The US House Committee on Rules appears to have listened to activists and local governments when it postponed the vote on the terrible and dangerous bill HR2289, called “The American Broadband Deployment Act of 2026.” This bill was before the Rules Committee on April 20, where it was widely expected to pass and be sent for a floor vote. Action alerts went out from health freedom groups stating reasons why this bill should not move forward, including health, property rights, and local government rights. The Committee stalled the bill so it does not move forward at least for now. This is a welcome victory for common sense and health freedom!
HR2289 if enacted, takes away a local government’s ability to regulate where and how a cell tower or antenna is located. It hands a windfall to industry, allowing industry to put up towers next to homes, schools, and parks where children play, without the ability for local governments to consider much of anything in the placement of these poles or whether they are wanted or necessary.
The FCC continues to defy the 2021 Court Order to review science on safety
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as the main federal regulator of wireless radiation, issued guidelines in 1996 for allowable levels of this radiation in America. These guidelines are among the worst and the most lax in the world. They are based on whether someone is protected from being heated up and cooked, not simply from harm. After the FCC allegedly reviewed these outdated guidelines and then rubber-stamped them, it was sued, and in 2021 the DC Circuit Court agreed with plaintiffs and ordered the FCC to actually look at the thousands of pages of scientific evidencce and personal testimony submitted in the docket. Now, almost 5 years later, the FCC still shows no sign of following the court order. Therefore, since no action has been taken, the FCC’s limits on exposure to wireless radiation remain unchanged from the 1996 levels, while the wireless industry, with its money and political influence, continues to try to undermine all local efforts to push back against antenna sitings that would harm local communities and people’s health.
Outdated FCC safety guidelines do not protect health or health freedom
There is no doubt that the amount of wireless radiation in our environment has exploded since 1996. Not only have the numbers of towers and antennas proliferated, but homes and people now generally have multiple radiation-emitting devices near them at all times. The independent science on this form of radiation is also now well-established. There are currently thousands of studies showing biological effect and harm from this radiation, which flies in the face of the assurances from industry which denies that these effects can occur. Industry is still relying on inadequate testing, like that which is done for cell phones on the mannequin known as SAM, where if the liquid in the mannequin’s skull does not heat up then the level of radiation is just fine.
In a country where neurological diseases, heart disease, diabetes, and depression are rampant, scientific evidence shows that damage to the body from the toxic, un-natural electromagnetic fields like those emitting from cell towers and antennas is at a minimum a significant contributing factor in disease. When Verizon, AT&T or another big wireless company moves in with plans to site another cell antenna or 5G pole, the average person, threatened with loss of property values and facing new health problems and disabilities, is hard-pressed to fight back and win. The FCC “guidelines” do not protect health and Americans often already have little choice over the siting of these towers.
Local control of siting retains some measure of actual grounds for denying a permit request
HR2289 would remove almost any remaining government control of these towers and antennas. Local control is already limited and weak, because Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 has been interpreted to federally preempt local government considerations of health or environmental effects from cell towers or antennas. This means that local governments, even if they realize that cell towers can have adverse effects on the health of the people, animals, and plants in their city or town, cannot deny a permit on health or environmental grounds. So even if lawsuits are filed, they are difficult to win. Only such reasons as historical preservation, preservation of culturally important or otherwise sensitive sites, or similar reasons are left for local government to deny a siting permit. HR2289 seeks to take even this power away from local government and give it to industry!
Stopping HR 2289 is a victory to be savored, but there is still a larger task ahead
Although it appears unlikely (though possible) that the Rules Committee would push HR2289 forward for a vote, what is certainly likely is that Big Tech will continue to lobby and push similar bad bills. There are currently other bad telecom bills to defeat in Congress. The FCC itself has proposed rule-making, which would in essence enact the same measures as HR2289, giving Big Tech control over cell tower siting at the expense of local government and the people. Activists can let their members of Congress know that wireless radiation is a menace to health and unchecked proliferation a violation of our freedoms. Activists can ask Congress to take action and conduct oversight of the FCC regarding its failure to comply with the DC Circuit Court order. There are safer ways to obtain technology, like fiber broadband, which is not only safer but also faster and more secure. We should not be forced to be exposed to the high levels of radiation that are increasingly surrounding us and which many cannot escape.
