WASHINGTON, DC - Reiterating longstanding concerns about a controversial plan to impose new government rules for the Internet, Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) today urged the president to pull back the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules. Two weeks after the president made a commitment before the joint session of Congress to cut down on government regulations, the administration proceeded to publish the burdensome Internet rules in the Federal Register, triggering lawsuits and starting the clock for expedited action in the Senate on the House’s Resolution of Disapproval of the rules. While the administration has recently taken action to stop the implementation of certain controversial and costly initiatives such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s effort to tighten ozone rules and the Department of Health and Human Services’ CLASS program, the FCC remains on track to begin enforcement of its onerous Internet rules on November 20.
Walden and Rogers wrote, “For the last year, you have called upon your administration’s leadership to review regulations that will stifle job growth and innovation. The net neutrality rules at best create uncertainty in the technology sector and at worst could hinder this vital economic engine from creating the jobs Americans need.
“The people of this country demand policies that promote economic growth. Regulating an industry that continues to invest billions each year in broadband networks, provides hundreds of thousands of jobs, and leads the world in innovation is not such a policy. We urge you to bring the FCC’s vision for regulation in line with your stated policy by stopping the implementation of the FCC’s net neutrality rules."
