I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 81 
To promote and encourage the valuable public service, disaster relief, and 
emergency communications provided on a volunteer basis by licensees 
of the Federal Communications Commission in the Amateur Radio Serv-
ice, by undertaking a study of the uses of amateur radio for emergency 
and disaster relief communications, by identifying unnecessary or unrea-
sonable impediments to the deployment of Amateur Radio emergency 
and disaster relief communications, and by making recommendations 
for relief of such unreasonable restrictions so as to expand the uses 
of amateur radio communications in Homeland Security planning and 
response. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 5, 2011 
Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To promote and encourage the valuable public service, dis-
aster relief, and emergency communications provided on 
a volunteer basis by licensees of the Federal Communica-
tions Commission in the Amateur Radio Service, by un-
dertaking a study of the uses of amateur radio for emer-
gency and disaster relief communications, by identifying 
unnecessary or unreasonable impediments to the deploy-
ment of Amateur Radio emergency and disaster relief 
communications, and by making recommendations for 
relief of such unreasonable restrictions so as to expand 
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the uses of amateur radio communications in Homeland 
Security planning and response. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Amateur Radio Emer-
gency Communications Enhancement Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Nearly 700,000 amateur radio operators in 
the United States are licensed by the Federal Com-
munications Commission in the Amateur Radio 
Service. 
(2) Amateur Radio operators provide, on a vol-
unteer basis, a valuable public service to their com-
munities, their States, and to the Nation, especially 
in the area of national and international disaster 
communications. 
(3) Emergency and disaster relief communica-
tions services by volunteer Amateur Radio operators 
have consistently and reliably been provided before, 
during, and after floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, for-
est fires, earthquakes, blizzards, train accidents, 
chemical spills, and other disasters. These commu-
nications services include services in connection with 
significant examples, such as hurricanes Katrina, 
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Rita, Hugo, and Andrew; the relief effort at the 
World Trade Center and the Pentagon following the 
2001 terrorist attacks; and the Oklahoma City 
bombing in April 1995. 
(4) Amateur Radio has formal agreements for 
the provision of volunteer emergency communica-
tions activities with the Department of Homeland 
Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agen-
cy, the National Weather Service, the National Com-
munications System, and the Association of Public 
Safety Communications Officials, as well as with dis-
aster relief agencies, including the American Na-
tional Red Cross and the Salvation Army. 
(5) The Congress passed Public Law 103–408 
which was signed by the President on October 22, 
1994. This included in section 1 the following find-
ing of Congress: ‘‘Reasonable accommodation should 
be made for the effective operation of amateur radio 
from residences, private vehicles and public areas, 
and the regulation at all levels of government should 
facilitate and encourage amateur radio operation as 
a public benefit.’’ 
(6) The Congress passed Public Law 109–295 
which was signed by the President on October 4, 
2006. This included a provision in the Department 
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of Homeland Security Appropriations legislation for 
fiscal year 2007 that directed the Department’s Re-
gional Emergency Communications Coordinating 
Working Group to coordinate their activities with 
‘‘ham and amateur radio operators’’ among the elev-
en other emergency organizations such as ambulance 
services, law enforcement, and others. 
(7) Amateur Radio, at no cost to taxpayers, 
provides a fertile ground for technical self-training 
in modern telecommunications, electronic technology, 
and emergency communications techniques and pro-
tocols. 
(8) There is a strong Federal interest in the ef-
fective performance of Amateur Radio stations, and 
that performance must be given support at all levels 
of government and given protection against unrea-
sonable regulation and impediments to the provision 
of these valuable communications. 
SEC. 3. STUDY OF ENHANCED USES OF AMATEUR RADIO IN 
EMERGENCY AND DISASTER RELIEF COMMU-
NICATION, AND FOR RELIEF OF RESTRIC-
TIONS. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity— 
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