TAKE ACTION THIS WEEK TO SAVE ACCESS TV!
NEW ANTI- ACCESS LEGISLATION GETS FAST TRACKED BY NOV. 15TH!

There is New Anti-Access Legislation in Washington to be discussed this week Wednesday, Nov. 9th, WITHOUT input from the Access Community!

On Wednesday 11/9/05 the House Commerce Subcommittee will meet to discuss legislation that could seriously impact Public, Educational, and Governmental (PEG) Access TV - including Manhattan Neighborhood Network and the nation’s other access stations.

This new legislation is known as the "BITS Bill" or the "Commerce Committee Staff Draft". The Subcommittee will finalize their draft of the “BITS Bill” and move it out by the week of November 15th.  This draft will not represent the interest of the PEG Access TV Community. We must Act Now! We must ensure that the BITS Bill protects the future of PEG Access TV!

The Alliance for Community Media (ACM) - which Represents PEG Access TV in Washington - says that although they met with the Commerce Committee during the drafting of this Bill - NONE OF THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE DRAFT and THE ACM HAS NOT BEEN INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN FURTHER DISCUSSIONS!

WE NEED YOU TO ACT IMMEDIATELY!  EMAIL OR CALL THE COMMERCE COMMITTEE NOW!

Call or Email House Commerce Committee Members tonight Monday Nov. 7th, Tuesday Nov. 8th, or Wednesday Nov. 9th.  At the bottom of this email is a list of House Commerce Committee members from New York.  

Tell Commerce Committee Members:
1) The public interest must be strongly represented at all hearings and in all legislation.
2) The Alliance for Community Media and municipal organizations represent the needs of tens of thousands of communities and millions of voters and should have input into this legislation.

Sample Email:
Here is a sample email to send to the Commerce Committee members
(you can just copy & paste the following message):

Dear House Commerce Committee Member,

I wish to express my opposition to the “BITS” Bill now being discussed by the House Commerce Subcommittee. This Bill does not protect the public interest. It will strip local communities of the ability to operate local franchises and to control their own ‘rights of way’. And it will seriously impact the operation of public, educational, and governmental TV in my community. I strongly urge you to protect the public interest, and to include input from the Alliance for Community Media in the writing of any legislation related to the introduction of broadband services in my community.

Regards,
Your Name

Please Send Your Comments to the following 3 House Commerce Committee Members from New York:

1) Eliot L. Engel, New York

http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/members/Engel.htm  

2) Vito Fossella, New York

http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/members/Fossella.htm

3) Edolphus Towns, New York

http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/members/Towns.htm

You can also call the Commerce Committee at (202) 225-2927.

If your organization is outside of New York, you can click onto the following link to get contact information for the members of your region or state’s Commerce Committee:
http://www.alliancecm.org/index.php?page_id=37