17 Ohio Lawmakers Have Contacted the FCC About Outdated Radiofrequency Regulations – Has Yours?
BY NICK ROGERS
As part of an effort spearheaded by Southwest Ohio For Responsible Technology (SWORT) which began in 2023, 17 Ohio lawmakers have sent letters to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging the regulatory agency to make good on the 2021 United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s judgement which demanded the FCC update it’s 1996 radio frequency (RF) safety guidelines. To date, the FCC has taken no action. Will more lawmaker letters convince the agency to act, or should we expect more of the same cowardly deafness from arguably the most “captured” agency in Washington?
SWORT – a non-partisan, non-funded group with members all over Ohio – has advised its members to voice their concern over the growing level of dangerous RF/EMF (electromagnetic frequency) proliferating all around us; especially since the advent of 5 and 6G platforms. SWORT members heeded the call and wrote letters to their state representatives, 17 of whom have taken the next step and written to the FCC.
The letters came from rep. Melanie Miller, 67th district, rep. Ron Ferguson, 96th district, rep. Kellie Deeter, 54th district, rep. Mike Odioso, 30th district, Senator Steve Huffman, 5th district, rep. Timothy Barhost, 85th district, rep. Diane Mullins, 47th district, rep. Michelle Teska, 55th district, rep. Jean Schmidt, 62nd district, rep. Cecil Thomas, 25th district, rep. Jennifer Gross, 45th district, Senator Louis W. Blessing III, 8th district, rep. P. Scott Lipps, 55th district, rep. Adam Mathews, 56th district, rep. Cindy Abrams, 29th district, Senator Catherine D. Ingram, 9th district, Senator Steve Wilson, 7th district, and one from the Village of Greenhills’ City Council members Jim Boerman, Jeff Halter, Melanie Hermes, Rachel Hudson, Jack Lee, and Maria Waltherr.
Other lawmakers outside of Ohio have written the FCC with the same concerns.
In a now famous 2019 exchange with cellular industry representatives, US Senator Richard Blumenthal of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee concluded on the subject of 5G, “So there really is no research ongoing. We’re kind of flying blind here.”
Two years later, Environmental Health Trust (EHT) et al sued the FCC and won, a decision that required the FCC to update its guidelines (something it had refused to do even after overwhelming public comment called for it; public comment that the FCC had asked for). This, EHT argued, violated the Administrative Procedure Act by their failing to respond to “significant comments.” EHT also claimed that the FCC violated the Environmental Policy Act by not reassessing the biological impact of the outdated RF guidelines and not offering a subsequent environmental impact statement.
And yet, despite this “major win” for EHT and the growing community of United States Citizens concerned about the scientifically proven deleterious effects of EMF and the exponentially growing infrastructure thereof, the FCC has remained silent and without action.
The FCC – like so many other “regulatory” agencies in this country – has utilized a revolving door for their leadership; a door that leads to the cellular communications industry and back to the FCC.
If a court order is not enough to spur the agency into action, it’s hard to believe that a few politely written letters from state representatives will do the trick. This is not to put down the efforts of SWORT, its members, and the reps. who took the time to write the letters (SWORT is involved on multiple fronts in the fight to protect Ohioans from dangerous RF in schools and elsewhere), but rather an attempt to realistically assess the situation four years after the court decision that seemed so hopeful at the time.
As this author has often asked, do you consent? Sadly, the better question may be does it even matter?
