Misguided and being driven by big cable interests that want to gouge consumers and charge them more as they charge, making sure consumers pay or have their internet lines go down. This Division Turns the success of an essential 21st century innovation to those in big corporations, and innovators do what they do best. I dont think American People want Cable Companies to be the gatekeeper on the internet. They want to have the fcc play a role in making sure an open internet is therefore also Small Businesses, entrepreneurs and innovators can build on the success of communicating with their consumers and Business Partners without having artificially slowed down lines. Who would this impact if the fcc moves forward . Seniors would be impact on telehealth medicine, students, slowing down of education, families, educational tools for their children that seek charges and the highway that has been so important so that new internet businesses are impacted. The number one reason we have to fight this and make sure we do everything we can to stop the fcc from implementing this rule and give consumers the protection of Net Neutrality is it will harm the internet economy blues last summer we had a town meeting about this and heard from many of my constituents about this and in many business cases to understand why this impacts us so much. They have rules that prevented companies from throttling or blocking and paved the way to many successes. And gdp, 6. 9 million jobs in the United States of america. Why would you change the rules now . Making sure critical protections are in place and instead replace them with the ability for Certain Companies to wreak havoc on this economy . 13 of washington states economy depends on healthy internet sector. The internet economy for our state supports 250,000 jobs and when the nation is looking to see that they havent had enough wage growth and the growth in the middleclass earning more, these tech jobs have been a backdrop to a bedrock for the middle class so the chairman is not focused on the 13,000 companies in the state of washington, 250,000 jobs and 13 of the state economy. Just this past weekend my colleague and i met with many of these Small Businesses and their message was loud and clear, please stop chairman pie from ruining the internet by taking away key protections that make sure our business is run successful. He is abdicating his role, abandoning consumers, turning his back on innovators and he has changed the direction for us and the innovation economy. He thinks this is a light touch but i guarantee you it is no touch and what we need is to make sure these companies do not artificially charge consumers, Small Businesses, main street, more, for what they are already doing now and doing successfully. Obviously an open internet rule, the rules we are living under now have fueled and innovation economy. Every business plan, every startup arises on the ability to contact their consumers and with this much of the economy at stake lets not continue to make mistakes, lets continue to fight in the United States senate to make sure we stop chairman pai from having the resources to implement this rule. It is important so much now that we continue to fight for Small Businesses, main street entrepreneurs, the innovation economy and say we deserve to have an open internet and we should not have as Small Businesses and innovators said to me this past weekend in seattle, this is siding with Big Companies and saying they are going to make all the decisions, they are going to be in control and they will not be for competition. They wont be for the level of innovation and they are going to slow down the best part of our economy. I hope our colleagues join the fight and stop the fcc in any manner possible from implementing what is literally a very anticompetitive strategy very focused on big corporations instead of the innovative and economy of the future. I yield the floor. Madam president. Senator from massachusetts. Madam president , i want to thank my colleagues led by senator cantwell, joining me on the floor this afternoon. We are speaking on behalf of millions of our constituents, tens of millions of american who support a free and open internet. Im proud to come to the floor to discuss an issue of National Importance to our economy and our democracy, Net Neutrality. A lot of people recently stopped and asked me what exactly is Net Neutrality . The technical answer is Network Neutrality or Net Neutrality is the principle that Internet Service providers, you know their names, verizon, at t, comcast, the people that you pay by check each month to make sure you have broadband service, you know who they are, those Internet Service providers cannot discriminate against content providers, against websites but the simpler explanation is this. No one owns the internet. Everyone can use the internet. Anyone can improve the internet but that would not be the case if the Trump Administration, ajit pai, the chairman, and republicans have their way. They want to get rid of the federal Communications CommissionNet Neutrality rules so the isps, Internet Service providers, can indiscriminately charge more, slow down websites, block websites, make it harder and even impossible for inventors, entrepreneurs and Small Businesses, the lifeblood of the American Economy to connect to the internet. That is why we are here this afternoon on the floor and it is why supporters of a free and open internet are vigorously opposed to this politically craven attempt to weaken the principles of Net Neutrality that has allowed the internet to flourish. Tomorrow the federal Communications Commission is voting on a proposal that cuts at the very heart of a free and open internet. They are voting to rollback Net Neutrality protections and send a love letter to the Big Broadband company that stand to make huge profits without these rules. What are chairman pai and his broadband buddies really trying to do . The first thing they would do is get the rule against blocking. What does that mean . It means an Internet Service provider could block any website it wonts, that includes a website of a competing service, a website with a contrary political view, whatever they want. Second, chairman pai would get the rule against throttling. What does that mean . The Internet Service provider could slow down any website it once. Third, chairman pai would get the rule banning paid prioritization. What does that mean . It means the Internet Service provider would charge websites for an internet fast lane meaning those websites would load quicker while websites that cant afford the internet easy pass would be stuck on a gravel path taking more time to load and frustrating consumers with long buffering times and forth, chairman pai would get the will that general conduct rule that would protect consumers from harm such as data caps and other discriminatory behavior isps think of in the coming months or years ahead. Fifth, chairman pai would create an unregulated interconnection market. What does that mean . It means the federal Communications Commission would oversee authority where isps connect to the internet and extract thieves. And chairman pai wants to prevent states and localities from protecting their Net Neutrality corrections. The enforceable Net Neutrality rules today. And chairman pai would leave it to internet providers to regulate themselves in an unpoliced internet wild west. Now chairman pai claims the federal trade commission, not the federal Communications Commission, the commission of expertise, the federal trade commission somehow provides a sufficient backstop to bad behavior by the isps and that is simply not true. Under the federal trade commission the Big Broadband barons would establish their own Net Neutrality policies, letting bullies develop their own playground rules. If the isp ones to block websites, slow down competitors websites, charge innovators and entrepreneurs, they will be free to do so. That is because the federal trade commission, a broadband provider violates the Net Neutrality policies, the policy created by the broadband itself. And internet fast lanes something the federal trade commission can do about it. It is wrong. Allowing broadband industry to assess their own Net Neutrality protections is like letting the fox guard the hen house. The federal trade Commission Oversight will not work. Chairman pai claims he has another solution called transparency. He argues if isps are transparent about Net Neutrality practices consumers and businesses can simply choose to use a broadband provider with Net Neutrality practices that best suits them. What good is transparency when most americans have little or no choice for highspeed broadband access. 62 of americans have only one choice for highspeed fix broadband, two third of the country has only one choice who they can purchase broadband from. That means if a household only chose highspeed broadband transparent about plans to set up internet fast and slowly the consumer has two choices, one, accept the Internet Service providers terms or 2, live without the internet. That is a false choice. People do not want to live without the internet in the 21st century so now chairman pai also claims Internet Service providers actually support Net Neutrality but not the open Internet Order under which we are living today. That is like saying you support democracy but not the constitution, like you like math but hate numbers. It makes no sense was the broadband barons have been fighting for years at the federal Communications Commission and in the courts to block Net Neutrality. It is Crystal Clear and has been for years. The Broadband Companies are deeply opposed. What the fcc is proposing. It seems like the only supporters of this plan is the broadband industry but chairman pai and his colleagues turned a deaf ear to millions of americans, and approve their plan tomorrow, we will continue this fight and need in amateur brief and Net Neutrality. And congressional review act, resolution of disapproval with a number of my colleagues so that the United States senate can vote to undo chairman pais proposal and restore the open Internet Order. The Trump Administration is waging an allout assault on corporate sections, dac survey, the Affordable Care act, the paris climate record, the clean powerplant and trumps federal Communications Commission who put Net Neutrality in its sites. Those who rely on the free and open internet weather is for commerce or education or entertainment, i urge you to join in this fight to create a firestorm of opposition to this assault on Net Neutrality. This is a fundamental attack on the openness of the internet is it must be beaten and we must that army of ordinary americans fighting the lobbyist and special interests in the city that wants to shut down Net Neutrality forever. I yield back. Madam president. Senator from michigan. There are a handful of innovations over the years that have redefined the United States and the entire world. The cotton gin, railroads, electricity, a few examples. Without question Broadband Internet is one of the defining innovations of our time. Broadband internet connects rural and urban committees to Vital Services like telemedicine, Educational Resources and international commerce. Broadband internet is essential for communications in the modern era, keeps in touch with loved ones, and productivity across every single industry and most importantly Broadband Internet revolutionized our economy, led to millions of new jobs. The ability to instantly reach consumers, Small Businesses and startups to compete with large Global Corporation this, unimaginable a couple decades ago. Michigan is home to 850,000 Small Businesses and a growing number of startups and new ideas and Creative Solutions they generate put america on the cutting edge of a global and internet connected economy. Michigan Small Businesses are able to innovate because of a free and open structure of the internet. Unfortunately these opportunities are at risk. Tomorrow the fcc will vote to eliminate current Net Neutrality protections that stop large corporations from stifling Small Businesses and harming the American People. I think the facts are straightforward and the fcc is wrong. They should stop what they are doing and keep the current protections in place. The current rules i have consistently supported prevent Internet Service providers from blocking, slowing or prioritizing web traffic for their own Financial Game at the expense of Small Businesses and every day internet users. The fcc abstractions to rollback these protections could usher in a new era of a two tear internet, one for the large corporations that can pay for the fast lane, and a slow lane for the rest of us. This will allow Internet Service providers and multinational corporations to compete unfairly against startups, slowing down there traffic and playing gatekeeper to potential customers. Let me be clear. Repealing Net Neutrality is an innovation. Repealing Net Neutrality, and Net Neutrality is anticonsumer. The fcc should not consider this proposal tomorrow to degrade Internet Service, and 20 million households including many in the home state of michigan lack access to highspeed internet. The fcc has a lot of work to close the Digital Divide and repealing Net Neutrality is taking our country backwards, not forwards. Of the internet doesnt work for growing businesses and startups our economy will be hurt for generations to come. Highspeed broadband and Net Neutrality is every bit as vital as electricity was in the 20th century. All americans deserve access regardless of their income or zip code. We accomplish the goal of bringing electricity to every household in this country in the last century even in the most rural areas by making it a National Priority. We need to make access to Broadband Internet with strong Net Neutrality protections, aid National Priority today. My preserving Net Neutrality we put students, artists, advocates, entrepreneurs and other visionaries who could be inventing the future and creating the next big thing ahead of a handful of multinational corporations. The fcc should call off this dangerous vote and work to assure the internet remains a hub of entrepreneurship, creativity and competition. The remainder of the remarks elsewhere in the record. Without objection. To pass legislation that will prevent kids enrolled in Childrens HealthInsurance Program from losi