Senate

Open Internet Advocates Pressure US Senators Before Midterms

March 6, 2018 Creede Newton, Aljazeera.com Resist! FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality, Senate

As the clock ticks on the effort to restore net neutrality, advocates see hope in using the midterm elections in the US to hold elected representatives feet to the fire of the public's demands. Net neutrality is a policy that guarantees internet service providers (ISPs) will treat all data fairly without blocking or "throttling" certain data streams. In December, the Federal Communications Commission voted to undo a 2015 rule that enshrined the policy. But polls show that net neutrality receives bipartisan support. A University of Maryland poll from December showed that 83 percent of US voters support the "open internet", and some legislators are listening. Senator Ed Markey introduced on Tuesday a Congressional Review Act (CRA), a measure that allows Congress to use an expedited legal process to review new regulations, to reverse the FCC's decision to end net neutrality.

Congressional Review Act Of Net Neutrality Clock About To Begin

February 6, 2018 Ali Breland, Thehill.com Resist! FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality, Senate

The Senate has received the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) official notice of measures to scrap net neutrality rules, two congressional sources confirmed. The notice is one of the first procedural steps in starting the 60-day deadline Congress has to stop the FCC’s net neutrality repeal with the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The House must also receive notice, and it must be published in the Federal Register for the rest of the process to start. Sources said that it has yet to be determined when this will happen but noted it could be as early as Friday or next week. After the 60-day deadline, Congress would no longer be able to use a CRA resolution to stop the FCC’s plan from continuing. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who is spearheading the CRA in the Senate, currently has 50 votes, including Republican Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), but is still one vote short of what’s needed to pass the measure.

Senate Push For Net Neutrality Reaches 50 Supporters

January 17, 2018 Staff, Fightforthefuture.org Resist! Electoral Politics, FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality, Senate

Stunning lobbyists, net neutrality supporters are now one vote away from winning a Senate vote on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the FCC’s unpopular repeal of net neutrality. All 49 Senate Democrats are now co-sponsoring the move, and Susan Collins (R-ME) has said she plans to support it. With victory in the Senate increasingly likely, Internet activists are setting their sights on the House, where they plan to wage a fierce battle to hit the simple majority needed to force a CRA vote to the floor. Today Rep Mike Doyle (PA-14) unveiled the names of 82 original cosponsors of his CRA resolution in the House. Including Doyle, the list totals 83 and includes House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, increasing the chances that House Democrats will line up behind the move. A simple majority is needed to force a vote to the floor in the House.

Net Neutrality: Floor Vote Will Force Senators To Go On Record

January 13, 2018 By John Zangas, Dcmediagroup.us Resist! Electoral Politics, Net Neutrality, Senate

The fight for a free and open Internet gained new hope this week as Senators met a critical threshold under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to force a vote on last month’s rule change by the FCC. The Senate will vote within 60 legislative days on whether to vacate an FCC decision to scrap common carrier status and give full control of the Internet to the big telecoms. Internet support groups say the CRA holds out hope for the Internet to remain in the public domain, but in order to help see it through, constituents must contact their U.S. Senators and urge them to support the CRA to overturn the Net Neutrality vote. The Internet had been classified as a public utility under Title II of the Telecommunications Act of 1934 until the FCC voted 3-2 on December 14 to deregulate it. The FCC subsequently published new rules reclassifying it as an “information service,” so it could justify handing control of it to the telecoms.

Restoration Of Net Neutrality Rules Hits Key Milestone In Senate

January 10, 2018 Jon Brodkin, Arstechnica.com Resist! FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality, Senate

Markey's bill likely won't restore the net neutrality rules in the end, even if it passes in the Senate. Forcing a vote will be more difficult in the House, where Republicans hold a larger majority. Even if the bill passes both the Senate and House, President Trump is likely to issue a veto in order to let the FCC's net neutrality repeal go forward. Still, Markey's resolution could pass in the Senate if all Democrats and two Republicans vote in favor of it. A vote would keep net neutrality in the spotlight as Democrats prepare to make the repeal a campaign issue in the November elections. Democrats haven't said when they will try to force a vote on Markey's resolution, but US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has promised to make it happen. Last month, noting that legislation to reverse the repeal "doesn't need the support of the majority leader," Schumer said, "there will be a vote."

Senate Will Vote On Repeal Of FCC Net Neutrality Decision

January 9, 2018 Staff, Tumblr.fightforthefuture.org/ Petitions and Online Actions FCC, Internet, Net Neutrality, Senate

Internet users are pledging to vote out lawmakers in 2018 if they do not support Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to restore FCC rules. Net neutrality advocates have hit an important milestone and are gaining ground in Congress. A Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality has hit the 30 sign-ons from Senators needed to force a vote on the Senate floor. The CRA allows Congress to overturn the FCC’s decision, which has generated widespread bipartisan backlash, with a simple majority vote in the Senate and House, which is increasingly within reach with several Republicans already publicly criticizing the FCC’s move.

Gun Control Protest Inside And Outside US Senate

November 9, 2017 Jacob Ogles, advocate.com Resist! Gun Control, Protests, Senate

By Jacob Ogles for Advocate - Capitol Police arrested seven members of Gays Against Guns after the group staged an ACT UP-style die-in at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on Monday. The protests occurred the day after yet another mass shooting, this time leaving 26 dead at a Texas church. Members of the group today brought their disruption to the offices of Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who each have lost constituents in mass shootings but maintain A ratings with the National Rifle Association. “We knew we were risking arrest,” said Tim Murphy, a member of GAG NYC. “But we are holding them accountable as puppets of the NRA.” Those arrested include Murphy, Mari Gustafson, John Grauwiler, Natalie James, Lewis Bossing, Michael Adolph, and John Becker. Murphy tells The Advocate that protesters conducted a die-in at the atrium for the Hart building, and video shows the individuals writhing around like wounded gunshot victims, chanting “how many more have to die.” The disruption, which included protesters loudly shouting, “You’re killing us with money from the NRA,” went on for about 10 minutes before police asked protesters to leave. When the protestors refused to do so, arrests began. Murphy says GAG members did not resist arrest. Each one was detained for a matter of hours by police and charged a $50 fine before being released.

Senate Military Spending Increase Alone Could Fund Free College

September 22, 2017 Alex Emmons, www.theintercept.com Educate! Higher Education, Senate, US Imperialism, US military

By Alex Emmons for The Intercept - ONE OF THE most controversial proposals put forward by Sen. Bernie Sanders during the 2016 presidential campaign was a pledge to make tuition free at public colleges and universities. Critics from both parties howled that the pie-in-the-sky idea would bankrupt the country. Where, after all, would the money come from? Those concerns were brushed aside Monday night, as the Senate overwhelmingly approved an $80 billion annual increase in military spending, enough to have fully satisfied Sanders’s campaign promise. Instead, the Senate handed President Donald Trump far more than the $54 billion he asked for. The lavish spending package gives Trump a major legislative victory, allowing him to boast about fulfilling his promise of a “great rebuilding of the armed services.” The bill would set the U.S.’s annual military budget at around $700 billion, putting it within range of matching the spending level at the height of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. To put that in further perspective: If the package becomes law, U.S. military spending would exceed the total spending of its next 10 rivals put together, going off of 2016 military spending estimates from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Put another way, with a $700 billion military budget, the U.S. would be spending more than three times as much as China on its military, and 10 times as much as Russia. According to SIPRI, the U.S. already accounts for more than a third of all military spending.

Senate Republicans Aren’t Just Aiming To Destroy Obamacare And Medicaid

September 22, 2017 Steven Rosenfeld, www.alternet.org Educate! Health Care, Medicare, Obamacare, Senate

By Steven Rosenfeld for AlterNet - The Senate Republicans’ latest anti-Obamacare bill has bigger goals than destroying the Affordable Care Act and dismantling Medicaid. This bill aims to blow up the very foundation upon which a national health care system could be built—even if it roils private insurance markets via massive premium hikes for 2018. This overarching goal—to destroy the health care system’s structural underpinnings that could be used to create a national health care system—was made clear in the opening boasts of the Senate bill's co-sponsor, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, when he introduced the bill on the same day Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, introduced a Medicare for All bill. “If you want a single-payer health care system, this is your worst nightmare,” Graham boasted on September 13, referring to his own bill. “Hell no to Berniecare!” If that wasn't clear enough, Graham doubled down on Tuesday, when in an appearance with Vice President Mick Pence, Graham said, “federalism versus socialism, you pick.” Then on Wednesday, a Pence aide told reporters the vice president was leaving a U.N. Security Council meeting on peacekeeper reforms “to speak with leader McConnell on continuing momentum behind Graham-Cassidy.”

Senate Will Vote On Amendment To Repeal War Authorization

September 13, 2017 Jason Ditz, www.news.antiwar.com Educate! Senate, Wars and Militarism

By Jason Ditz for Anti-War - Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)’s push for a vote on his amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) appears to have been successful, and his office issued a press release confirming that such a vote will take place after all. Previously, there were doubts, as the Senate leadership sought to severely limit discussion of amendments and just push the NDAA through. The amendment is short and simple. It would repeal the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) as well as the 2002 AUMF against Iraq. The two authorizations would sunset in six months, giving Congress a window in which to debate a replacement authorization. Limited debate on the amendment was held Tuesday evening, with expectations of further debate Wednesday morning. There is no formal time set for the vote, but it’s expected Wednesday in the late morning. Paul has advocated the repeal of the AUMF because it has been used by recent presidents as a blanket justification for new wars. Despite the 2001 AUMF not having anything to do with them, it is presently used as the legal cover for seven US military operations worldwide. The hope is that it will attract support not just from antiwar senators, but also from senators who have wanted a new AUMF that is directly applicable to current wars...

Disruption Of U.S. Senate Hearing Includes A 25-year Veteran Of FERC

September 11, 2017 Staff, www.fossilfreeri.org Resist! Disruption, FERC, Senate

By Staff of Fossil Free Rhode Island - Ted Glick, a New Jersey-based activist who was arrested at a similar hearing for Trump’s first two nominees to FERC, stood and repeatedly asked Congress to investigate FERC. The agency’s abuses of law and power have been exhaustively documented by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, which hosted a speak-out at the National Press Club last year. Ted Glick met earlier this year with Richard Glick (no relation), whose expertise is in renewable energy. Ted Glick said: “Based on my meeting with him and what I know about him, he will have no impact at FERC. He will be run over by Trump’s three appointees, and probably [Obama appointee] Cheryl LaFleur, too. FERC is a corrupt agency and it’s a waste of a good man. Indeed, in a recent 2-1 ruling, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found that FERC had not properly analyzed the climate impact of burning the methane that the Southeast Market Pipelines Project would deliver to power plants. Clarke Herbert, a retired school teacher from Alexandria, Virginia, disrupted the meeting and focused on the disruption to the lives of thousands of people due to construction of fracked gas infrastructure.

The Senate FERCed Us

August 5, 2017 Karen Feridun, www.huffingtonpost.com Resist! Congress, Senate

By Karen Feridun for The Huffington Post - Robert Powelson, the newly-confirmed member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, wasn’t clear who he was referring to when he said that citizens who fight pipeline projects are engaged in a “jihad” at an industry conference in March. He may have been referring to the Standing Rock Sioux and all the other water protectors who withstood attack dogs, water cannons in sub-freezing temperatures, and countless other assaults in North Dakota last year. Perhaps he was referring to the Sisters of Loretto who successfully fought off the Bluegrass pipeline in Kentucky. He might have meant the residents of Pennsylvania and New Jersey who have flooded the FERC docket for the proposed PennEast pipeline with detailed comments, many from experts who have weighed in on everything from vulnerable species to sinkholes. He could have been thinking of any of them and so many others. More likely, he was thinking of all of them. No matter. What Mr. Powelson calls a “jihad”, a term he uses as a pejorative which is concerning and revealing in its own right, is otherwise known as civic participation. That one of our two new FERC commissioners has so much disdain for it is disheartening.

FERC Quorum Restored In Night Vote After Protests

August 4, 2017 Staff, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Climate Change, FERC, Oil and Gas, Senate

By Staff for Popular Resistance. Washington, DC - On Thursday, August 3, climate protectors and New York residents occupied Senator Chuck Schumer's office to shut it down in protest of the upcoming senate vote to confirm Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) commissioners. The FERC has not had a quorum, and thus has not been able to issue permits, since the inauguration in January. Protesters stated that they would "not leave until he [Schumer] opposes Trump's nominations to #FERC and vows to fight the #DirtyEnergyBill, which if passed, would give FERC more power. FERC has been working as an arm of the oil and gas industry to rubber stamp unneeded and harmful fossil fuel infrastructure for decades. The #Senate must take steps to replace FERC with an agency dedicated to a just transition off fossil fuels."

350+ Groups Oppose Dirty Senate Energy Bill That Will Hasten Climate Chaos

July 12, 2017 Staff, www.nationofchange.org Resist! Climate Change, Congress, Energy, Legislation, Senate

By Staff of Food & Water Watch - As the Senate considers a broad energy policy package that would encourage increased fossil fuel extraction and consumption, more than 350 national, statewide and local groups sent a letter to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer today calling on him to lead opposition to the bill – S. 1460, the Energy and Natural Resources Act of 2017 – and ultimately prevent its passage. The letter, organized by the advocacy group Food & Water Watch, states in part: “No energy legislation is better than bad energy legislation that serves to increase our dependence on dirty fossil fuel production instead of building on successful policies to expand clean energy sources… We find it astounding that any energy bill could contain a ‘Renewables’ subtitle but not include provisions on solar and wind energy.” The letter is signed by notable national organizations including: Food & Water Watch, League of Women Voters, Our Revolution, CREDO, Working Families Party, Friends of the Earth and Center for Biological Diversity. “This energy bill is long-term commitment pledge between America and the fossil fuel industry, and it will hasten our reckless advance toward climate chaos,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch.

A Sit-In Almost Turned Into A Shit-In

June 29, 2017 For Kyle Harris, www.westword.com Resist! Health Care, Senate, Sit-In

For Kyle Harris for Westword - A sit-in almost turned into a shit-in when disability rights activists with ADAPT started needing to use the restroom — which had been shut down — after they had spent the night in Republican Senator Cory Gardner's Denver office, trying to force him to vote against a Republican healthcare proposal that the Congressional Budget Office says would leave 22 million uninsured by 2026. "We brought in a makeshift shitter," says activist and musician Kalyn Heffernan, the MC with Wheelchair Sports Camp, which won Best Hip-Hop Group at the 2017 Westword Music Awards on Tuesday, June 27, the same night she was occupying the senator's office. When the DIY toilet arrived, "I think that’s when they they decided to let us [into the restroom]," she says. "Once that came in, shit got real. We had so much coffee, someone was bound to shit." It's not like the activists were holding back their bodily functions. After they had been denied the restroom on Tuesday, several activists urinated in the senator's office in cups, bottles, a trash can, diapers and through catheters.

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