House Republicans: Net Neutrality Rules Aren't Common Sense
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-MI, the recently named Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for the House, sits down for an interview with Chris Stohm in his office on Monday, January 24, 2011. (Chet Susslin)
The White House has pulled back on environmental regulations and the Department of Health and Human Services' says it can't move forward on the CLASS long-term care program. Now some House Republicans want President Obama to add net neutrality rules to that list.
The controversial net neutrality regulations, which govern anticompetitive behavior online, have yet to go into effect but are being challenged in court and the House has voted to overturn them.
Now House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore.m and Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., want Obama to stop any implementation of the rules.
"...implementation of the net neutrality rules could derail the investment and innovation that have been the hallmark of the information economy in the United States," the pair wrote in a letter to Obama on Thursday. "The net neutrality rules at best create uncertainty in the technology sector and at worst hinder this vital economic engine from creating the jobs Americans need."
The lawmakers argue that the regulations don't meet Obama's own "common sense test."
Supporters of the rules, approved by the Federal Communications Commission in December, say they are needed to prevent Internet companies from blocking or restricting access to competitors' services. Critics, including many Republicans, say the rules are unnecessary and hurt Internet freedom by imposing unauthorized government control.
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