Keep Net Neutrality, Kerry Urges Fellow Senators

Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA), sent a letter to his colleagues urging them to vote down the Congressional Review Act resolution. This act aims to nullify the FCC's explicit network neutrality protections scheduled to go into effect later this month.  

To overturn the law, wrote Kerry, "would discourage investment in the next Google or Amazon and put at risk health and safety rules, environmental protections, worker rights."

While several telecommunications companies have challenged the new rules in court, this move for congressional nullification is a rare legislative gambit initiated by the industry's Republican allies in the House.

Kerry wrote that this move was both procedurally and ethically wrong:

"It will set the precedent that this Congress is prepared to deny independent regulators their ability to execute the law. That would put at risk health rules, environmental protections, worker rights and every other public protection that our agencies enforce that some in Congress do not like."

CWA has publicly opposed the House Republicans actions, since they first threatened to nullify the protections. In February, 2011, CWA President Larry Cohen wrote, "This attack on the open Internet does nothing to achieve the world class broadband networks that our nation needs.  We need to settle this issue using the FCC framework and encourage investment and network building."

Kerry urges colleagues not to scrap net-neutrality rules (The Hill, Nov. 4, 2011

CWA Opposes Efforts to End Open Internet; House Actions Jeopardize 21st Century Infrastructure (CWA press release, Feb. 16, 2011)