul.org as soon as possible. Housing information ia available here. The meeting agenda will be forwarded to you later. The earlier you let us know that you are coming, the easier it will be for us to secure a meeting with your representative and two senators.
Clary Appointed to NFPA Standards Council
CSAA wants to congratulate Shane M. Clary, Ph.D., on his appointment to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standards Council. His appointment was effective January 1, 2006.
Dr. Clary has worked in the automatic fire alarm and central station security industry since 1974 and is currently Vice President of Codes and Standards Compliance for CSAA member Bay Alarm Company. In his position, he is responsible for the design of all fire alarm systems installed by the company and oversight of testing and maintenance of alarms. He has been a strong supporter of NFPA for many years and an outspoken advocate of its codes and standards and serves on technical committees for NFPA 1, 70, 72, 720, 730, 731 and 5000.
"It is an honor to have the trust of the NFPA Board of Directors to be named to the Council," said Clary. "While it will mean a lot of work on my part to be conversant with the topics that will come before the Council, I hope that I will be able to bring the perspective of the 'Installer/Maintainer' to the Council. The Board selects members of the NFPA to the Council after they have spent a number of years serving on Technical Committees working to develop codes and standards which will aid to the general welfare of the communities that adopt them. My involvement would not be possible without the support of my wife Susan, or that of the Westphal family, owners of my employer, Bay Alarm Company."
The NFPA Standards Council is comprised of 13 individuals from a broad range of appropriate interests and administers NFPA’s consensus codes and standards development activities, including issuance of documents. The Council works to assure that due process and fairness are upheld throughout the creation and revision of NFPA codes and standards.
Experienced Central Station Manager Looking for New Opportunity
A central station supervisor/ manager professional with fifteen years of experience has been recently laid off due a merger/acquisition. He is looking for a similar position in the Boston area. If you know of any openings either in your company or in Boston, please let me know at communications@csaaul.org and I'll send you additional information.
