The Senate Can Improve Lives by Confirming Sohn to FCC

Janine Jackson

October 26 marked one year since President Joe Biden nominated Gigi Sohn to the Federal Communications Commission. Since then, as the group Free Press (10/26/22) notes, the FCC has remained deadlocked 2-to-2 on critical decisions about how phone, cable and broadcast companies conduct their deeply influential business, while those deep-pocketed companies fight tooth and nail to keep Sohn, an actual public interest advocate, out of the job of advocating for the public interest.

As Free Press action internet campaign director Heather Franklin says:

This senseless delay is harming millions of people, especially working families trying to pay their rising monthly bills and those in Black, Indigenous, Latinx and rural communities that the biggest phone and cable companies have long exploited and neglected....

The power to return the FCC to full strength rests with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. He has a chance to call this important vote as soon as Congress returns from the upcoming midterm elections. He should have the courage to take it. The Senate’s failure to act means big companies won’t hesitate to raise prices, charge unjust fees and discriminate with impunity, because they know this watchdog is toothless.

If the Senate genuinely wants to improve the lives of everyone who uses the internet or cellphones or TV or radio, confirming Gigi Sohn before the clock runs out would be a simple, meaningful step.

Featured image: Gigi Sohn (cc photo: Joel Sage).