Bowling Green Today

Dr. Rand Paul Joins Republican Effort in Opposing Biden FCC’s Internet Takeover

“Re-imposing heavy-handed, public-utility regulations on the internet would threaten the progress our country has made since 2017, and it would steer our country out of the fast lane and into a world of less competition, less choice, less investment, slower speeds, and higher prices.” 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator (R-KY) Rand Paul, alongside U.S. Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Ted Cruz (R-TX), joined more than 30 other senators in a letter urging Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to abandon her proposal to reinstate the Obama-era regulations on the internet. The senators argue that these regulations would hinder the progress made since 2017 and lead to negative consequences.

In their letter, the senators highlighted that the fearmongering claims made by Democrats about the repeal of the Obama-era rules in 2017 have been debunked and proven false. Contrary to predictions, the growth of the internet has continued to be a success story in the United States, with increased broadband investment, deployment, and speeds, as well as more affordable high-speed internet access. Additionally, American networks, freed from obtrusive regulations, have easily handled the surge in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Rand Paul emphasized the potential harm of re-imposing heavy-handed regulations on the internet, stating, “Re-imposing heavy-handed, public-utility regulations on the internet would threaten the progress our country has made since 2017, and it would steer our country out of the fast lane and into a world of less competition, less choice, less investment, slower speeds, and higher prices.” He also pointed out that the FCC lacks statutory authority over broadband internet access and that any attempt to reinstate net neutrality regulations and the onerous rules of Title II on internet service providers would not survive judicial review.

The letter from the senators calls on the FCC to focus on bipartisan efforts to address real problems, such as waste, fraud, and abuse in federal government broadband subsidy programs, and regulatory and permitting obstacles to broadband deployment. They urge the FCC to abandon the proposal to reinstate net neutrality regulations and instead prioritize connecting unserved Americans.

Dr. Rand Paul, along with Senators Thune and Cruz, was joined by a bipartisan group of senators in signing the letter. The full list of signatories includes U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AR), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Ron Johnson (R-WI), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Dan Sullivan (R-AL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Todd Young (R-IN).

The full text of the letter can be found HERE.