WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) issued the following statement after Senate Democrats voted to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to reverse the Federal Communications Commission’s Restoring Internet Freedom Order.
“The future of the internet should not be left to unelected government bureaucrats. It should be driven by what has always worked - innovation, American entrepreneurship, and a light-touch regulatory framework. A vote for the CRA was a vote to subject the internet to 1930s-era regulation, when one copper wire was considered advanced technology. What we saw today demonstrates that Senate Democrats are only interested in scoring political points, not coming to the table for good faith negotiations. Consumers deserve certainty, and that’s why we renew our call for a bipartisan, permanent, legislative solution to solve this important issue once and for all," said Chairman Walden and Chairman Blackburn.
Chairman Walden, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Chairman John Thune (R-SD), and former E&C Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) first put forward draft legislation in 2015. Today, on the Senate floor, Senate Democrats objected to amendment and consideration of the draft bill.
Since 2015, Chairman Walden has made repeated efforts to push for a bipartisan compromise.
* House & Senate Begin Review of Draft Legislation to Protect Consumers and the Internet, January 2015.
* Calls Grow for Congress to Act for an #OpenInternet, February 2015
* American Enterprise Institute Address, March 2015.
* Upton & Walden on Disappointing Net Neutrality Decision, June 2016
* Committee sends invitations to CEOs of leading tech companies requesting they testify before the full committee on ground rules for the internet, July 2017
* Walden, Blackburn on FCC’s Net Neutrality Announcement, November 2017
* State of the Net Address, January 2018.
* #SubCommTech Examines Current and Future Use of Data Prioritization, April 2018
