Ed Markey: “I agree with every word Senator Wyden has just spoken on the Senate floor, and I thank him for his leadership in going…”

“I agree with every word Senator Wyden has just spoken on the Senate floor, and I thank him for his leadership in going back to 2006, which was when we first introduced into the U.S. Congress legislation on net neutrality. We did it then because it was important, and we are doing it today because it is critically important. The question is really whether the internet is going to be free and open or whether it is going to have the principles of nondiscrimination. Smaller voices, smaller companies, startup companies, and individuals in our society must be protected on the internet in the future. That is what net neutrality is all about. We are on the right side of history on this issue. Every day that goes by further instructs us as to how central the internet is in our country and on the planet. Ultimately, it has to be open, and it has to be free. It cannot have nondiscrimination built into it because a small handful of huge companies decide they have a right to discriminate. I thank the Senator from Oregon, and I thank our leader on the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Senator Cantwell of Washington State, for their great leadership on this issue. Mr. President, as in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be discharged from further consideration of S.…”