Extra Contacting Congress Update

There’s something about the government silencing/cancelling anyone who speaks against the administration that just makes me want to speak against the administration. Anybody else? This post was originally going to be a deep dive into copyright law, then shifted into a discussion of the Living Wage for Musicians Act (check it out here), ​but the government is being so naughty right now that it ultimately just became an extra contacting congress update. They just make it impossible for me to talk (or think) about anything else! So much has happened since the last post, and things are getting very dangerous, very fast. In this one, my hope is to try and tackle the monsoon of new legislation, executive actions, and crises to make things a bit less scattered.

The issues I’ll focus on for this month are: 1. The continued illegal blockade of Gaza - there have been some heartening updates on this front, and it seems that tides are starting to shift. However, those with the power to actually help the families currently starving to death are steadfast in their commitment to genocide. Pressure is mounting, but this is the time to dig in, not get distracted. 2. The recent attempts by the U. S. government to strip rights away from its people. The most alarming of these attempts has been with the “Department of State Policy Provisions Act” which included a provision to give the Secretary of State the power to revoke and deny passports and take action against citizens without due process or a criminal conviction. 3. The last issue is music related (at least partially), and is actually a part of a larger political push that I urge you to be a part of: Reform for Section 1201 of the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) Yay! We get to talk about copyright after all!

​I’ll include a more detailed discussion of these issues down in the “What To Say” prompt section. Before that, here’s the usual guide for finding your representatives.
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Contacting Members of the House:

You can find who your representative is through this link: 
(https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative). Simply click the link and type in your ZIP code, you’ll then be prompted to put in your address if there are multiple representatives associated with your ZIP.
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Once you’ve found their name, you can find their number on the list linked here:
​(https://www.house.gov/representatives)
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Contacting Senators:

You can find your senators and their contact information through this link: (www.senate.gov/states/statesmap.htm). Click on your state on the map and their number should be right under their portrait. You can also find other useful info about them here as well. For example, I’ve been including the little “Hometown” fact as an extra way to make things more personal.

What To Say:

​There is a high likelihood that you won’t end up having anyone answer when you call. In calling more than once per week since my first post on this (February 21st of 2025), I’ve received a grand total of 8 responses while calling. Now that I’ve moved to NY, I’ll have a chance to get to know some new staffers! When leaving a message inevitably happens, you will be prompted with exactly what they want you to include. This will usually be: Your name, contact information, and your ZIP code. It is better to include your full street address to ensure that your call is tallied. The most important of these is your ZIP code.

After stating the above info, list off just a couple pressing concerns. If it’s easier to focus on a single issue per call, that can sometimes be more effective. I’ve included an updated version of an example prompt in the above image but I’ll detail it below:

“My name is [insert name, email/number, ZIP code]. I’m calling to express my concern over recent policy proposals and executive actions. 1. I urge [insert congress members name] to vote “yes” on the resolution “Calling for the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to address the needs of civilians in Gaza”. Children are starving. The blockade must end. 2. vote “no” on the “Department of State Policy Provisions Act”. This bill is a thinly veiled attempt at suppressing free speech. 3. Support legislation that reforms Section 1201 of the DMCA. Consumers should not be forced to rely on manufacturers for repairs.”

It can really be that short! It’s nice to include something personal in the message: if you voted for them, what your occupation is, how these policies impact you and the people you love, are all great ways of doing that. The goal is to just let these representatives know that these are issues you care about and will vote for. It made you get up and call didn’t it?
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Additional Information:

Image Source: ​https://www.politico.eu

1. About the Senate Resolution: The borders to Gaza have been blocked since March 2nd of 2025. This means that very little food, medicine, or any other humanitarian supplies have been permitted to enter the area. Children are starving to death. This brings the situation no closer to peace, no closer to the release of any hostages–in fact those held hostage are also suffering from the same lack of supplies. U. S. action on this issue has been fully complicit in the ongoing genocide. You can read the full Senate Resolution here.

The fact that the United States is currently supporting the continuation of this atrocity is disgusting. Legislation takes time that many people on the ground do not have. If you’d like to support people on the ground, the PCRF (Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund) is a great organization to do that with. Consider making a donation here. If your budget is tight, I understand, please let your call in support of this resolution be your way of contributing.

This is all information shared in the last update, but there have been some heartening updates on this front, and it seems that tides are starting to shift. This particular story brought a smile to my face: The dockworkers of Genova, Italy (my home city), have decided to stand in solidarity with Palestine.

Genova (or Genoa) is one of the largest ports in Europe. A dockworker representing their union called for solidarity with the ongoing “freedom flotilla” to bring aid by boat to the people of Gaza and bring attention to the crisis. “Around mid-September, these boats will arrive near the coast of Gaza. If we lose contact with our boats, with our comrades, even for just 20 minutes, we will shut down all of Europe,” (www.politico.eu) a little bit of hopeful solidarity in this terrible situation.
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2. About the “Department of State Policy Provisions Act”: This bill is being proposed to suppress people’s ability to freely criticize the administration without fear of retribution. You can read the full language of the bill here.

On September 11th, a bill titled “Department of State Policy Provisions Act” was introduced in the House. “Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, added a provision to H.R. 5300, the State Department reauthorization bill, that seeks to silence and punish political dissent. While this bill as a whole is a larger bipartisan package of policy updates for the State Department, Section 226 will give new power to the department to revoke passports from U.S. citizens based on vague designations of “support” for terrorist organizations.” The bill goes on to target individuals and non-profit organizations with dangerously broad language. “The provision expands current law by allowing the Secretary of State to take action against citizens without due process or a criminal conviction. The language is similar to that of the so-called “nonprofit killer” bill that House Republicans tried to include in the One Big Beautiful Bill; it gave the Treasury Secretary unilateral control to revoke the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit it deemed a ‘terrorist supporting organization.’” (5calls.org) This “terrorist” designation is conveniently broad, and we’ve seen it used to justify the illegal arrests of students and peaceful protesters. Anyone can be made a “terrorist” with the right language, including you.

This added provision which would give the Secretary of State the power to essentially persecute anyone and revoke their passports has since been pulled. Phew. However, the bill as a whole is still harmful and in support of Trump’s agenda for consolidating power. They retreated in one aspect this time, but you can count on them trying again in the future. Anytime you see one of their legislative pushes fail, feel free to celebrate, but also know that they will try again as soon as the next distraction appears. Them pulling one alarming aspect of a bill may serve as a smokescreen to hide other harmful provisions in it. We must stay vigilant.
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3. About Section 1201 of the DMCA: This section "prevents the circumvention of digital locks for the purposes of repair, maintenance, and cybersecurity research. It also prevents tinkerers and innovators from developing and distributing comprehensive third-party repair tools to inject competition into the market and give device-owners more repair options"
(actionnetwork.org). Many people don't realize that violating this is actually punishable with prison time. For example, if I buy a car which has CarPlay locked behind a subscription fee, and I find a way to edit the code that prevents me from using CarPlay for free, I could go to prison for 3-5 years. 3-5 years in prison for repairing my car. Wild.

So how does this all relate to music? Well, in case you aren't aware, Spotify uses this particular section of the DMCA to protect its ability to force your free version of Spotify to be permanently shuffled and play ads every few songs with a limited number of skips. Some people utilize a tool called "Revanced" which can allow a user to access publicly-sourced fixes to apps on their android device. These fixes can allow them to simply bypass the code that imposes these limits and locks on their app.

At face-value, you might argue that these limits are the only way they can make Spotify somewhat feasible from a financial perspective... Those limits are the main way that Spotify can convince people to pay them a monthly subscription. In that case I ask you, why MUST this platform be feasible? So that artists can continue to have their art stolen from them? So that they can continue to see the revenue they generate passed off to larger labels which have nothing to do with their listenership? So that people who pay $12 a month can continue to not actually own anything that they pay for? Who is actually benefitting from the current setup? You have to remember that Spotify could take away everything you have supposedly paid for over the past 6 years. All that music you organized into custom playlists, the music you found from that underground and underfinanced artist you love, it all could be gone on a whim. You don't own anything. They own everything.

The way I see it, Spotify only exists because it’s taking advantage of lapses in legislative policy. Lapses that are now falling to unions to fight to change. The system we have does not work, and if you really think about it, it shouldn't work. We should pay for music, and we should own what we pay for. That money should go directly to the people who make it. We don't need a parasite in the middle of that interaction to gatekeep who gets to make art and who gets to listen. I support reforming section 1201 of the DMCA so that we can get to true ownership. Of course there should be protections in place for copyright holders, artists are copyright holders. However, right now these protections are being used to safeguard corporate greed and take away consumer rights. We need a better system for music distribution, and I believe this is a step toward accomplishing that.

Why Call?

One of the most important aspects of this process is consistency. Calling once helps, but if you can do it regularly, these calls will start to pile up and make a difference. If you can pick an easily achievable regular goal amount of calls, you’ll be more likely to do it. I personally have set a goal to call representatives at a minimum of once per week. I can absolutely do more than that, but even if I get busy, I must at least do it once per week. Feel free to join me on that goal! In support of it, I’ll be including regular updates on policies and the written prompt I’ll be using in the calls. Stay tuned for those! If everyone reading were to make a plan to call, no matter how frequently, this could really start to make a difference. Calling is better than not calling, so pick whatever frequency works for you.

​Things are scary, and it’s easy to tune it all out and feel helpless. This is one small way to take back control. The folks in congress and in the white house work for us, it’s time we reminded them that. In the meantime - between the calls - thank you for reading, and happy jamming!