NEWSFLASH --  Washington, DC (March 5, 1998)
The house of Representatives, on March 5, 1998, passed H.R. 2369 by a vote
of 414 to 1, thereby clearing the way for the bill's consideration in the
U.S. Senate.  This bill is identical to that passed by the House Commerce
Committee on February 26, 1998.  As such, the legislation retained the
important modifications the scanner community worked so hard to obtain that
protect the legimitate uses of scanners while enhancing the privacy
protections available to private wireless communications.  During the brief
and uncontroversial debate on the House floor just prior to the bill's
passage, Commerce Committee Chairman Tom Bliley (R-VA), Telecommunications
Subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA), and Subcomittee Ranking
Minority Member Ed Markey (D-MA) all issued statements respectful of the
legitimate uses of scanners and the important role played by the scanner
community in the legislative process surrounding H.R. 2369.
In the Senate, there is no companion legislation at this time.  It is quite
possible, however, that the Senate Commerce Committee may consider H.R.
2369, as passed by the House, at some later point in this Congress.  It
would be our hope that any legislation that emerges from the Senate
Commerce Committee and/or is passed by the U.S. Senate retains the
important modifications that remain in H.R. 2369 at this time.  Contact
your Congressman and Senators to urge them to protect scanner users by
resisting efforts to broaden the scope of H.R. 2369.
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Washington D.C. (February 26, 1998)
Comment of Rep. Billy Tauzin (R, LA) concerning HR 2369 through his press
secretary Ken Johnson.
The bill (HR 2369) only intended to protect the privacy of millions of 
Americans who use cell phones as part of their daily life.
After being contacted by the Bearcat Radio Club and others we found that
the bill had a flaw.
We worked closely with the various groups to make the bill better.
This is a classic demonstration of how democracy works.
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Porposed legislation that threatened the availability and the use of scanners
has been significantly rewritten in response to concerns raised by scanner
users.  Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), chief sponsor of H.R. 2369 and Chairman
of the House Commerce Committee's Subcomittee on Telecommunications responded 
to the scanner community and made several changes to the bill to protect
the beneficial uses of scanners while offering further protection to
private wireless telephone calls.  Rep. Tauzin and his staff are to be
commended for working with the scanner community in a constructive way.
As the legislation proceeds to further consideration next year, keep 
posted here for alerts about possible efforts to undermine the constructive
changes made by Mr. Tauzin.  In the meantime, contact your Congressman and
Senators and urge them to protect scanner users by resisting efforts to
broaden the scope of H.R. 2369