Political Quotes

“I thank the committee, and I thank the other side of the aisle. Even though this is something that we are going to put through and we would love to have a lot more support from the other side of the aisle, we do appreciate the working relationship. Mr. Chairman, let me just say that this is, in my mind, very simple. When the FCC, in essence, chose to reclassify broadband Internet access service as a common carrier, that gave them the classification and the ability to regulate rates of private companies. Understanding this, it was the concern, as we looked around, that we want to make sure that the FCC does not have the power to regulate the rates charged for Internet access. If you look back in the history of this country and, really, what technology and what the Internet has been able to do for jobs, for economic growth, and for everything along that line, it has all been because it is free of government regulation. So let's just put this into law, that the FCC shouldn't have the authority. In a couple of hearings, Chairman Wheeler, the chairman of the FCC, was asked: Do you believe you should have the right or the ability to regulate the rates charged for Internet, for broadband access? He said: No. I forbear that. In fact, I asked the chairman: What if we put into law a simple statement that said that the FCC shouldn't have that authority? Amen, basically, is what he said. Now, over the next year, we have run into some more issues.…”