Members of Congress Respond to Net Neutrality Decision

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA): “The Trump Administration’s decision to abandon net neutrality continues to harm consumers and small businesses, leaving a few large corporations in control of an essential component of modern life.  In April, the House passed the Save the Internet Act to restore basic consumer protections online and preserve a free and open Internet.  This decision reiterates that the Senate needs to act quickly to pass that legislation to put Americans, not corporations, first.”

House Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) said, "Today’s opinion makes it clearer than ever that Congress needs to come together and craft bipartisan legislation to provide consumers certainty and preserve one national standard for the open, free, and dynamic internet of the future. While we are pleased that the D.C. Circuit upheld the successful light-touch regulations and transparency rule, the continued uncertainty from legal pinball will only worsen consumers’ experiences on the internet. We are disappointed with the Court further confusing the role of the states in setting the rules of the road. A patchwork of state regulations will hamper innovation, creating confusion and compliance nightmares. Republicans remain committed to working on a serious, bipartisan approach to creating a national standard; a permanent, statutory framework. We stand ready, with a bipartisan menu of options; this is a logical starting point to that conversation. We hope Speaker Pelosi will heed the calls of 47 Members of her caucus who said it best: ‘we believe a bipartisan working group will allow us to work together to enact strong, enforceable protections that will ensure a truly free and open internet for all.'”

“Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C Circuit issued an opinion that leaves the future of the free and open internet in question,” said Senator Markey, who introduced the first net neutrality bill in the House of Representatives in 2005. “When I attended the net neutrality court hearing earlier this year, I heard the FCC and broadband industry use tortured logic to defend the repeal of net neutrality and undermine strong rules for an open internet. Sadly, today’s court opinion doesn’t reflect the clear reality that Americans rely on the internet the way they rely on electricity or telephone service," said Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA). “But across America, support for a free and open internet is through the roof. Polling shows that American families in both political parties want strong net neutrality rules on the books. Today’s ruling allows states to continue the fight for net neutrality, and I believe a movement of activists and organizers will erupt across the country to push states to enact strong net neutrality rules. The need to stop the big internet service providers from blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization is as dire as ever. It is more imperative than ever that Congress enacts my ‘Save the Internet Act’. This legislation does exactly what the American people want – it restores the rules that ensure families aren’t subject to higher prices, slower internet speeds, and even blocked websites because the big broadband providers want to pump up their profits. I call on Leader McConnell to stop the obstruction and bring to a vote on this legislation that passed House of Representatives in April. The future of the internet as we know it depends on it.” 

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ): “Today’s ruling makes clear that Title II regulations are not required for maintaining an open internet. It is incumbent on Congress to pass federal net neutrality standards that will protect consumers, promote broader access to the internet, and ensure internet providers treat content from all sources fairly,” said Wicker. “We need straightforward guidelines that will not change based on who occupies the White House. I look forward to continuing to work toward these goals with Senator Sinema as we seek to find common ground on this important issue. Net neutrality is critical to maintaining a vibrant internet. We need a modern, internet-specific framework that encourages the freedom and innovation that make the internet the vital tool it is today,” said Sinema. “Today's court decision makes clear Congress must pass a bipartisan, comprehensive net neutrality solution that offers certainty to consumers and providers."