Today, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) President
Tom Schatz issued the following statement strongly criticizing the House
of Representatives for passing H.R. 1644, the “Save the Internet Act”:
“Today’s vote in the House of Representatives to pass H.R. 1644, the
‘Save the Internet Act,’ would enable the federal government to take
over the internet and is a dangerous step toward socialism. The
legislation would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs, halt the expansion
of broadband access in rural America, and stall innovation that would
improve services that businesses and consumers desperately need to
succeed and grow.
“The internet is unquestionably an information service, not a telephone
service, and should not be governed by ancient Title II regulations from
the Communications Act of 1934, which would occur should H.R. 1644
become law. That would cause serious damage to the economy and the
entire internet ecosystem.
“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has deemed this
legislation dead on arrival in the Senate and President Trump has issued a
veto threat. CCAGW agrees that H.R. 1644 should not go any further in
the legislative process.”
Background:
-
The Democratic proposal would enact into law the Open Internet Order
from the Obama administration, which was a two-year anomaly in the
history of the government using a light touch in regulating the
internet. -
It would overturn the Restoring Open Internet Freedom Order (RIFO)
adopted by the Federal Communications Commission on December 14, 2017.
The RIFO restored the status quo and has led to a significant increase
in investment and innovation.
The
Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of
Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation’s largest nonpartisan,
nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and
mismanagement in government.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190410005836/en/