Washington, D.C. - A new letter released today and signed by 37 Members of Congress expresses opposition to the proposed T-Mobile/Sprint merger, calling it “a bad deal for the American people.” The letter, spearheaded by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), includes signatures from House Democratic colleagues representing a range of districts, with members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the New Democrat Coalition and the Blue Dog Coalition among those joining the call to reject the merger.
The House letter, sent to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai and Department of Justice (DoJ) Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division Makan Delrahim, comes as a growing number of federal and state policymakers are expressing concern and opposition to the merger. For example, in February, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and eight Senate colleagues released a letter to expressing “staunch opposition” to the proposed merger and calling on the FCC and DoJ to reject.
The new House letter, available in full online here, notes:
“The proposed merger will kill American jobs and drive down workers’ salaries. It will drive up prices for those who can least afford it and fails to cover millions of rural Americans already struggling for affordable access to high-speed networks. Both companies have the capacity and indeed intend to build 5G networks absent a merger. The sole reason for this merger between T-Mobile and Sprint appears to be helping a handful of individuals get significantly wealthier. We urge you to reject the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint and put the American people ahead of corporate profits.”
According to CWA Research and Telecommunications Policy Director Debbie Goldman, “The more Members of Congress learn about the proposed T-Mobile/Sprint merger, the less they seem to support it. The merger would kill jobs, harm consumers, and fail to deliver on rural promises. We thank Rep. Tlaib and the other signers of the new House letter - representing districts from Staten Island to Youngstown to San Diego - for recognizing that their constituents would be harmed by the proposed merger and for speaking out in opposition.”
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