From the Aug. 4, 2006 edition of the mediageek radioshow:
The Senate Telecomm bill which would create a national cable franchise is no closer to a vote than it has been all Summer. One factor holding up the bill are Democrat threats of a hold or filibuster. Majority leader Bill Frist won’t let the bill come up for a vote unless the bill’s chief sponsor, Commerce Committee Chair Ted Stevens can rustle up the 60 votes necessary to force a vote.
But another factor has turned out to be members of Republican party who are up for re-election this November who are reluctant to sign on, fearing voter reprisals.
The key controversy over the bill is the fact that while it is a massive giveaway to the nation’s largest telephone companies, by easing their entry into the cable TV market, it contains no provisions to ensure the telcos don’t use their growing power to limit, filter or slow down access to multimedia content they don’t have a hand in.
While the big telcos have been spending millions this summer trying to give the appearance that a grassroots coalition of their customers is joining them in opposition to network neutrality, vulnerable senators, like Pennsylvania’s Rick Santorum, know the truth that the real grassroots voting power supports guaranteed free speech on the internet.
Other Republican senators who reportedly have cold feet include Lincoln Chafee, R.I., Mike DeWine, Ohio, Ben Nelson, Neb., and Jim Talent, Mo.
As a result of Senate Republicans’ reticence to rally behind the telecomm bill, it remains in limbo until the Senate reconvenes after Labor Day. But there’s still no indication that the legislation is any more likely to see a vote before election day.
Such a delay could give Stevens an opportunity to push for a vote in a post-election lame duck session, but it’s a gamble. If the Republicans retain at least a 60 seat majority, then the telecomm bill might have a chance — provided party unity prevails. But if the Democrats make gains in the Senate, then that would probably spell death for the bill in its current form.
Still, Sen. Stevens is not giving up on his agenda for creating the national franchise, patronizing AT&T and Verizon, and killing network neutrality. Instead, he’s gone postal, putting together a direct-mail campaign sending a pamphlet to fellow senators to support his bill and arguing against network neutrality. It’s an unusual move for a Senator to take, and especially unusual for the chair of a major committee. This leads Alex Curtis, a blogger for the thinktank Public Knowledge, to ask questions like:
Has a congressional committee itself (not a lobbyist or public interest org) ever advocated for a piece of legislation with a promotional brochure?
Is this a proper role of a committee?
What would members of the committee who didn’t vote for the legislation have to say about it?
While Stevens–author of the “series of tubes” theory of the internet–is looking increasingly desperate, a more cynical view of the debate is being heard from the Brookings Institution. Brookings’ congressional scholar Thomas Mann tells Forbes magazine, “Telecom reform has been a cash cow for members of Congress. The battels go on for years, and the fundraising requests never stop.”
Indeed, AT&T, which has led the effort defeat network neutrality, has been the biggest corporate donor to Republicans in this year’s election cycle, investing $1.1 million. Yes, money still does buy something in Washington, but representatives campaigning for re-election know that it still takes voters.
The question remains: Who wants to be on record for damaging free speech on the internet right before election day?
Comments are closed.