WBA NewsroomA message from WBA President and CEO Michelle Vetterkind:
On behalf of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association (WBA), I write in support of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Modernization (IPAWS) Act of 2015 (S.1180), introduced by Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Senator Claire McCaskill, (D-MO). This bi-partisan legislation is designed to modernize the public alert warning system of the United States and ensure that warnings about natural disasters, acts of terrorism and other disasters or threats are disseminated quickly and effectively.
The WBA strongly supports this legislation and commends Senator Johnson for his leadership in addressing this important issue. View text of S.1180.
Wisconsin radio and television stations provide life-saving information to the communities they serve during emergencies and important weather and news events. Disseminating this life-saving information is a hallmark of the public service Wisconsin broadcasters bring to our viewers and listeners and this bi-partisan legislation is an important step toward expanding our ability to disseminate critical information to the people who rely on it.
The IPAWS Act will ensure that lifesaving information about events such as natural disasters and terrorist acts can be broadcast across all of the current communication platforms which currently exist while also taking into account the rapidly evolving technological landscape our country employs and ensures that future means of communication will also be integrated into our public alert system.
Additionally, the WBA fully supports the new training program that this legislation establishes to instruct federal, state and local government officials on how to use the integrated public alert system which we believe is vital to a successful alerting system, integrated across platforms and levels of government.
The WBA is an active partner with many federal, state and local government partners and we look forward to a continued and expanded partnership that passage of this legislation will ensure as we work to find the best ways to provide real-time, lifesaving information as quickly possible to those who need it.
We thank Senator Johnson for his commitment to our shared goal of informing and protecting the public and look forward to working with him to pass this bi-partisan legislation which will help keep his constituents and our viewers and listeners safe and will strengthen our nation’s public warning system.
The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association (WBA) is proud to represent Wisconsin’s 400-Free, Over-the-Air Radio & Television stations, which employ over 5,000 Wisconsin residents. Ninety-eight percent of Wisconsin stations are WBA members.
Michelle Vetterkind, CAE
President & CEO