[SBE] Great news

[Vinny Lopez]

SBE Members,

     The SBE issued the following press release today. Please share it 
with your fellow members. This is a long-awaited development for the SBE 
that fits perfectly with a standing legislative agenda item. The SBE has 
always advocated technical accuracy in the FCC's work, and adding this 
level of technical expertise to the FCC commissioner's staffs benefits 
us all.  We will be working to push for a companion bill in the House.

     As SBE members, we can provide grass-roots support of this. Contact 
your senators and congressmen to request their support of this bill.


*Senate Bill S. 2881 would add technical expertise to FCC Commissioners' 
offices
*
*/December 16, 2009 Indianapolis, IN -/* A bill introduced on Monday in 
the U.S. Senate would potentially add one electrical engineer or 
computer scientist within each of the offices of the five FCC 
Commissioners.

Introduced by Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and co-sponsored by 
Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia), Senate Bill 2881 would authorize each 
FCC Commissioner to add one staff assistant position to the three that 
are currently authorized. The new position of "staff engineer" would 
require that the holder either have a degree in electrical engineering 
or be a computer scientist. If eventually passed, the new authorization 
would affectively undo a loosening of requirements for technical staff 
at the highest level of the FCC that began more than 25 years ago.

Vinny Lopez, CEV, CBNT, president of the Society of Broadcast Engineers 
(SBE), remarked, "Ensuring the technical integrity of the FCC 
decision-making is perhaps our most important legislative goal. This 
legislation will go a long way toward returning technical expertise to 
the FCC Commissioner's offices."  Lopez added, "We encourage other 
members of the Senate to support this well-crafted legislation. SBE will 
seek the introduction of a companion bill in the House and we will urge 
rapid passage of both Bills in the House and the Senate."

The proposed legislation, which would amend Section 4(f)(2) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 154(f)(2)), explains that the 
"staff engineer" would provide each commissioner with technical 
consultation when appropriate and interface with the Office of 
Engineering and Technology, Commission Bureaus and other technical staff 
of the Commission for additional technical input and resources. The 
staff engineer would need to hold an undergraduate or graduate degree 
from an institution of higher education in their respective field of 
expertise.

The last serious attempt to increase the technical resources within the 
Commissioner's offices was in October of 1991 when then Rep. Don Ritter 
introduced HR. 3501, which would have required that at least one member 
of the Commission be skilled in the engineering sciences.
Senator Snowe's bill would not seek to replace any of the existing staff 
assistants in each Commissioner's office but rather authorize each 
Commissioner to add one assistant.

The Society of Broadcast Engineers is the professional organization of 
television and radio engineers and those in related fields. SBE has more 
than 5,500 members in 114 chapters across the United States and in Hong 
Kong. SBE members can also be found in more than 20 other countries. 
Most chapters meet monthly and offer educational programs and an 
opportunity to network with other engineers. SBE offers the largest and 
most recognized certification program for broadcast engineers, operators 
and technicians, with more than 5,000 certifications currently active. 
The SBE also offers a growing number of on-line and traditional 
educational courses and seminars for the technical broadcasting community.

For more information about SBE, contact John L. Poray, CAE, Executive 
Director, at 317-846-9000 or visit the SBE web site, www.sbe.org 
<http://www.sbe.org/> .


Vinny Lopez,
President- SBE
vlopez at sbe.org

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