Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA)
Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) , Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), and 34 other Senate and House Democrats have
released a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, calling for broadband internet access to be reclassified under Title II of the Communications Act II in order to ensure true net neutrality.
In July, Sen. Markey and 12 Senate Democrats asked for net neutrality.
Head below the fold to read the letter and to see who signed it. This doesn’t happen without the incredible effort of the netroots over the past year. Saving the internet is in sight.
Yesterday's list of signers on the Markey-Eschoo letter includes: Sens. Al Franken, Ron Wyden, Richard Blumenthal, Tammy Baldwin, Cory Booker, Carl Levin, Bernie Sanders, Barbara Boxer, Ben Cardin, Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley, and Reps. Henry Waxman, Zoe Lofgren, Michael Doyle, Barbara Lee, John Lewis, Michael Capuano, Chellie Pingree, Betty McCollum, Suzanne Bonamici, Tim Ryan, Mark Takano, Mike Honda, Earl Blumenauer, Jared Polis, Jared Huffman, Jim McGovern, Jan Schakowsky, Louise Slaughter, Niki Tsongas, Sam Farr, Keith Ellison, Raul Grijalva and John Conyers.
December 18, 2014
The Honorable Tom Wheeler
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th St. SW
Washington, DC 20554
Dear Chairman Wheeler:
The open Internet serves as the backbone of our economy and a critical artery for free speech. We must act now to protect the world’s most open platform for commerce and communications.
Nearly a year has passed since the D.C. Circuit Court invalidated the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) previous net neutrality rules and found that the agency erred by constructing those rules on faulty legal grounds. Since then, we have heard from millions of constituents, companies and entrepreneurs about the need for the Commission to use its authority to prevent broadband providers from engaging in discriminatory practices. More than four million Americans have written to the FCC and have made their voices clear: no Internet fast and slow lanes.
Many of us have previously written to you and urged the Commission to put the strongest possible rules on the books in order to ensure the health and vitality of the Internet for future generations. We called on the FCC to prohibit paid prioritization that would harm our economic growth by leaving start-ups and small businesses to suffer in Internet slow lanes.
We believe the way to achieve a free and open Internet is to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act, with appropriate forbearance. As you know, President Obama recently joined us in urging this action.
Everyone has spoken; now is the time for action. We urge you to act without delay to finalize rules that keep the Internet free and open for business.
Thank you for your continued consideration and your work on this issue.
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