What is Biden waiting for? SAVE NET NEUTRALITY! 19JUN21

 I am fortunate enough to live in an area where I have access to high speed internet. Amazingly my sister and brother in law, living about 50 miles from Washington, D.C. (in Midland, VA)  had to depend on dial-up until last year when a tower was installed so they now use wifi. And where I am from in rural NW PA many areas only have satellite internet service that is expensive and unreliable. We all need  to push Pres Biden to to nominate a progressive Democrat to be the fifth member of the  FCC, someone who will address the lack of basic internet service in too much of the country and who will reverse the policies of ajit pai and restore net neutrality. E mail Pres Biden  and tell him to make his nomination to the FCC now. This from Demand Progress.....

 ( Here is my e mail to the White House and I also donated $10 to Demand Progress' campaign. You need to nominate a Democrat, preferably a progressive Democrat, to be the fifth member of the FCC so ajit pai's regressive policies can be reversed and Net Neutrality restored. The FCC also needs to address the lack of high speed internet access in too much of the country.  I am fortunate enough to live in an area where I have access to high speed internet. Amazingly my sister and brother in law, living about 50 miles from Washington, D.C. (in Midland, VA)  had to depend on dial-up until last year when a tower was installed so they now use wifi. Too often they had to take their kids to the library to use the computers there because their home service was so slow and unreliable. And where I am from in rural NW PA many areas only have satellite internet service that is expensive and unreliable (cell phone service is also extremely limited too).)

It’s been more than 150 days, and President Joe Biden still hasn’t named a fifth member to the Federal Communications Commission. Each day that goes by without a fully-functioning FCC is a day that Ajit Pai's legacy of sabotaging a free and open internet lives on.¹

And it is leaving the commission deadlocked 2–2—unable to act on critical initiatives to bridge the digital divide and restore the net neutrality protections repealed by Trump-administration FCC Chair Pai.

Congress has to confirm the FCC appointee, and the legislative calendar days are dwindling. If Biden doesn’t act soon, the agency charged with ensuring a free, open internet and broadband access for everyone will remain stalemated.

Time is running out. Demand Progress is waging a full court press on Biden to get him to name a fifth person to the FCC—so the agency can do its job and restore net neutraity. Will you chip in?

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The pandemic laid bare the grave digital divide in our country. Poor families and people of color are disproportionately disconnected from high-speed internet access, threatening their health, their education, and their livelihoods.

The FCC has a long list of initiatives that can help ensure an open internet for everyone, no matter the size of their paycheck.²

It includes reviving the long-neglected Lifeline program, which helps ensure internet access for low-income customers.³

It includes guiding federal funds for building broadband infrastructure in an equitable, effective manner.

And it includes restoring net neutrality rules dismantled during the Trump administration.

But the commission can’t move any of these efforts forward effectively without a fifth member appointed by the president. And with a limited number of legislative calendar days left this year, we’re running out of time to get that member confirmed and the FCC operating at full capacity.

That’s why Demand Progress is waging a full-court press to get Biden to name his appointee. We've gathered together dozens of groups to urge the administration to act and flooded the president with petition signatures.

Unless Biden acts soon, the FCC could be deadlocked for the rest of the year, unable to restore net neutrality or ensure internet access for all. Will you chip in to get the president to name an appointee ASAP?

Thanks for standing with us.

Robert Cruickshank,
Demand Progress

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Sources:

1. Ars Technica, "Pai’s legacy lives on for now as Biden fails to nominate Democrat to FCC," June 14, 2021
2. Demand Progress Education Fund, "57 groups call for 5th FCC commissioner," June 14, 2021
3. Federal Communications Commission, "Lifeline Program for Low-Income Consumers," March 31, 2016

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