mr. lisenco. mr. matheny. good morning chairman thune ranking members know that schatz members the committee. my name is sam matheny on the chief officer of the national association of broadcasting at about half of the thousands of free local television and radio broadcasters in your hometown thank you for inviting me to testify on the emergency alert system and how broadcasters fulfill their roles as first informers and how innovation will allow broadcasters to do even more to keep viewers and listeners safe during emergencies. broadcasters take seriously their role as the most trusted source of news and emergency updates whether it's preparing listeners and viewers for the coming storm directingr them to need supplies and shelter during a disaster for helping rebuild in the aftermath local stations are part of the communities they serve. broadcasting is sometimes the only available communication medium in an emergency when wireless networks fail. warning console we found the american people turn to broadcast

mr. lisenco. >> good morning. chairman thune and ranking member and distinguished members of the committee. it is a great privilege to address you this morning in my capacity as a member of the board of directors of the american radio relay league, the national association for amateur radio. arrl has 175,000 members throughout the united states and we represent the interest of the 750 licensed amateur or ham radio operators in the u.s. amateur radio is an adventurial pursuit. there is also a very serious side to amateur radio. it's far more than a hobby. with ow license from the fcc comes a responsibility to promote emergency communications during times of disaster. the arrl understands u.s. military, fema and dhs. we provide all the emergency communications for the american red cross and salvation army. to quote former fema administrator craig few gate, quote, as much as we think we are indicates technology, things break. seeing how amateur radio in a disaster in a crisis often times is the one thing that was sti