Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) introduced the Save Net Neutrality Act (H.R. 4585) to stop the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would result in a final rule eliminating the existing Net Neutrality policy.
“The FCC’s proposal to screw up your internet is just about the worst plan I’ve seen – the comment period was a mess and the rest of the proposal is full of holes,” said Rep. Maloney. “My bill would stop this rule from going into effect and keep the internet the way it is – affordable, open, and full of innovation.”
If passed, the measure would prevent the Commission from relying on the NPRM process that concludes with the creation of an enforceable rule authorized by the Administrative Procedure Act. The APA requires federal agencies to consider relevant comments as part of the NPRM.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has said the agency does not make a decision based on the quantity of comments, but rather on their substance. The agreement between the FCC and the FTC (see other story) “protected a free and open internet for many years prior to the” 2015 change and it will again, according to Pai.
A group of 63 smaller broadband providers, many of whom serve rural areas, sent a letter to Congress Tuesday, asking members to support Pai’s proposal because it will help them expand broadband infrastructure and investment. “This proposal assures that broadband services will be treated equally and fairly under consistent protections,” they state. “Since the Commission reclassified broadband as a public utility in 2015, investment has been heading in the wrong direction. In 2016, capital expenditures from broadband providers was $76 billion, $2.4 billion less than in 2014, the year before the FCC adopted its current misguided rules.”
December 13, 2017
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