CONTACT: Erin Humiston, (972) 874-5139, or erin@ipi.org
DALLAS – Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) president Tom Giovanetti issued the following statement in response to today’s Senate vote to re-regulate the internet under Title II.
“Any notion that the Senate is the more deliberate and prudent of the two bodies of Congress should be discarded after today’s vote to misuse the Congressional Review Act to re-impose 1930s-era federal regulations on internet providers. This ill-informed and harmful measure can be explained as political theater by Democrats but is inexplicable by the three Republicans who also voted for the resolution.
Surely Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), John Kennedy (La.) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) promise to reduce harmful regulations on businesses when they campaign in front of voters. Surely they understood that their vote had nothing to do with “net neutrality,” but was rather about much more onerous Title II regulations written for the long-past monopoly era of communications. Surely their careful research into the Title II CRA revealed that a CRA cannot be used to overturn an adjudicated Order of the FCC, and thus their vote will only serve to undo a helpful transparency rule. Surely they didn’t really intend to give Internet edge companies like Facebook and Twitter a free ride, exempted from the heavy regulations that they voted to re-impose on the Internet infrastructure companies that actually build things and employ people. Surely they support the Republican platform, which opposed Title II internet regulations? And President Trump’s deregulatory agenda, which has helped stimulate increased economic growth?
Or perhaps not.
Now the matter will go to the House, which will hopefully be wiser, better informed, and more deliberative about the issue and about their potential vote. We’re here to help House members understand the errors of the Senate vote, and how they can demonstrate their superior policy sophistication.”
The Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) is an independent, nonprofit public policy organization based in Dallas. IPI experts are available for interview by contacting Erin Humiston at (972) 874-5139, or erin@ipi.org. Copies of "Misusing the Congressional Review Act to Re-Regulate the Internet" are available at www.IPI.org.