WASHINGTON, DC - Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR), Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Republican Leader Bob Latta (R-OH) and Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) sent a letter to Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chair Michael F. Doyle (D-PA) requesting the committee work together to find a bipartisan solution for net neutrality.
The letter comes on the heels of a Subcommittee on Communication and Technology hearing where Reps. Walden, Latta, and Rodgers introduced three net neutrality bills, presenting a menu of options to get started on crafting a bipartisan solution.
“Following the Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing on net neutrality earlier this month, we write to urge you to work with us on bipartisan legislation to ensure that Americans’ access to an open internet will be permanently protected. During the hearing, we announced three bills that are realistic avenues to consensus. These were not simply discussion drafts nor procedural measures to negate or reinstate past rules. We all agree on the need to legislate baseline protections for net neutrality, open internet, or whatever new term may be coined for the consumer protection principles that are supported by Republicans and Democrats alike," Walden, Latta, and Rodgers wrote.
The leaders continued, “As Chairman Pallone stated in 2010, this is a job for Congress. Working together, this is a job that we can get done. Let’s remember that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was signed after years of seemingly intractable differences. It was through bipartisan cooperation that members of this Committee were able to come together to create landmark legislation that protected consumers and incentivized unprecedented innovation and investment. We stand ready to work with you and all of our colleagues on the Committee to forge a new, enduring, bipartisan legislative landmark to put an end to this debate and protect the open internet for generations to come."
