Members of Congress Condemn FCC Vote to Kill Net Neutrality
Washington, DC – December 14, 2017 – U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA-14), the Ranking Member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, joined a number of other Members of Congress in condemning the Federal Communications Commission's vote today to kill the Open Internet Order, which guarantees Net Neutrality.
Representatives Anna Eshoo (D-CA-18), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01), Ro Khanna (D-CA-17), Richard M. Nolan (D-MN-08), Paul Tonko (D-NY-20), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9), Jerry McNerney (D-CA-09), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY-12), Betty McCollum (D-MN-04), and Peter Welch (D-VT-AL) joined Congressman Doyle in condemning the FCC's action and announcing their intention to introduce legislation to overturn the "Restoring Internet Freedom" order the Commission adopted with that vote. Companion legislation will be introduced in the Senate by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA).
"The Open Internet Order has been effective at preserving a level playing field where consumers have access to the content and services they want – and online businesses are able to compete on the basis of cost and quality of their product rather than how much they can pay Internet Service Providers to block or throttle their competition," Congressman Doyle said in response to the FCC vote. "I've tried repeatedly to convince Chairman Pai to abandon his plans to dismantle the Open Internet Order – most recently by organizing a letter from 118 Members of Congress urging him not to take this vote today – and now that the FCC has voted to kill Net Neutrality and give ISPs a green light to control access to the Internet, I will introduce legislation under the Congressional Review Act to overturn today's order and restore Net Neutrality."
"It's clear that the Chairman's idea to destroy the free and open Internet has been rejected in the court of public opinion, with tens of millions of Americans weighing in," Representative Eshoo said. "As representatives of those millions, it is our responsibility to fight this march to folly. I'm proud to join my fellow Members of Congress on this CRA as we continue this new battle in the ongoing fight for net neutrality."
"Protecting net neutrality creates a level playing field for consumers, innovators, and small businesses," Representative Bonamici observed. "Rolling back Title II protections will be detrimental to the free flow of information that underpins our democracy. The FCC has failed the American people and Congress must step up to keep the internet fair and open."
"With this vote today, the FCC has taken away our free and open internet," Representative Khanna said. "I refuse to let the founding principles of the internet die, not on our watch. I am supporting a Congressional Review Act Resolution from Rep. Doyle to overturn this vote and put net neutrality back in place. I encourage everyone to call their representatives and ask them to support as well. The free and open internet has been an engine of innovation and creativity for decades. We need to make sure that it stays that way for the future."
"Today, the FCC chose to repeal net neutrality – handing huge corporations the power to block consumers from certain websites and slow down their internet speeds," Representative Nolan said."It's grossly unfair to consumers and small businesses, and we're going to fight to reinstate net neutrality protections every step of the way."
"The entire Net Neutrality repeal process has been a disaster and it must be reversed," Representative Tonko said. "Instead of working to strengthen consumer protections and serve the American people, FCC's current leadership voted to downsize their rights, jeopardize the future of the open Internet, and hand a huge win to giant corporations. Even the public comment process for this decision was corrupted with thousands of fraudulent comments submitted using stolen identities and information. Several of my own constituents' deceased family members' identities were used in advancing this charade. The FCC's decision to repeal Net Neutrality under these conditions was illegitimate and Congress has a responsibility to protect the American people, reverse the Net Neutrality repeal and demand the truth from the FCC about troubling abuses that were committed during their rule-making process."
"Ending net neutrality undermines the free and open Internet. Today's FCC decision is yet another example of how Republicans are padding the pockets of big corporations at the expense of consumers and small businesses," Representative McCollum said. "Congress should now overturn this new rule, preserve net neutrality, and save the internet. I am proud to co-sponsor Representative Doyle's legislation to do just that."
"Repealing Net Neutrality is the opposite of President Trump's promise to drain the swamp," said Congresswoman Kaptur. "Instead, the Trump Administration is taking America backward on key consumer protections and safeguards against corporate overreach. I have heard from citizens across Northern Ohio who have made their voices clear. They support Net Neutrality, and they support an internet that is open and free from overt meddling by big corporations to juice their profits. Congress must protect Net Neutrality."
"A free and open internet safeguards free speech, puts consumers first, and protects small businesses and innovators," Representative Maloney said. "But today, the FCC voted to repeal the net neutrality rules that protect the free and open internet we know today. I'm proud to join my colleagues in this effort to roll back the FCC's harmful decision and am pleased to support Rep. Doyle's bill to keep our Net Neutrality protections in place."
"Today's decision by the Commission sets us on a dangerous path backwards," said Congressman McNerney. "Net neutrality protections are essential for ensuring that the internet serves as a forum for the free flow of information and a gateway for economic opportunity. I'm proud to join Congressman Doyle to push to reverse this drastic action."
"Today's decision to gut net neutrality is a disaster for consumers and an early Christmas present to big broadband companies who can now pick and choose who gets access to the internet and at what speed," Representative Welch said. "I am proud to cosponsor this legislation which will reverse this horrible decision so that the internet remains open and accessible to all Americans."
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