Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, DC 20554
RE: GN Docket No. 10-127, Framework for Broadband Internet Service GN Docket No. 09-191, Preserving the Open Internet
Dear Chairman Genachowski and Members of the Commission,
We the undersigned, representing millions of American citizens, write in strong opposition to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) effort to regulate the Internet.
Over the past 25 years, the Internet has flourished in large part due to the extremely limited role that government has played. In less than a decade, the private sector has expanded broadband Internet access to over 95 percent of American households. Since 2004, the price to access the Internet has dropped by 23 percent, while during the same period overall consumer prices have trended upward.
Despite universal acknowledgement that Americans enjoy a free, open, and vibrant Internet, the FCC is relentlessly pursuing a massive regulatory regime that would stifle broadband expansion, create congestion, slow Internet speeds, jeopardize job retention and growth, and lead to higher prices for consumers.
We oppose the FCC’s effort to regulate the Internet under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, which was written during the depression era to regulate telephone monopolies – 60 years before the Internet was ever conceived. These proposed regulations would permit the FCC to dictate how the networks that serve as the backbone of the Internet are managed, thereby removing incentives for further investment and opening the door for price setting or future regulatory action. It could also remove the ability for parents and ISPs to prevent inappropriate material from entering the home. This regulatory “reclassification” would effectively turn innovative private Internet services into a public utility.
Earlier this year, a U.S. Court of Appeals found that the Commission was attempting to “shatter” the bounds of its legal authority by trying to enact Net Neutrality regulations without Congressional authority. We view this renewed effort by the FCC to reclassify the Internet under Title II as even more unfounded and onerous.
By pursuing Title II reclassification, the Commission is turning its back on years of precedent set by multiple U.S. Congresses, presidential administrations, the FCC’s own rulings, and the U.S. Supreme Court, which all found that the Internet should remain unregulated. Even more disconcerting, the Commission’s actions show complete disdain for strong bipartisan opposition voiced by a vast majority in Congress and the American people.
Placing the nation’s 21st century communications system under a pre-World War II law is the wrong approach to continuing broadband Internet expansion and adoption. The Internet has never been a regulated utility and we urge you to keep it that way by rejecting so-called “Net Neutrality” regulations on the Internet and the proposed Title II reclassification.
Organizations
Jim Martin
Chairman
60 Plus Association
Dr. Carl Herbster
President
AdvanceUSA
Susan A. Carleson
Chairman/CEO
American Civil Rights Union
David A. Keene
Chairman
The American Conservative Union
Steve Pociask
President
American Consumer Institute
William Wilson
President
Americans for Limited Government
Tim Phillips
President
Americans for Prosperity
Tom Jenney
State Director
Arizona - Americans for Prosperity
Teresa Crossland-Oelke
State Director
Arkansas - Americans for Prosperity
Grover Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform
John Palatiello
President
Business Coalition for Fair Competition (BCFC)
Shaun Fink
Executive Vice President
Caesar Rodney Institute
David Spady
State Director
California - Americans for Prosperity
John Tate
President
Campaign for Liberty
Terrence Scanlon
President
Capital Research Center
Judy Hoelscher
Founder
Cave Creek Patriots
Tim Lee
Vice President of Legal Affairs
Center for Individual Freedom
Chuck Muth
President
Citizen Outreach
Thomas Schatz
President
Citizens Against Government Waste
Jeff Crank
State Director
Colorado - Americans for Prosperity
Jerry Cantrell
President
Common Sense Institute of New Jersey
Clyde Wayne Crews Jr.
Vice President for Policy, Director of Technology Studies
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Morton C. Blackwell
Chairman
Conservative Leadership PAC
Bob Windsor
Founder
Cottonwood TEA Party, Arizona
Kelly William
Cobb Executive Director
Digital Liberty Project
Phyllis Schlafly
President and Founder
Eagle Forum
Michael Quinn Sullivan
President
Empower Texans
John McClaughry
President
Ethan Allen Institute
Tom McClusky
Sr. Vice President
Family Research Council Action
Apryl Marie Fogel
State Director
Florida - Americans for Prosperity
Rick Watson
Chairman
Florida Center-Right Coalition
Jeff Cohen
Board of Directors
Fountain Hills Tea Party
Myron Ebell
President
Freedom Action
George Landrith
President
Frontiers of Freedom
Virginia Galloway
State Director
Georgia - Americans for Prosperity
Steve Elliott
President
Grassfire Nation
Jamie Story
President
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Mario H. Lopez
President
Hispanic Leadership Fund
Joe Calomino
State Director
Illinois - Americans for Prosperity
Andrew Langer
President
Institute for Liberty
Bartlett Cleland
Director, Center for Technology Freedom
Institute for Policy Innovation
Tammy Kobza
President
Iowa Eagle Forum
M. Kevin McLaughlin
President & Director
Iowans for Discounted Taxes
Brett Healy
President
The John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy
Derrick Sontag
State Director
Kansas - Americans for Prosperity
Dave Trabert
President
Kansas Policy Institute
Seton Motley
Editor in Chief, StopNetRegulation.org
President, Less Government
Bob Barr Chairman
Joe Seehusen, President and CEO
Liberty Guard
Dr. Melissa Clouthier
Owner & Writer
LibertyPundits.com
R. Clarke Cooper
Executive Director
Log Cabin Republicans
Trevor Bragdon
State Director
Maine - Americans for Prosperity
Mary Adams
Chair
Maine Center-Right Coalition
Tarren Bragdon
CEO
Maine Heritage Policy Center
David Schwartz
State Director
Maryland - Americans for Prosperity
Richard W. C. Falknor
Chairman
Maryland Center-Right Coalition
Dee Hodges
Chairman
Maryland Taxpayers Association
Scott Hagerstrom
State Director
Michigan - Americans for Prosperity
Forest Thigpen
President
Mississippi Center for Public Policy
Duane Parde
President
National Taxpayers Union
Brad Stevens
State Director
Nebraska - Americans for Prosperity
Scott Cleland
Chairman
NetCompetition.org
Adam Stryker
State Director
Nevada - Americans for Prosperity
Corey Lewandowski
State Director
New Hampshire - Americans for Prosperity
Steve Lonegan
State Director
New Jersey - Americans for Prosperity
Phil Kerpen
Director
NoInternetTakeover.com
Dallas Woodhouse
State Director
North Carolina - Americans for Prosperity
Wesley W. Harris
Founder
The North Phoenix Tea Party, Arizona
Rebecca Heimlich
State Director
Ohio - Americans for Prosperity
Chris Littleton
President
Ohio Liberty Council
Jack Boyle
Executive Director
Ohio Prosperity Initiative
Stuart Jolly
State Director
Oklahoma - Americans for Prosperity
Brandon Dutcher
Vice President for Policy
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Jeff Kropf
State Director
Oregon - Americans for Prosperity
Grant Maloy
Co-Chairman
Orlando Center-Right Coalition
Erling "Skip" Salvesen III
Managing Director
Matthew Balazik
Managing Director
PaCAN - Pennsylvania Commercial Action Network
James Stergios
Executive Director
Pioneer Institute
Kelsey Zahourek
Executive Director
Property Rights Alliance
Warner Todd Huston
Owner and Founder
PubliusForum.com
Charlie Gerow
Chair, Quantum Policy Briefing CEO
Quantum Communications
Adrian Moore
Vice President
Reason Foundation
Chip Hanlon
President
RedCounty.com
Stephen Stone
President Wes Vernon
Columnist RenewAmerica.com
Paul Gessing
President
Rio Grande Foundation
Bruce Larsen
Chairman
Santa Fe Center-Right Coalition, New Mexico
Sam Slom
President
Small Business Hawaii
Jason Williams
Founder
Taxpayer Association of Oregon
Honey Marques
President/CEO
Tea Party Patriots of Scottsdale, Arizona
Lisa Miller
Founder
Tea Party WDC
Ben Cunningham
President
Tennessee Tax Revolt, Inc.
Peggy Venable
State Director
Texas - Americans for Prosperity
C. Preston Noell III
President
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Andrea Lafferty
Executive Director
Traditional Values Coalition
Dale von Breichenruchardt
President
U.S. Bill of Rights Foundation
Ben Marchi
State Director
Virginia - Americans for Prosperity
Jamie Radtke
Chairwoman
The Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation
Mark Tapscott
Editorial Page Editor
The Washington Examiner
Kirby Wilbur
State Director
Washington State - Americans for Prosperity
Carl Gipson
Director, Technology, and Telecommunications Policy
Washington Policy Center
Tom Steele
Founder and Coordinator
We the People of Prescott Valley, Arizona
Mark T. Wellman
President
Webster Atlantic Corporation
Ralph Benko
Author
TheWebstersDictionary.com
Mark Block
State Director
Wisconsin – Americans for Prosperity
Linda Hansen
Senior Vice-President, Executive Director
Wisconsin Prosperity Network
Susan Gore
Founder
Wyoming Liberty Group
Jordan Marks
Executive Director
Young Americans for Freedom (YAF)
State Legislators
Sen. Jack Harper Arizona State Senate
Rep. John Wood Florida House of Representatives
Sen. Chip Rogers, Majority Leader Georgia Senate
Sen. Sam Slom Hawaii Senate
Rep. Eric Koch Indiana House of Representatives
Rep. Dwayne Alons Iowa House of Representatives
Sen. James Hahn Iowa Senate
Rep. Joe McLeland Kansas House of Representatives
Rep. Jim DeCesare Kentucky House of Representatives
Rep. Joseph M. Fischer Kentucky House of Representatives
Rep. Mike Harmon Kentucky House of Representatives
Sen. Tom Buford Kentucky Senate
Delegate Steven R. Schuh Maryland House of Delegates
Rep. Gary V. Staples Mississippi House of Representatives
Sen. Ed Emery Missouri Senate
Rep. Tim Jones Missouri House of Representatives
Rep. Mike Miller Montana House of Representatives
Hon. David Bates New Hampshire House of Representatives
Rep. Gary Daniels New Hampshire House of Representatives
Rep. George G. Cleveland North Carolina House of Representatives
Rep. Jim Kasper North Dakota House of Representatives
Rep. John Adams, House Minority Whip Ohio House of Representatives
Rep. Sally Kern Oklahoma House of Representatives
Rep. Ronald G. Peters Oklahoma House of Representatives
Rep. John E. Huffman Oregon House of Representatives
Rep. Kim Tatcher Oregon House of Representatives
Rep. Matt Wingard Oregon House of Representatives
Rep. Curtis Oda Utah House of Representatives
Rep. Stephen Sandstrom Utah House of Representatives
Rep. Carl Wimmer Utah House of Representatives
Rep. Ed Orcutt Washington House of Representatives
Delegate Jonathan Miller West Virginia House of Delegates
Sen. Alberta Darling Wisconsin Senate
Sen. Mary Lazich Wisconsin Senate
Rep. Peter S. Illoway Wyoming House of Representatives
Rep. Sue Wallis Wyoming House of Representatives
August 12, 2010
Coalition Letter to the FCC Regarding Net Neutrality
August 11, 2010