THURSDAY: Small business owners hold telephone press conference as Congressional resolution to restore net neutrality gains momentum in House

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 14, 2018
Contact: Josh Tabish, 778-990-1218, press@fightforthefuture.org

Thousands of small businesses from all 50 states are calling on lawmakers to sign discharge petition as part of online day of action this week

WHAT:
Signers of the BusinessesForNetNeutrality.com open letter will hold a telepresser showcasing business owners from key districts across the country who will sound the alarm about the devastating impacts the FCC’s net neutrality repeal will have on Main Street, and why Congress must act to restore strong protections. The telepresser comes as part of a ‘Businesses for Net Neutrality Day of Action’ where over 7000 companies will come together to raise small business voices in the fight to restore net neutrality.

WHEN:
Thursday, August 16th at 1:00 PM EDT.

DIAL-IN:
To register: Contact Josh Tabish, Technology Fellow at Fight for the Future <jtabish@fightforthefuture.org>

WHO: Small Business Owners in Districts of Key GOP House Representatives:

* John Minor, Policy Manager at the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC).
* Jennie Stewart, Founder of CustomMousePads.com in Anchorage, AK. (Rep Young, AK-0)
* Bret Pritchett, Owner of GAVX Inc. in Chicago, IL. (Rep Roskam, IL-6)
* Raul Martynek, CEO of MAAS Telecom Corp in Gardner, NY. (Rep Faso, NY-19)
* Matt Friedman, owner of SMB Logic in Kansas City, KS. (Rep. Yoder, KS-3)
* Kate Brodock, CEO of Women 2.0 in Syracuse, NY. (Rep Katko, NY-24).

BACKGROUND:
Since the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) voted to repeal net neutrality in December of 2017, over 7,000 businesses across the country have been pressuring Congress to pass the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to reverse the FCC’s repeal by signing an open letter hosted at BusinessesForNetNeutrality.com.

If passed, the CRA would restore strong net neutrality rules to prevent Internet service providers from blocking and throttling sites and apps, or charging companies new fees to reach customers online. Without net neutrality protections, Internet service providers can charge small businesses exorbitant new fees for privileged “fast lane” access to customers online. This amounts to a new tax on businesses across the country, and would significantly undermine the Internet as a level playing field for commerce.

In May the Senate passed the CRA in a historic bipartisan vote of 52-47, including support from GOP Senators Murkowski (AK), Collins (ME) and Kennedy (LA). Its companion in the House currently has 177 signers including GOP Rep Mike Coffman (CO-6). The CRA is the only measure that can restore meaningful net neutrality rules during this Congress. A new poll conducted by IMGE Insights shows that net neutrality will influence a majority of voters in the upcoming election cycle.

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