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- Introduced by Rep. Richard LeBlanc (D) on June 16, 2009, to require cell phone companies to let military personnel called to active duty for at least 180 days out of their cell phone contract without penalties. This would also apply to the service member’s spouse.
- Referred to the House Military And Veterans Affairs And Homeland Security Committee on June 16, 2009.
- Reported in the House on August 26, 2009, without amendment and with the recommendation that the bill pass.
- Referred to the House Military And Veterans Affairs And Homeland Security Committee on June 16, 2009.
- Passed 104 to 1 in the House on September 10, 2009.
Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No" - Received in the Senate on September 15, 2009.
- Referred to the Senate Senior Citizens and Veterans Affairs Committee on September 15, 2009.
Most Recent Comments
1) Re: 2009 House Bill 5102 (Let active military out of cell phone contract ) by Admin003 on September 11, 2009
Rep. Amash, having reserved the right to explain his protest against the passage of the bill, made the following statement:
“Mr. Speaker and members of the House:
HB 5102 fails to address the general problem that military personnel face with respect to their contractual obligations when those individuals are called to active duty. To avoid inconsistent, patchwork legislation, this issue needs to be addressed comprehensively rather than one contract type at a time.”
Reply
"In another positive earnings report for the wireless
industry, Verizon Communications on Monday said its first-quarter
profit rose 5.3 percent. Verizon's wireless sales were up 29.6 percent,
including gains from the Alltel acquisition. Adjusted for the
acquisition, Verizon's sales rose nine percent. "NewsFactor Network, April 27, 2009.
Since our soldiers are also defending Verizon's ability to make money, wouldn't it be patriotic for Verizon to let them out of a contract, irregardless of the extravagrant markup on cell phones purchased outside a wireless contract?
Reply
I think the cell phone companies do will have a loss. Typically, contracts come with phones. The price of the phone is discounted with a subsidy from the long term contract. That is why a phone that costs $400 on the Internet is only $120 when sign a contract. Furthermore, cell phone companies incur up front expenses that are covered over the term of the contract. As I said before, why should the cell phone companies be required to cover additional costs of our military? I'm all for soldiers and I'm no fan of cell phone companies. I just think we pay taxes to cover the cost of our military and those taxes should be used for that purpose.
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