Addressing the Ripon Society earlier this week, Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) outlined his priorities as the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology this year. One of the biggest priorities for Walden is to take the FCC to task for its recent net neutrality rules. Many republicans see the new rules as an over-reach on the part of the FCC. Democrats think the rules are too weak.
"Look, whether you’re for it or against it," Walden said. "I don’t believe the FCC had the authority to do it."
Walden thinks that the FCC frequently oversteps its boundaries and needs some reform. That reform will come from congressional oversight. Walden said that Republicans plan to offer a "resolution of disapproval" and promised to hold hearings on "this issue and others" related to the FCC.
Other commissions will be considered, Walden added.
Watch the YouTube video to the left. All five FCC commissioners, including Chairman Julius Genachowski, will testify February 16 before Congress.
Source: Washington Post
Comments
Re: Rep. Greg Walden Sets Feb. 16 Hearing With FCC
I actually happen to agree with the point Walden's making; I DO believe the FCC overreached and this is a bad precedent.
However, I don't think he's making the point SINCERELY; I think he's just latched on to a convenient argument to scuttle net neutrality.
The hell of it is that this shouldn't be a partisan issue; the real parties involved here are corporate interests and consumer rights. But as usual, the media have played up their owners' and advertisers' interests, the Republicans have taken the lobbyists' side while pretending to advocate for a free market that doesn't actually exist, and the Democrats have taken the lobbyists' side while pretending to advocate consumers' rights through the passage of ineffective, loophole-filled "regulation".
Re: Rep. Greg Walden Sets Feb. 16 Hearing With FCC
the situation here seems to look ever more grim by the day. sadly the best answer is one that these people arent even concidering (which is to allow competition at the local level).
Re: Rep. Greg Walden Sets Feb. 16 Hearing With FCC
Indeed. Anti-neutrality advocates love to talk about free-market solutions -- I would LOVE to see some free-market solutions, but first you need a free market.
My ISP is Cox. My service is terrible. I've averaged about a daily 10-minute disconnection since November. (And that's an average -- some days I won't be disconnected at all, but others it'll be every hour.)
Last week I looked at switching to Qwest, the only other broadband provider available at my location.
The highest speed Qwest offers here is 1/12 what I'm getting with Cox.
Doesn't sound like any free market *I* ever heard of.