FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 28, 2010

Contact: Brandon Hatler, (212) 691-2800 or hatler@sunshinesachs.com

Members of ColorOfChange.org Call on Congressional Black Caucus to Support Broadband Reclassification

More than 1,750 phone calls made in 48 hours to eight members

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – ColorOfChange.org has launched a new campaign directed at 16 members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) who have signed a letter opposing Federal Communication Commission (FCC) efforts to close the digital divide and protect consumers of online services. ColorOfChange.org  members placed more than 1,750 phone calls to eight members of the CBC last week,  after the organization learned that several members of the CBC signed a letter by Rep. Gene Green, (D-TX) which opposes a recent FCC decision to reclassify broadband service.  ColorOfChange.org members called on the CBC members to side with the interests of their constituents, and not corporate donors, by removing their names from Green’s letter, which ColorOfChange argues recycles misinformation being propagated by the telecommunications industry.

Last month, a federal court ruled that the FCC did not have the authority to institute even the most basic consumer protections because broadband was designated an information (or Title I) service, over which the FCC has limited jurisdiction. The ruling prevented the FCC from implementing proposed rules on network neutrality and cast a cloud of uncertainty over its authority to implement portions of the National Broadband Plan intended to close the digital divide.

Earlier this month, the FCC announced it would reassert its authority to enact limited regulation of broadband by reclassifying it as a communication (or Title II) service. In response, telecommunications industry lobbyists stepped up their efforts to influence lawmakers. The letter being promoted by Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) repeats misleading and long-debunked arguments that serve the interests of major industry players and threaten the FCC’s ability to make rulings that would expand broadband access.

“Our members are deeply concerned that by signing Green’s letter, black members of Congress are undermining our digital rights,” said James Rucker, executive director of ColorOfChange.org. “Some CBC members have perhaps signed Rep. Green’s letter without fully understanding the implications of the letter and what is at stake.  Others seem to know, but are perhaps serving other interests. There is a significant correlation between those leading the charge and those accepting major contributions from the industry, which stands to benefit from the FCC being rendered impotent. In either case, our members are eager to make clear how important this issue is to our community and to Americans in general, and to explain why they see this as a 21st century civil rights issue.”

Earlier last week, ColorOfChange.org sent letters to CBC members to warn them about Rep. Green’s letter and urge them not to side with industry giants like Verizon, AT&T and Comcast on net neutrality. When the group learned that Representatives G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Lacy Clay (D-MO), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Greg Meeks (D-NY), Bobby Rush (D-IL), and Bennie Thompson (D-MS) added their names to Green’s letter, ColorOfChange.org members placed calls to their offices asking them to reconsider.  These Representatives have since been joined by their colleagues Reps. David Scott (D-GA), Marcia Fudge (D-OH), Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Laura Richardson (D-CA), Sanford Bishop (D-GA), Elijah Cummings (D-), and Corinne Brown (D-FL).

The chart below displays contribution totals from telecom and cable industry corporations and trade associations to CBC members who’ve signed Green’s letter:

        Source: http://www.opensecrets.org        

According to Rucker, ColorOfChange.org’s next step will be to ask all members of the Congressional Black Caucus to sign a letter by Reps. Jay Inslee and Jared Polis that supports the FCC’s plans.  “Communities of color need access to broadband Internet and all the opportunity it provides for economic empowerment, political organizing, and cultural representation.  The FCC is trying to do the right thing, and every member of Congress representing our communities should be offering their support for the FCC at this moment.  Instead some are standing in the way, while still others are silent on the issue.  It’s our goal moving forward to make sure that every CBC member either signs the Inslee-Polis letter or explains publicly why they won’t.”

With more than 600,000 members, ColorOfChange.org is the largest African-American online political organization in the country.

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