Republican FCC commissioners: Net neutrality plan misleads the American people
Republicans on the Federal Communications Commission and in Congress question the White House's influence over the agency, and claim dire consequences if the broadband industry undergoes stricter regulations.
Republicans aren't happy with the Federal Communications Commission's plan to regulate the Internet like telephone service, and they're going out of their way to make sure people know it.
The FCC commissioners (left to right): Ajit Pai, Mignon Clyburn, Tom Wheeler (chairman), Jessica Rosenworcel, and Michael O'Rielly. FCC
The latest broadside comes from within the FCC itself, with Republican commissioner Ajit Pai using a press conference Tuesday to lay into Chairman Tom Wheeler's proposal, designed to address the debate over Net neutrality, or the idea that all Internet traffic should be treated equally. Pai argues that the new regulations would give the government too much power over the Internet.
"The American people are being misled about President Obama's plan to regulate the Internet," Pai said, suggesting that the White House exerted undue influence over the agency.
Michael O'Reilly, the only other Republican commissioner on the five-member FCC, echoed Pai's statement, adding that the information the FCC has offered publicly about its Net neutrality proposal is not the full truth.
Pai's and O'Reilly's comments are part of an increasingly vocal attack on the FCC's proposal, an attack that includes questions about whether President Barack Obama pushed his own beliefs onto the supposedly independent agency. The opposition stems from the fear that added regulation will result in higher broadband prices for consumers and strip incentives for broadband companies to invest in upgrading their networks. The moves signify a last-ditch effort by Republicans to stop the FCC from adopting Net neutrality rules.
While nearly everyone agrees that some rules are needed to protect the Internet, they don't agree on the legal basis for making these rules. At the crux of the current debate is Title II, a provision that reclassifies broadband as a telecommunications service that falls under telephonelike regulations. Obama, most Democrats and Wheeler favor Title II, while Republicans and broadband providers like Comcast and Verizon are vehemently against it.
It's highly likely that the proposal will make it through the FCC. Republicans on the commission and in Congress will continue making noise until the FCC's final vote on February 26. But Wheeler, a Democrat appointed by Obama, has the three Democratic votes needed to pass the measure. Congress could push through new legislation it has been working on as an alternative, but Obama could veto the law.
As part of the assault on the proposal, Congressional Republicans have questioned the impact Obama had on the FCC's plan. On Monday, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) sent a letter to Wheeler demanding a written explanation of what led Wheeler to conclude that an earlier proposal he considered was "no longer appropriate."
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Republican FCC commissioners: Net neutrality plan misleads the American people