Buckle up. The next two years in Congress will be … something.

Last week, the 118th Senate was sworn in with little drama, with Chuck Schumer continuing on as majority leader.

But we watched a prolonged spectacle complete with a near-brawl unfold through 15 contentious roll-call votes to elect the next speaker of the House — Rep. Kevin McCarthy.

So what does the potentially rocky environment in Congress mean for our priorities — especially with a Democratic-led Senate and Republican-led House? We wanted to peel back the curtain on a few developments — including a recent victory! — that give us reason for hope.

• Defying powerful opposition from telecom and broadcast companies like Comcast, the Biden administration renominated public-interest advocate Gigi Sohn to serve on the Federal Communications Commission. No other nominee in the FCC’s history has had to wait so long for a confirmation vote in the Senate. We’re ramping up our organizing efforts in a big way to say: Confirm Gigi Sohn without delay and ensure a fully functioning FCC can get to work on passing or strengthening crucial policies that would help people connect and communicate.
• According to a 2022 Ipsos poll, 84% of people in the United States are concerned about their data privacy — and the percentage is roughly the same across party lines.¹ In the 117th Congress, the American Data Privacy and Protection Act moved out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee with an overwhelmingly bipartisan 53–2 vote. While the tumultuous speaker vote last week may be a sign of the partisan gridlock to come, we’ll be working on Capitol Hill to sustain the bipartisan momentum behind this legislation.
• And in the good news department: In December, the House passed the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022, which President Biden officially signed into law last week.² For too long predatory prison-phone companies have charged astronomical rates for incarcerated individuals and their loved ones. This law will enable the FCC to cap the rates these companies can charge, allowing millions of people to stay connected.

And that’s just scratching the surface. We’ll have a lot more updates on how you can take action on these issues and many more in the weeks and months ahead — but right now, you can make a donation to Free Press Action to help provide the resources we’ll need to keep up the fight for your rights to connect and communicate in the new Congress.

Thank you for everything you do for our movement.

In solidarity,

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

P.S. Did you know that Free Press Action doesn’t take a single dollar from business, government or political parties? That means that generous donations from people like you make everything we do possible. Please consider donating today. Every gift matters as we take on Comcast and powerful telecom lobbyists.

1. “A Majority of Americans Are Concerned About the Safety and Privacy of Their Personal Data,” Ipsos, May 5, 2022

2. “Biden Signs a bill to Fight Expensive Prison Phone Call Costs,” NPR, Jan. 1, 2023