July, 17 2018, 12:00am EDT
First GOP House Member Signs Discharge Petition to Force Vote on CRA to Restore Net Neutrality
Historic move could lead to a landslide of Republican support for resolution to overturn unpopular FCC repeal
WASHINGTON
Today, Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO) became the firstGOP member of the House of Representatives to sign a discharge petition in an attempt to force a vote on the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to reverse the FCC's unpopular repeal of net neutrality. With polls showing that Republican voters overwhelmingly want their lawmakers to support the CRA, the move could unleash a landslide of GOP support for the resolution to restore strong protections while Congress debates any potential future legislation.
While the CRA only requires a simple majority to pass, Rep Coffman has also chosen to introduce his own net neutrality legislation, which would do more to undermine net neutrality than protect it. The is largely symbolic, given that it will never reach the 60 votes it would need to pass the Senate.
Fight for the Future plans to crowdfund billboards targeting any lawmaker who engages in hypocrisy by supporting symbolic net neutrality legislation without first signing on to the CRA.
The group issued the following statement, which can be attributed to deputy director, Evan Greer (pronouns: she/her):
"Rep Mike Coffman is a net neutrality champion for signing the discharge petition and supporting the CRA. His bill has zero chance of passing this year, but he's shown real political courage by supporting the CRA to restore strong net neutrality protections while he and Congress debates alternative solutions."
These open Internet protections should have never been taken away in the first place. Any other lawmaker who wants to support net neutrality must follow Rep Coffman's lead by signing on to the CRA before supporting any other legislation. Any lawmaker who cosponsors Coffman's bill without signing on to the discharge petition is doing the bidding of Comcast and Verizon and will be seen as an enemy of the free and open Internet.
The details are important when it comes to net neutrality. Internet users demand strong protections that prevent ISPs from censoring us, throttling our connections, or jacking up fees for no reason. Rep Coffman signing on to the CRA is a reminder that this is not a partisan issue outside of Washington, DC.
The rest of the House of Representatives should read the writing on the wall and take a stand for real net neutrality before they are forever remembered as the corrupt politicians who let the Internet die."
Fight for the Future is a group of artists, engineers, activists, and technologists who have been behind the largest online protests in human history, channeling Internet outrage into political power to win public interest victories previously thought to be impossible. We fight for a future where technology liberates -- not oppresses -- us.
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