Editors’ Note: This is the first of many How They Voted columns, which will break down how New Jersey’s congressmen and women voted on important bills in the House and Senate, to help us all get a better sense of where they really stand on issues.
The Bill: HR 5252 (Communications, Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006)
Date Passed: June 8, 10:05 p.m.
About: The COPE Act (as HR 5252 is known) is a major overhaul of the Telecommunications Act passed in the 1990s. It fails to provide any protection for Net Neutrality, which is an effort to keep the playing field on the Internet equal. Essentially, telecommunications companies like Verizon, AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner want to be able to charge Web sites for the ability to load faster on consumers’ computers. This would kill much of what makes the Web a special and democratic place – the fact that a blog can become just as popular as a corporate-owned newspaper’s site. Obviously, the telecoms have been lobbying heavily, and it seems like in NJ, they did a good job.
They Voted For It:
Robert Andrews (D-1)
Frank LoBiondo (R-2)
Jim Saxton (R-3)
Christopher Smith (R-4)
E. Scott Garrett (R-5)
Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-6)
Michael Ferguson (R-7)
Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-8)
Steven Rothman (D-9)
Rodney Frelinghuysen (R - 11)
They Voted Against It:
Donald Payne (D-10)
Rush Holt (D-12)
Fortunately, the story on Net Neutrality doesn’t end in the House. Currently, the Senate is considering very similar legislation to HR 5252 (S 2686), which was introduced by the Alaskan Republican Ted Stevens. An amendment to Stevens’ bill was introduced by Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), but the "Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2006" (S. 2917) was rejected by The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee last week. Our own Frank Lautenberg is on that committee, and he voted for the Net Neutrality amendment, and then against the bill as a whole, since it did not include the Net Neutrality language.
The bill will be working its way into the Senate for a full debate, and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has threatened to place a hold on the legislation unless the Net Neutrality language is put back in the bill. Clearly, a fight is brewing here, and we know where Lautenberg stands.
But what of Menendez? His office declined to return repeated calls requesting a comment on his stance. He’s listed by Talking Points Memo as still on the fence. Contact his office (phone 202-224-4744) and urge him to support Net Neutrality. And while you’re at it, try to get his people to call us back.
You can also contact Lautenberg (phone 202-224-3224) and thank him for his support.
How They Voted is a regular City Belt feature breaking down how New Jersey’s congressmen and women voted on the bills we think are important.
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