Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Goren, who shares this clipping from the New York Times archive:
My how times have changed!
The SWLing Post
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If you read through the various magazines (worldradiohistory.com is a HUGE asset to the radio hobby!) you can see that the Commission basically gave up during the Reagan years. Reagan, of course, wanted to abolish the FCC entirely. The only thing that save the amateur service from total “deregulation” was K7UGA, who could out-right-wing Reagan with both hands tied behind his back and asleep. K7UGA is why we have volunteer examiners in place of FCC examiners (not a bad thing), and reasonable regulations, and not multiple CB bands (CB licensing stopped under Reagan, too). Enforcement of Part 97 is mostly gone (unless you interfere with, say, wilderness firefighting, aircraft, or broadcast) and it isn’t really there for any other service.
Apparently, this is what the people demand.