Republican FCC Commissioners Ask Wheeler To Delay Net Neutrality Vote, Release Proposal

Daily Caller ^ | 02/23/2015 | Giuseppe Macrihttp://dailycaller.com/2015/02/23/republican-fcc-commissioners-ask-wheeler-to-delay-ne

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Three days before the Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to vote on the most significant Internet regulations in history, two commissioners are asking Chairman Tom Wheeler to delay the vote and release his proposal to the public.

“We respectfully request that FCC leadership immediately release the 332-page Internet regulation plan publicly and allow the American people a reasonable period of not less than 30 days to carefully study it,” Republican Commissioners Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly said in a statement Monday. “Then, after the commission reviews the specific input it receives from the American public and makes any modifications to the plan as appropriate, we could proceed to a final vote.” (RELATED: FCC/FEC Commissioners: Net Neutrality Regs Threaten Political Free Speech Online)

The commission is set to vote on Wheeler’s aggressive proposal — which will regulate Internet service providers as public utilities and set new standards for speed and pricing — on Thursday, when it is expected to pass by a partisan vote of 3-2. (RELATED: Republican FCC Commissioner Slams ‘Obama’s 332-Page Plan To Regulate The Internet’)

“With the future of the entire Internet at stake, it is imperative that the FCC get this right,” the commissioners said. “And to do that, we must live up to the highest standards of transparency. Transparency is particularly important here because the plan in front of us right now is so drastically different than the proposal the FCC adopted and put out for public comment last May.” (RELATED: FCC Votes For New ‘Net Neutrality’ Regulations)

The FCC traditionally never releases proposed regulations prior to their implementation, prompting Pai to spend the weeks since Wheeler laid out the foundation of the plan to point out its most aggressive regulations in press releases and op-eds with commissioners from fellow agencies. (RELATED: FCC/FTC Commissioners: ‘The Internet Isn’t Broken, And We Don’t Need The President’s Plan To ‘Fix’ It)

“Over the past few weeks, it has become clear that the American people are growing increasingly concerned about government regulation of the Internet and that they want the commission to disclose the plan,” the commissioners said. “Indeed, an independent survey last week found that 79 percent of Americans favored releasing the plan prior to any FCC vote.”

In response to the request Wheeler tweeted that FCC already held a period to review public comment last summer, and that it was “time to act.”

FCC received more than 4 million comments on #OpenInternet during past year that helped shape proposal. It’s time to act.

— Tom Wheeler (@TomWheelerFCC) February 23, 2015

[willywill]

i haven’t followed this as closely as i should, but can they do this without congressional approval?

[Kenny]

Apparently they can do it and with a 3 to 2 majority, Dems plan to shove it down our throats without delay. It’s like Obamacare, they want to get it done before anyone can stop them.

[YOMO]

We can’t wait. All of this from an agency that can’t get Rachel from Card Services to stop calling me from the DO NOT CALL LIST!!!! It is time to cut some funding from the FCC GOP. Can you hear me now??? This is all about more Government CONTROL.

[Major Matt Mason]

I would imagine that there will be lawsuits filed. What exactly were people supposed to comment on if they weren't able to see the regulations before they were released? More "transparency" from the Obama admin, except that the FCC is supposed to be independent from the executive branch.

[jsanders2001]

> i haven’t followed this as closely as i should, but can they do this without congressional approval?

Let me counter that with another question...has congress stopped Obama on amnesty, Obamacare, or anything else for that matter?

[jsanders2001]

This cannot be allowed to stand. The very idea must be exterminated with prejudice. If allowed to pass, privacy invasion will be taken to a whole new level like never seen before. Are our politicians really as stupid and naive as they appear to be on this issue or are they complicit or compromised by payoffs? Can none of them see the building blocks of incrementalism being put into place methodically by Obama to destroy our constitutional rights and assist an enemy whose goal is place their flag on our White House? Seriously can they not see what is so clear to the rest of us?

[DonaldC]

It is my understanding the gov wants to run the net like it does phones. Anyone know how that changed over time?

[Slyfox]

Does anyone remember the days when they used to charge us use of the Internet by the minute?

The free market and customer demand changed that.

Now Obama wants to go back to that.

[willywill]

i have to say this. i’m 60 years old. i care about this, but only to a point. by the time anything gets implemented its likely years. i would care more if i was one of those mindless college kids who voted for obama and now have like 60 years to live under his boot.

[4Runner]

Another plan to dumb down the masses. The only ones who will be able to afford internet access after the feds get a hold of it will be the wealthy class. Too much free information out there for too many people who have little else in the way of influence or access makes the controlling elite very edgy. They are afraid of pitchforks. They want all the peons kept in the dark. While they make plans for you and I to disappear.

[cynwoody]

i haven’t followed this as closely as i should, but can they do this without congressional approval?

The Republican commissioners should ask Boehner and McConnell to modify their upcoming DHS funding bill to include a provision forbidding the FCC to work on or spend any federal dollars regulating the internet.

[W.]

Obama has appointed all of them. 3 are dems, one RINO and one holdout good guy, Pai.