BRUSH FIRE ALERT 04/07/2014

Call Members of Judiciary Committee Today...
 
Urge Congress to Investigate the
Comcast-Time Warner Mega-Merger

 

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider the merits of a proposed mega-merger between telecommunication giants Comcast Cable and Time Warner.

The proposed $45.2 billion merger of the largest and second largest cable providers in the U.S. should raise significant public policy concerns even without the eyebrow-raising relationship between corporate executives at the two companies and the Obama administration.

Indeed, if the proposed merger of the two cable giants is approved by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a third of the nation’s cable subscribers and 40 percent of the country’s high-speed Internet customers will come under the control of this new mega-cable conglomerate.

So there’s a lot at stake.

Of specific concern, Comcast’s lobbying budget has skyrocketed to nearly $20 million, with an additional $8 million for Time Warner – and that doesn’t even count the millions both companies and their employees have donated to President Obama and congressional Democrats.

The Obama administration has a history of showing favoritism to companies that have been political supporters – from Chrysler to Chevrolet; from Solyndra to United Health Group.  Yet when AT&T sought a merger with T-Mobile – companies that leaned Republican – Obama’s Justice Department stepped in and rejected the application.

So there’s plenty of reason for a full and comprehensive review of the Comcast-Time Warner merger, as well as a review of the entire merger application process under this heavily politicized Justice Department.

Please contact Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee today and urge them to support a full and thorough congressional investigation of the proposed cable mega-merger that is based on an objective analysis of its merits rather than political connections, campaign donations and million dollar lobbyists.

We are not asking committee Members to oppose the merger; only to pursue appropriate congressional scrutiny and oversight.  The following committee Members are believed to be the most likely to ask the hard questions and raise these issues…

Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona
Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah

Please call the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to the offices of these Senators.  Your call can  and should be short and sweet…

“My name is (insert) from (insert state) and I’m calling to urge Senator (insert) to support full congressional hearings on the Comcast – Time Warner merger.”

And if you’d like to contact your own two U.S. senators, as well, so much the better.

Thank you for getting involved and making your voice heard in important policy matters such as this.


Chuck Muth
President
Citizen Outreach

Brushfire Alerts are a project of Citizen Outreach, a 501(c)(4) grassroots advocacy organization.