Days before the Federal Communication Commission votes on new rules designed to protect internet access, a House hearing served as a reminder of just how rare the expected victory for Net Neutrality supporters is in a town beholden to the interests of deep-pocketed industry lobbyists.
It’s actually what happened before Tuesday’s House Energy and Commerce hearing on internet regulations that highlighted the significance of the grassroots movement’s likely coming achievement.
Video provided to The Sentinel by Demand Progress, a public interest organization calling for strong Net Neutrality rules, showed what’s fairly commonplace around Capitol Hill: a long line stretching down the hall outside the committee’s enclave on the second floor of the Rayburn House office building.
Though not everyone in line was planning to attend the hearing.
“What was noticeable today was that the first 20 or so spots were all reserved by telecom lobbyists,” said Nathan White, who captured the video, which shows individuals lined up against the wall, with signs at their shoes depicting the names of various DC influencers, lobbying firms, and industries including AT&T. It’s similar to a line of chauffeurs waiting outside the airport’s gates.
“They were all – literally- paying to have a place in the room,” White, a former Congressional aide to ex-Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), said.
In the video, a man in a suit and a woman in a long coat with what looks like a Louis Vuitton bag approach another man in sneakers and slacks standing in line. After the two identify themselves, a woman can be heard saying, “Appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Have a great day,” as the third man gathers his belongings and gives up his spot toward the front of the line.
In “This Town” you can get paid to stand in line for lobbyists before Congressional hearings, and it happens frequently. As the Sunlight Foundation has previously reported, companies like LineStanding.com offer line-holders for between $10 and $35 an hour, which is how elbow-twisters from K Street manage to secure front row seats at jam-packed hearings without having to stand for hours next to the riff-raff–regular people, like interested citizens, independent journalist, and activists who also want to claim a seat.
“Immediately after the people who paid to be in the room, were the activists on Team Internet who spend the time and effort to show up and insist on getting into the room,” White noted, summing up what’s been a constant uphill battle for Net Neutrality activists who, over the last decade, have been outspent by opponents of the policy by a near 3-to-1 margin, according to the Sunlight Foundation.
Despite the spending disadvantage and the lack of access compared to K Street influencers, “Team Internet” has done a remarkable job illuminating the importance of the issue to the American public, which has in turn pressured institutions in Washington, DC to act.
On Thursday, the FCC is expected to pass a proposal put forward by Chairman Tom Wheeler, which includes reclassification of the internet under Title II of the Communications Act. The reform didn’t seem possible just a few years ago, but became a reality only after years of prodding that eventually forced the chairman to take this stronger position. For years, he had endorsed weaker policy approaches toward protecting equal access to the net.
Wheeler’s proposal will give the commission more authority to protect the internet from service providers who see a benefit in carving up the web, adding tolls and constructing fast lanes that harm consumers and start-ups – a near total victory for Net Neutrality proponents.
“It’s fairly symbolic of the way this fight has played out over the last year,” White said of contracted line standing outside Wednesday’s hearing.
“The telecom lobbyists pay to get to the front of the line, but then they’re shocked when the people still manage to get in and make their voice heard.”
