The Senate Commerce Committee is starting mark-up on the telecommunications bill today. On the table is a so-called
"compromise" on net neutrality by Ted Stevens:
Sen. Ted. Stevens, R-AK, who authored the Senate telecom overhaul, recently amended his own bill to establish a way for consumers to complain about alleged violations of net neutrality. But Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-HI, the committee's ranking democrat said those changes "utterly fail to protect consumers and preserve an open Internet."
Word is that we are as close as one vote away from killing this having the Snowe/Dorgan amendment (S. 2917) prevail in committee. The committee vote is likely to be on Tuesday, giving us five days to convince our Senators to vote against the Stevens legislation, and support the Snowe/Dorgan amendment (S. 2917).
Calls coming from the home state carry more weight than others, but don't let that stop you from being heard. Here's the list of Senators on the Committee that are our focus as being persuadable on this. (You can also call toll free at 1-888-355-3588 to the Capitol switchboard, and they will transfer you to any Senate or House office.)
John McCain (AZ): (202) 224-2235; Fax: (202) 228-2862
Trent Lott (MS): (202) 224-6253; Fax: (202) 224-2262
Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX): 202-224-5922; 202-224-0776 (FAX)
Olympia J. Snowe (ME): (202) 224-5344; FAX (202) 224-1946
Gordon H. Smith (OR): 202.224.3753; Fax: 202.228.3997
George Allen (VA): (202) 224-4024; Fax: (202) 224-5432
Bill Nelson (FL): 202-224-5274; Fax: 202-228-2183
Maria Cantwell (WA): 202-224-3441; 202-228-0514 - FAX
Frank R. Lautenberg (NJ): (202) 224-3224; Fax: (202) 228-4054
E. Benjamin Nelson (NE): Tel: (202) 224-6551; Fax: (202) 228-0012
Mark Pryor (AR): (202) 224-2353; Fax: (202) 228-0908
Here is a list of the full committee membership, phone and fax numbers (thanks, FDL!). While the list above are the people supposedly on the bubble for us, it can't hurt for the entire committee to hear from us.
Update [2006-6-22 16:25:0 by mcjoan]: Note: I've updated the post to reflect that the bill as it currently stands contains the Stevens language that doesn't help us at all on net neutrality, and to focus on getting support for the Snowe/Dorgan amendment. When you call, focus on convincing your Senator to support Snowe/Dorgan.