Crowdsleuth: Help Unmask the Mystery Senators Blocking Community Radio!
After passing the House of Representatives almost a year ago, the Local Community Radio Act is stuck in the Senate, stalled by several anonymous holds placed by senators. If we can identify these senators and address their concerns before the end of the year, we will win! But with only weeks to go, we need everyone’s help in revealing these mystery senators.
We have always known that if the Local Community Radio Act (S592) came to a vote, it would overwhelmingly pass. After all, community radio benefits everyone, from emergency responders to church youth ministries to independent musicians. But in the U.S. Senate, a governing body so dysfunctional that legislative business literally happens in the cloakroom, most bills never make it to a vote. Instead most pass via unanimous consent, a process in which any senator can secretly place a hold on a bill (yes, in the cloakroom), blocking good ideas without any public accountability.
That’s where we come in.
With your help, we can lift the cloak of secrecy and pass the Local Community Radio Act. Not a single member of the House opposed this bill, and all but a few Senators are ready to let this bill pass. Help us find those senators and convince them!
Despite the dysfunction of the Senate, we’ve had some amazing victories lately. We successfully persuaded several senators to remove their holds, including Senators Demint (SC), Enzi (WY), Coburn (OK), and most recently, Senator Barrasso (WY). These senators all listened to community radio supporters like you and reversed their positions. This is huge!
Unfortunately, late last week, a few more mystery senators put new holds on the bill. Although we don’t know who they are, we do know that they are hearing from the lobbyists and members of National Association of Broadcasters, an organization whose business model relies on keeping radio boring, commercial, and noncompetitive.
We also know that they need to hear from us. Without a strong call from those who support community radio, a few senators could kill the bill. Even supportive senators could fail to prioritize getting this passed in the remaining weeks of the Congressional session, which is why all of our leaders need to hear from us.
The good news is the pressure is building. Last week, the Christian Coalition and Free Press published a joint opinion piece supporting the bill. An article and later a bipartisan ad ran in Politico. Reason Magazine made a libertarian case for community radio, calling the bill a mild deregulatory measure that small-government supporters should endorse.
And last week, organizations as diverse as MoveOn, the Christian Coalition, Color of Change, the Catholic Radio Association, and Free Press asked hundreds of thousands of people to call on their Senators.
So why our own humble call to action? As you might have noticed, the Prometheus Radio Project doesn’t look much like other organizations that try to pass legislation. We don’t have millions of dollars or full-time lobbyists or campaign contributions or television ads. As a grassroots organization, we rely on people power to make our voices heard. So while bigger organizations can use DC insiders to gather information, we’re crowdsourcing our intel.
Take five minutes and be a senatorial sleuth by calling your senator!
After ten years, we are closer to expanding community radio than ever before. And with just weeks to go in this Congressional session, the time is now.
