Press Release
Rush Must Recuse Himself from Telecom Votes
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
WASHINGTON -- Free Press today called for Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) to abstain from voting on any bills that could benefit telecom giant AT&T -- following news reports of a serious conflict of interest.
According to a report in today's Chicago Sun-Times, the charitable arm of AT&T -- formerly known as SBC Communications -- donated $1 million to the Rebirth of Englewood Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit founded by Rush on which he and his wife sit on the board of directors.
"Rush must stay out of any votes that impact AT&T until investigators can get to the bottom of this apparent quid pro quo," said Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press, the national, nonpartisan media reform organization. "We need to know if the congressman is selling his vote to AT&T and whether other members of Congress are participating in this kind of chicanery."
Rush sits of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee and is a primary sponsor of the "Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act," a major rewrite of telecommunications law that would greatly benefit AT&T and other big telecom firms.
The bill -- which is scheduled for a committee mark-up and vote in the House tomorrow -- would, among other things, speed the entry of phone companies into the television market without guaranteeing universal "build-out" and fail to protect "network neutrality," the guiding principle that protects a free and open Internet.
"Our nation's telecommunications laws should benefit all of us, not just the companies that can afford to cut a million-dollar check," Silver said. "Unless this bill is changed to address the public's concerns, the COPE Act should be scrapped. Our Internet freedom is not for sale."
Read the Sun-Times story here.
To learn more about the broad, bipartisan effort to protect Internet freedom, visit SavetheInternet.com.
According to a report in today's Chicago Sun-Times, the charitable arm of AT&T -- formerly known as SBC Communications -- donated $1 million to the Rebirth of Englewood Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit founded by Rush on which he and his wife sit on the board of directors.
"Rush must stay out of any votes that impact AT&T until investigators can get to the bottom of this apparent quid pro quo," said Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press, the national, nonpartisan media reform organization. "We need to know if the congressman is selling his vote to AT&T and whether other members of Congress are participating in this kind of chicanery."
Rush sits of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee and is a primary sponsor of the "Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act," a major rewrite of telecommunications law that would greatly benefit AT&T and other big telecom firms.
The bill -- which is scheduled for a committee mark-up and vote in the House tomorrow -- would, among other things, speed the entry of phone companies into the television market without guaranteeing universal "build-out" and fail to protect "network neutrality," the guiding principle that protects a free and open Internet.
"Our nation's telecommunications laws should benefit all of us, not just the companies that can afford to cut a million-dollar check," Silver said. "Unless this bill is changed to address the public's concerns, the COPE Act should be scrapped. Our Internet freedom is not for sale."
Read the Sun-Times story here.
To learn more about the broad, bipartisan effort to protect Internet freedom, visit SavetheInternet.com.
