This is a huge deal. The First GOP House Rep just announced he will sign on to the CRA resolution to restore net neutrality.
TL:DR; Rep Mike Coffman (CO-6) just became the first Republican House lawmaker to announce he will sign the net neutrality CRA, which could unlock a wave of other GOP support. The CRA already passed the Senate in a historic bipartisan vote of 52–47. Now it just needs to pass in the House to restore basic protections against blocking, throttling, and extra fees. Please call your representatives right now and demand they follow Coffman’s lead by signing the CRA.
Big news: Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman just became the first GOP House representative to announce he will sign the “discharge petition” to force a vote on the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would overturn the FCC’s disastrous repeal. The resolution already passed the Senate, and now that it has picked up bipartisan support in the House, we have a real chance of winning.
Rep Coffman also introduced his own net neutrality legislation, which is largely symbolic, given that it will never reach the 60 votes it needs to pass the Senate. While Coffman’s bill has zero chance of passing, he’s shown real political courage by supporting the CRA to restore strong net neutrality protections.
Poll after poll has consistently shows that Republican voters want lawmakers to support the CRA, so today’s move could spark a wave of other GOP House members supporting real net neutrality. The CRA only requires a simple majority of 215 votes to pass. Right now the discharge petition has 177 with Coffman signed on, and word on the Hill is that other Republicans are seriously considering joining.
Net neutrality should have never been repealed in the first place. Now any other lawmaker who wants to support the open Internet must follow Rep Coffman’s lead by signing the CRA before supporting any legislation. Remember: big ISPs like Comcast and AT&T want lawmakers to introduce new legislation to derail the CRA, which is our best chance of saving net neutrality. So any lawmaker who cosponsors Coffman’s bill without signing on to the discharge petition will be seen as an enemy of the free and open Internet.
