SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The U.S. House has until Fridy to save national net neutrality rules rolled back by the GOP-controlled Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last December. (Photo: Fight for the Future/Twitter)
'Pressure Reaching Boiling Point' as Congress Has Just 24 Hours to Save Net Neutrality
Lawmakers have to decide whether "they want to go down in history as the corrupt politicians who rubber stamped the repeal of net neutrality."
Dec 19, 2018
With only one day left for Congress to save national net neutrality rules rolled back by the GOP-controlled Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last year, internet defenders have set their sights on the 36 signatures still needed to reverse the repeal.
"Time is running out for members of Congress to make decision... will they sign on to the CRA discharge petition and show that they're willing to put their constituents' basic rights ahead of their corporate donors?"
--Evan Greer, Fight for the Future
The vast majority of the American public supports federal net neutrality rules, which bar internet service providers (ISPs) from prioritizing or throttling access to certain online content. However, most Republicans and a handful of telecom-backed Democrats in the U.S. House are blocking a vote on a Senate-approved Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to restore the repealed Obama-era regulations.
"Pressure is reaching a boiling point as internet users continue sounding the alarm ahead of the deadline for members of Congress to show they support real net neutrality protections by signing on to the discharge petition for the CRA resolution to reverse the FCC's repeal," Fight for the Future said in a statement.
"Time is running out for members of Congress to make decision," declared the group's deputy director Evan Greer. "Do they want to go down in history as the corrupt politicians who rubber stamped the repeal of net neutrality? Or will they sign on to the CRA discharge petition and show that they're willing to put their constituents' basic rights ahead of their corporate donors?"
According to campaigners' latest tally, these are the 16 Democrats who haven't yet signed the discharge petition for the CRA: Reps. Brandon Boyle (Pa.), Robert Brady (Pa.), G.K. Butterfield (N.C.), Matt Cartwright (Pa.), Jim Costa (Calif.), Henry Cueller (Texas), Dwight Evans (Pa.), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), Gene Green (Texas), Tom O'Halleran (Ariz.), Brad Schneider (Ill.), David Scott (Ga.), Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), Filemon Vela (Texas), and Pete Visclosky (Ind.).
To pass, the CRA needs every Democrat and at least 20 Republicans to sign on before the Friday deadline. Net neutrality advocates are maintaining a public scoreboard to track how every member of Congress has responded to the CRA here. Advocacy groups also have created a tool to help concerned constituents contact their representatives.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
With only one day left for Congress to save national net neutrality rules rolled back by the GOP-controlled Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last year, internet defenders have set their sights on the 36 signatures still needed to reverse the repeal.
"Time is running out for members of Congress to make decision... will they sign on to the CRA discharge petition and show that they're willing to put their constituents' basic rights ahead of their corporate donors?"
--Evan Greer, Fight for the Future
The vast majority of the American public supports federal net neutrality rules, which bar internet service providers (ISPs) from prioritizing or throttling access to certain online content. However, most Republicans and a handful of telecom-backed Democrats in the U.S. House are blocking a vote on a Senate-approved Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to restore the repealed Obama-era regulations.
"Pressure is reaching a boiling point as internet users continue sounding the alarm ahead of the deadline for members of Congress to show they support real net neutrality protections by signing on to the discharge petition for the CRA resolution to reverse the FCC's repeal," Fight for the Future said in a statement.
"Time is running out for members of Congress to make decision," declared the group's deputy director Evan Greer. "Do they want to go down in history as the corrupt politicians who rubber stamped the repeal of net neutrality? Or will they sign on to the CRA discharge petition and show that they're willing to put their constituents' basic rights ahead of their corporate donors?"
According to campaigners' latest tally, these are the 16 Democrats who haven't yet signed the discharge petition for the CRA: Reps. Brandon Boyle (Pa.), Robert Brady (Pa.), G.K. Butterfield (N.C.), Matt Cartwright (Pa.), Jim Costa (Calif.), Henry Cueller (Texas), Dwight Evans (Pa.), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), Gene Green (Texas), Tom O'Halleran (Ariz.), Brad Schneider (Ill.), David Scott (Ga.), Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), Filemon Vela (Texas), and Pete Visclosky (Ind.).
To pass, the CRA needs every Democrat and at least 20 Republicans to sign on before the Friday deadline. Net neutrality advocates are maintaining a public scoreboard to track how every member of Congress has responded to the CRA here. Advocacy groups also have created a tool to help concerned constituents contact their representatives.
With only one day left for Congress to save national net neutrality rules rolled back by the GOP-controlled Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last year, internet defenders have set their sights on the 36 signatures still needed to reverse the repeal.
"Time is running out for members of Congress to make decision... will they sign on to the CRA discharge petition and show that they're willing to put their constituents' basic rights ahead of their corporate donors?"
--Evan Greer, Fight for the Future
The vast majority of the American public supports federal net neutrality rules, which bar internet service providers (ISPs) from prioritizing or throttling access to certain online content. However, most Republicans and a handful of telecom-backed Democrats in the U.S. House are blocking a vote on a Senate-approved Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to restore the repealed Obama-era regulations.
"Pressure is reaching a boiling point as internet users continue sounding the alarm ahead of the deadline for members of Congress to show they support real net neutrality protections by signing on to the discharge petition for the CRA resolution to reverse the FCC's repeal," Fight for the Future said in a statement.
"Time is running out for members of Congress to make decision," declared the group's deputy director Evan Greer. "Do they want to go down in history as the corrupt politicians who rubber stamped the repeal of net neutrality? Or will they sign on to the CRA discharge petition and show that they're willing to put their constituents' basic rights ahead of their corporate donors?"
According to campaigners' latest tally, these are the 16 Democrats who haven't yet signed the discharge petition for the CRA: Reps. Brandon Boyle (Pa.), Robert Brady (Pa.), G.K. Butterfield (N.C.), Matt Cartwright (Pa.), Jim Costa (Calif.), Henry Cueller (Texas), Dwight Evans (Pa.), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), Gene Green (Texas), Tom O'Halleran (Ariz.), Brad Schneider (Ill.), David Scott (Ga.), Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), Filemon Vela (Texas), and Pete Visclosky (Ind.).
To pass, the CRA needs every Democrat and at least 20 Republicans to sign on before the Friday deadline. Net neutrality advocates are maintaining a public scoreboard to track how every member of Congress has responded to the CRA here. Advocacy groups also have created a tool to help concerned constituents contact their representatives.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.