Tomorrow, July 19th, join nationwide activism events for net neutrality
By Laila Abdelaziz at Fight for the Future and Mark Stanley at Demand Progress
TL;DR: Don’t believe what you hear about net neutrality being a thing of the past. The first House Republican signed the CRA resolution to restore net neutrality this week. There are nationwide protests for net neutrality Thursday. Find one near you!
Yesterday, something happened that many net neutrality opponents and skeptics said never would — a Republican House Member, Representative Mike Coffman of Colorado, signed the discharge petition to force a vote on the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the FCC and fully restore net neutrality protections.
This is a huge deal.
The CRA resolution is a means by which Congress can completely reverse the FCC’s disastrous repeal of net neutrality — a repeal opposed by nearly 9 out of 10 Americans.
In May, the CRA resolution passed the Senate in a historic 52–47 vote, with all Democrats and three Republicans voting in favor. Coffman signing the discharge is another major milestone in the campaign to restore net neutrality.
Now that a Republican has joined 176 Democrats in the House on the CRA, it makes it easier for other Republicans to cross party lines and do the same. That’s why we have to keep pushing — we absolutely can win this by getting the 215 members we need—but it’s going to take the same intense grassroots energy that we’ve seen over the past year.
That’s why tomorrow, Thursday July 19th, net neutrality supporters are gathering at nearly 70 local Congressional offices at noon local time, to rally for the CRA resolution and to let their representatives know that they expect them to support the CRA. Activists will also be delivering a letter signed by thousand of smalls businesses in support of the CRA resolution. Similar events were crucial to passing the CRA resolution in the Senate, which pundit and experts said would never happen.
Go to BattlefortheNet.com/map to see if there’s an event near you!
Check out this video from our friends at Public Knowledge and this explainer from our friends at Indivisible to find out more about the CRA and why it’s Congress’s only shot at saving strong and enforceable net neutrality protections this year.
