Providing for Consideration of H.R. 37, Disapproving FCC Internet and Broadband Regulations
Floor Speech
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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, if my colleague across the aisle is having a tough time figuring this out, I think we can probably help with that explanation.
First of all, if you like the Internet that you have, we are saying we want you to keep it. Mr. Speaker, there has been no market failure. Over 80 percent of all Americans are pleased with the Internet service that they have. What they do not want to see is the Obama administration step in in front of these Internet service providers and say, We the government are here to change your Internet. We are here to take control of your Internet.
That is exactly what net neutrality would do.
Net neutrality is the Federal Government stepping in and saying, We're going to come first. We're going to assign priority and value to content. It basically is the Fairness Doctrine for the Internet.
As I said, there has been no market failure, and there is no need for this government overreach. So many are saying, Why do this? It's one of those issues of power and control, of government wanting to dictate what speed you will have, how often you will be on, the type of Internet service that you will have, being able to control them.
What the FCC did after Congress left town, mind you, during Christmas week, was to step in and bring uncertainty to the marketplace. What they did was to say, We are going to put ourselves, the government, in control of the Internet. It is the first time ever this has happened.
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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Also, in their net neutrality order, if you read paragraph 84, what it does is to bring an incredible amount of uncertainty to the innovative community and to the creative economy that our jobs growth is going to be based on, because what it says to these innovators is, Look, if you want to innovate a new application, a new attachment, a new usage for a Web-based service or for the Internet, you'd better come apply to the FCC first because, if you don't, we can step in and require you to come make application to us.
Now, if you want to talk about a chilling effect--a chilling effect--on all of our high-tech innovation, on health care innovation with our telemedicine concepts, with our health IT concepts, I would encourage individuals to look at paragraph 84, which is found in the net neutrality order that was brought forward on a 3-2 vote by the Obama administration. It will do more to squelch jobs growth and to pull back innovation than any other action in this administration.
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