1. Monthly archive
  2. September 2017

September 2017

Senate Will Proceed to Pai Nomination Vote

The Senate as expected voted to invoke cloture (limit debate) on the renomination of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to a new, five-year term on the FCC retroactive to the end of his term, which was June 2016 (commissioners can serve through the end of the next Congress, which is the end of 2017).

The vote was 55 to 40 along primarily partisan lines and followed Democratic Sens calling for the "firing" of Pai and Republicans saying the FCC was in good hands under Pai's stewardship. The vote means the Senate can proceed to a vote on the underlying nomination. An earlier vote was blocked by Democrats. That vote is expected by Oct 2 and will almost certainly result in a new term for the chairman.

Five Reasons to Fire Chairman Pai

The Senate majority is charging forward with plans to vote to reconfirm Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai for another five years. Rehiring Pai to head the agency that oversees US communications policies would be a boon for the phone and cable companies he eagerly serves. But it would hurt everyone else who needs this agency to put our communications rights before the profits of monopoly-minded media giants. In the coming days, senators have the opportunity to intervene on the public’s behalf and fire Pai. Here are five reasons they should do so:
1. Net Neutrality Lies
2. Widening the Digital Divide
3. Sinclair Quid Pro Quo
4. First Amendment Fail
5. Assault on Online Privacy

Sen Markey 'Slices' Up FCC's Pai

On the floor of the Senate, Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) said, "At every turn, [Federal Communications Commission] Chairman Pai choses corporate interests over consumers." He told his colleagues that the FCC now stands for "Forgetting Consumers and Competition" under Chairman Ajit Pai. He also said he would outline who is getting a big piece of the FCC pie under Pai. He even used a visual aide, an FCC logo divided into Pai wedges he moved from the "consumer" side of his chart to the "corporation" side.

Sen Markey tied his opposition to Pai's proposal to roll back Title II classification of broadband internet access service and repealing network neutrality rules. Markey said Pai was in the thrall of big media to the detriment of consumers. But he also pointed to Pai’s actions on Lifeline, broadband privacy, the Sinclair-Tribune merger, E-rate and more as reasons to deny him a seat on the commission, which were other pieces of the pie he moved to the "corporation" side in his own version of a Senate Ted Talk.

Sen Wyden Slams FCC Chairman Pai on Senate Floor

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) took to the Senate floor to oppose the nomination of Ajit Pai for a new five-year term on the Federal Communications Commission. His remarks came just before a planned cloture vote on debate on the nomination.

Sen Wyden’s opposition is rooted in Pai's proposal to roll back Title II classification of broadband internet access service and eliminating network neutrality rules. Sen Wyden has been one of the Hill's most vociferous critics of that proposal. Sen Wyden said Chairman Pai had worked long and hard to undermine net neutrality, which he said was folks getting a "fair shake" online. Sen Wyden also took aim at broadband providers, saying their commitment to "voluntary" net neutrality was bogus. He said there was as much likelihood that they would do so voluntarily as that his nine-year-old son would voluntary limit himself to one desert. "It just isn't going to happen." He said Chairman Pai sides with the big cable companies over small businesses and consumers. The senator said Chairman Pai had signaled he was blowing up the internet's level playing field by saying he would take a weed whacker to regulations. He said the debate was not over Google and Oracle, but about start-ups and small businesses wanting to grow.

Sen Wicker Praises FCC Chairman Pai

Speaking in support of Ajit Pai’s nomination for a new five-year term on the Federal Communications Commission, Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS) said that in nine short months, Chairman Pai had taken steps to keep the internet free and open for consumers, and would keep the "heavy hand of government away from the controls."

Sen Wicker is working with Chairman Pai to help promote rural connectivity and Wicker said that the FCC would be in good hands with Pai as its chairman. "Mr. Pai has proven he is capable of being an exemplary FCC chairman," said Wicker. "He understands the strong connection between technology and innovation." Sen Wicker also said he hoped Chairman Pai would continue to hold the FCC to the highest standards of transparency, citing his decision to publish the draft texts of items before they were voted on.

America’s Digital Divide

While broadband internet access has increased over time, there remains a digital divide in access to and adoption of high-speed internet. Closing this gap must be a priority, and will take a substantial federal investment to do. There are still 34 million residents that do not have at least one broadband provider in their community. While nearly all of Connecticut has access to high-speed internet, more than one third of Mississippi’s residents lack access. At local levels, the disparities get larger. In more than 200 counties, no one has access to broadband internet. Congress must prioritize rural broadband expansion in any national comprehensive infrastructure plan debated in the 115th Congress.

Further, Congress needs to work on closing the gap in at-home internet usage. All Americans can benefit from having the internet in their homes, giving them better access to educational, health, and career-related resources. Bridging this gap will require improving competition to bring consumer costs down and expanding efforts to subsidize home broadband subscriptions.

Governing the Future of the Internet

The internet is global. So the approach to internet governance should be global as well, right? Not exactly.

The internet, as a network, is decentralized, which makes it inherently difficult to govern. It belongs to everyone, but is owned by nobody. This speaks to a question that’s been around for decades—one centered around how we might govern the technical aspects of the internet. Jovan Kurbalija, director of the DiploFoundation and head of the Geneva Internet Platform, spoke to these very issues at a New America event. “Global governance sounds logical, but when you really dig into the digital policy, you see that the impact of the internet is very local, given the social, economic, political, and cultural context,” Kurbalija said.

© 1994-2025 Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. All Rights Reserved.