Joint Statement from NPR and International Association of Audio Information Services
Low Power FM Legislation

National Public Radio (NPR) President and CEO Kevin Klose, and International Association of Audio Information Services President Ben Martin issued the following statement today -

We applaud the passage of The Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000, which was included in the spending bills approved by the Congress today. Throughout the FCC's rule-making process to create a new low power FM (LPFM) service, we have cited LPFM's potential interference to the services of full power stations, including vital radio reading services for the blind. We have consistently called for appropriate field testing. This is the practical, rational way to achieve the laudable goal of compatibility between existing public radio stations and the new, low power service. Such field-testing is the cornerstone of The Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000. Significantly, this bill allows for immediate licensing of low power stations under existing interference safeguards.