Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, I appreciate my colleague's interest, the gentleman's interest in stand-alone broadband. As he knows, this is a really important issue, especially in rural America, and one that the FCC has spent considerable time on, in fact, one that I have spent considerable time on as one of the co-chairs of the Rural Broadband Caucus. So I do not oppose this amendment, but I want to observe here that this amendment will not do anything to relieve the smallest ISPs found in the most rural areas from some of the worst excesses of this bill. So I must say, I am disappointed that our friends in the majority refuse to give us a vote on my amendment, which would have included the language on small businesses that was passed unanimously by the House in the last two Congresses. This amendment was exactly the same as the one that the Democrats have agreed--twice--to tie to the original 2015 order. It would have extended the exemption for small ISPs from the Obama FCC's enhanced transparency rule for 5 years and expanded the exemption to include businesses with 250,000 subscribers or fewer. I am supportive of protecting the consumers of small ISPs, but these enhanced disclosures placed an unnecessary regulatory burden on small businesses and distracted them from working to bring broadband internet access to customers across the country, especially those in rural America.…”