IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1144 
Honoring the 100th anniversary of the Consumer Technology Association. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 15, 2024 
Mr. ISSA submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring the 100th anniversary of the Consumer Technology 
Association. 
Whereas 1924 represented a pivotal moment in the history of 
technology, marked by significant developments and the 
legacy of prominent figures; 
Whereas, in 1924, Thomas Edison, the inventor and entre-
preneur whose inventions, including the phonograph and 
the electric light bulb, continued to thrive on the frontier 
of innovation; 
Whereas 1924 signified the continued influence of Nikola 
Tesla, whose contributions to alternating current power 
systems laid the groundwork for much of today’s elec-
trical infrastructure; 
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•HRES 1144 IH 
Whereas 1924 also witnessed Guglielmo Marconi, the pioneer 
of wireless telegraphy, or radio, whose innovations paved 
the way for modern telecommunications; 
Whereas 1924 marked a transition to new advancements and 
discoveries in the realm of science, engineering, and tech-
nology; 
Whereas, in that same year, the organization now known as 
the Consumer Technology Association was founded as the 
Associated Radio Manufacturers at the Hotel Sherman in 
Chicago, Illinois, on April 16, 1924, and the name was 
changed several weeks later to the Radio Manufacturers 
Association (RMA); 
Whereas the RMA was formed in response to patent fights, 
a lack of cohesive technical standards, and looming legis-
lation affecting radio; 
Whereas, in July 1925, in response to an increasing need for 
technical standards in the radio industry, RMA adopted 
a formal resolution to develop its own industry standards, 
and early targets for standards included color-coded wir-
ing, dimensions for plugs, jacks, and sockets, and mark-
ings for transformers; 
Whereas, in 1927, RMA formed an industrywide Radio Co-
ordinating Committee, which directed and advocated to 
shape the Radio Act of 1927, which established the Fed-
eral Radio Commission, which later became the Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC), and Congress 
adopted 90 percent of the recommendations of RMA and 
the Radio Coordinating Committee; 
Whereas, in 1933, struggling with the Great Depression, 
RMA reorganized, closing its New York and Chicago of-
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•HRES 1144 IH 
fices and moving to a combined office in Washington, 
DC; 
Whereas RMA became heavily invested in experimentation 
with and regulation of television, developing the first pro-
posed standards for television, which the FCC quickly 
put into place, and its work led to the beginning of com-
mercial television broadcasting in the United States on 
July 1, 1941; 
Whereas, when the United States entered World War II, 
RMA members undertook a massive effort to convert 
manufacturing to a war footing, and with limited excep-
tions, nearly all civilian radio production was earmarked 
for the war effort; 
Whereas the organization in 1950, reflecting the evolving 
times, changed its name to the Radio-Television Manu-
facturers Association (RTMA), and Glen McDaniel be-
came the first paid president in 1951; 
Whereas, in 1953, again recognizing the changing face of 
American technology, RTMA became the Radio-Elec-
tronics-Television Manufacturers Association (RETMA), 
and in 1957, members changed the name to the Elec-
tronic Industries Association (EIA), signaling an expan-
sion beyond radio and television and instead ‘‘embracing 
all industry segments’’ of electronics; 
Whereas, in 1967, EIA hosted the first Consumer Electronics 
Show (CES), which was organized by Staff Vice Presi-
dent Jack Wayman and was held in New York City from 
June 25 to 28, 1967, and occupied more than 100,000 
square feet and included more than 100 exhibitors; 
Whereas, in 1984, EIA and Chairman of the Home Record-
ing Rights Coalition (HRRC) Gary Shapiro advocated on 
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