Well folks did you catch the big hearing today?
If you did you basically saw a bunch of lawmakers reading off of notes. But the witnesses did pretty good. This Ted Mermin guy, in particular, knocked it out of the park. (Go Bears.)
Feel free to enjoy the hearing here:
Here are the witness’s statements:
Witness Testimony_Beales_CPC_2021.04.27
Witness Testimony_Mermin_CPC_2021.04.27
Witness Testimony_Laitin_CPC_2021.04.27
Witness Testimony_Slaughter_CPC_2021.04.27
Separately, the Senate has suggested that it will also have a bill soon. The Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. has said the Senate is working on a bill.
Some House Republicans also seem to be signaling support for giving the FTC the power to pursue restitution, with subcommittee ranking member Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., noting in a statement: “I am hopeful that we can work together to develop a bipartisan fix.”
We’ll keep an eye on this.
Are we seeing what would happen if the TCPA were squashed for violating free speech rights? There would be a replacement legislation within weeks. The TCPA may change in name only.