BREAKING: THEY’RE MOVING THIS WEEK.

The Broadband bill that hands your neighborhood to the telecom industry and is being pushed through Congress THIS WEEK! Drop everything. Read this.

SOUNDING THE HORN: THE CONDUCTOR’S BRIEF: A fast, clear summary of the key takeaways to keep you informed on the go.

• H.R. 2289 is being fast-tracked this week.

• Forces mandatory approval of antennas on most structures.

• New towers need only a carrier claim, no proof or hearings.

• Miss a deadline = auto-approved; no pauses allowed.

• Exempts most sites from environmental/health review.

• Locks in outdated FCC limits; courts must defer.

• Strips all local control (cities, counties, schools).

• Call Congress now… demand a NO on H.R. 2289.

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Since last November, I and others have been tracking H.R. 2289, the American Broadband Deployment Act, warning about it, and preparing for exactly this moment. We watched it get quietly expanded from a three-page proposal into a 100-page wrecking ball inside a House committee. We watched the industry lose in the open, and then go looking for a back door.

The back door just opened.

We just got word. H.R. 2289 is being fast-tracked through Congress this week. Not next month. Not before the midterms. This week.

Here is what this bill actually does, in case you aren’t up to speed, and I need you to read every word of this before you pick up the phone.

Under H.R. 2289, your local government, your city council, your county supervisors, your school board, will be legally required to approve virtually any antenna on any existing structure that can hold transmission equipment. Utility poles. Light poles. Overhead wires. Apartment buildings. Single-family homes. Schools. Local governments “may not deny and shall approve.” That language is in the bill. It is not an exaggeration.

For new towers, a carrier only needs to claim an “improvement or enhancement” of service. No proof of a service gap. No public hearing. No community input. Just a claim, and your local zoning is overridden.

Miss a deadline? The application is automatically “deemed granted.” Want to pause and think? Moratoria are prohibited.

And here’s what is most disconcerting of all; most wireless facilities are exempted from review under the National Environmental Policy Act, including review for human health impacts. The FCC’s exposure limits haven’t been updated since 1996. A federal court has already ruled the FCC failed to justify those limits. This bill uses them anyway as the final word, and binds state and federal courts, including the Supreme Court, to FCC interpretations on the matter.

Your school board cannot protect your child’s classroom. Your city council cannot protect your street. Your county supervisors cannot protect your neighborhood. Not under this bill.

Because of the mid-terms, we were hedging our bets we would have more time. We didn’t get it.

This is this week.

HERE IS YOUR ONE JOB RIGHT NOW:

Call your representative. Call your senators. Call today. Call tomorrow. Call every day until this is stopped or defeated.

Tell them: “I am calling to demand you oppose H.R. 2289, the American Broadband Deployment Act. This bill eliminates local authority over wireless facility placement, exempts cell towers from health review, and auto-approves applications when deadlines are missed. It does not belong on any floor, in any spending package, or attached to any bill. Vote no. Strip it out. I am watching.”

That is the whole message. You don’t need to say more. You need to say it today.

Find your House representative: house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Find your Senators: senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

Capitol switchboard, ask for your member by name: 202-224-3121

House Appropriations Committee, if your rep sits on this committee, they are a priority call: appropriations.house.gov/about/membership

Download resources to educate your community and your leaders: 704nomore.org/educational-resources

Share this post. Right now. To everyone you know.

The industry spent years trying to pass this in the open. The public stopped them every time. So they waited for a moment when people were distracted, watching WWIII try to break out,, and scheduled it for a week when nobody was looking.

We’ve been sounding this alarm since November. I am sounding it now as loud as I can.

Let’s prove them wrong.

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