Friend,

Congress’ holiday recess is just a few weeks away — and if the Senate doesn’t confirm BOTH of President Biden’s nominees to the Federal Communications Commission before then, the FCC will either default to a Republican majority or we’ll still be stuck in a 2–2 deadlock in January.

Our ability to reinstate the agency’s authority to regulate broadband under Title II, restore Net Neutrality, dismantle the digital divide and generate the first-ever accounting of how media policy has perpetuated white supremacy hangs in the balance.

But so much more is at stake: Pushing the FCC to address the injustices of the U.S. media system could help generate truly impactful new policies that would deal a serious blow to systemic racism. But only a fully functioning FCC can engage in this kind of work.

Please donate now in this critical moment — when your gift could help us move mountains (I mean, Congress).

Thanks for all that you do,

Heather

Friend — If you’re anything like me, there’s nothing like a nomination hearing in Congress to get you leaping out of bed in the morning, excited and ready to go.

OK, maybe you’re not that much like me. But getting Biden’s FCC nominees confirmed — quickly — is one of the most critical tasks of the year for us at Free Press Action.

Since Joe Biden was sworn in as president, we have had more political will in Washington, D.C., than at any other time to achieve major things in our fight for justice — from ensuring everyone can access high-speed internet to pushing for a full accounting of the role white supremacy has played in our country’s media policies.

The one problem? If you’re looking to make bold policy at the FCC — which Free Press Action is — it’s hard to do much more than twiddle your thumbs without a full deck of confirmed commissioners!

Unfortunately, nothing happens in Congress quickly — and you can never count on it getting done right. Please consider making an urgent gift today to help provide us with the resources we need on the ground right now to move these nominations forward.

The pandemic has produced heartbreaking stories of children trying to do their homework on borrowed Wi-Fi from fast-food restaurant parking lots and people being evicted from their homes because they didn’t have the internet needed to access their eviction hearings on Zoom. For millions of people, it’s become impossible to ignore the systemic injustices that so many low-income and Black and Brown people in our country face. And more people now understand that having a reliable high-speed internet connection at home can be literally lifesaving.

We at Free Press Action are so busy — from coordinating strategies with dozens of groups to working with lawmakers on Capitol Hill in advance of upcoming hearings — that we almost didn’t have a moment to write this email.

That’s how much we need your help to ensure we have the resources to make sure Congress gets this job done — and that it does it right.

Thank you for everything you do for our movement.

In solidarity,

Heather and the rest of the Free Press Action team
freepress.net

P.S. There are plenty of hardworking, serious legislators in Congress. And we’re working in coordination with many of them to move Biden’s FCC nominations forward. But even with so many good intentions in Congress, there are more roadblocks than I care to count. We need your help to get these nominations through and finally have a fully functioning FCC again. Please donate now to help provide the resources we need to get this job done right — and fast, before Congress goes on its holiday recess.