A new year is here, and with it, our last and best chance to push for the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (HR 3101)'s passage. Representatives will not be back at work until January 12, but the staff is already back in their offices. Now is the time to contact the Congress staff to ask that their bosses, the Representatives, cosponsor HR 3101.
Operation Get a Republican
One of our greatest needs at the moment, is to get Republican support for HR 3101. Last year, none of the Representatives who cosponsored the previous version of the bill were Republican, and that may have contributed to the bill's failure. Caption Action 2 has been in contact with many Republicans' offices, and we are hopeful that soon, we may have our first Republican cosponsor.
Several staff in Republicans' offices have told Caption Action 2 that they will review the bill and bring it up to the Representatives for consideration. These Republican Representatives' offices have said they will review the bill:
Representative Boehner, John (Ohio) - Note: Boehner leads Republicans in Congress. If we could get Boehner's support, that will really pave the way! Check http://johnboehner.house.gov/District/ to see if you live in his Ohio District.
Representative Broun, Paul (Georgia)
Representative Cole, Tom (Oklahoma) - Note: Cole is the only Native American in Congress.
Representative Davis, Geoff (Kentucky)
Representative Jenkins, Lynn (Kansas)
Representative Posey, Bill (Florida)
Representative Rogers, Mike (Michigan)
Representative Shaddegg, John (Arizona)
Representative Smith, Lamar (Texas)
Representative Tiahrt, Todd (Kansas)
Representative Westmoreland, Lynn (Georgia)
Representative Wilson, Joe (South Carolina)
Representative Wittman, Robert (Virginia)
If any of these are your Representatives, please contact them! Check the updated Congress Staff spreadsheet on the blogroll to the right; we have added DC phone numbers. If other people besides Caption Action 2 contact them, it will improve the chances of their becoming cosponsors!
Just getting the offices to say in writing that they will review the bill is an accomplishment. At least 10,000 bills are introduced in each Congress! THAT's the kind of competition for attention that we face.
Time is Short!
Caption Action 2 has been told by at least one staffer that it could be at least a few weeks before we hear anything from them. That means we may not see new cosponsors until February! We have less than a year, maybe eight months, to get this bill passed in both the House and the Senate. The eight month estimate was arrived at by subtracting holidays, weekends, and Congressional break periods. Add to that the fact that this is an election year for Congress, and we could be dealing with some very distracted Representatives.
Caption Action 2 January Newsletter
Some of the information here has been taken from the January Caption Action 2 newsletter. Read the full newsletter here: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/posts/363952
Join Caption Action 2!
Join Caption Action 2 on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/groups/captionaction2!
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