In face of Republican opposition, House Democrats shelve network neutrality proposal
JOELLE TESSLER
AP News Sep 29, 2010 21:58 EDT
House Democrats have shelved a last-ditch effort to broker a compromise between phone, cable and Internet companies on rules that would prohibit broadband providers from blocking or degrading online traffic flowing over their networks.
House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., abandoned the effort late Wednesday in the face of Republican opposition to his proposed "network neutrality" rules. Those rules were intended to prevent broadband providers from becoming online gatekeepers by playing favorites with traffic.
The battle over net neutrality has pitted public interest groups and Internet companies such as Google Inc. and Skype against the nation's big phone and cable companies, including AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and Comcast Corp.
Public interest groups and Internet companies say regulations are needed to prevent phone and cable operators from slowing or blocking Internet phone calls, online video and other Web services that compete with their core businesses. They also want rules to ensure that broadband companies cannot favor their own online traffic or the traffic of business partners that can pay for priority access.
But the phone and cable companies insist they need flexibility to manage network traffic so that high-bandwidth applications don't hog capacity and slow down their systems. They say this is particularly true for wireless networks, which have more bandwidth constraints than wired systems. The communications companies also argue that after spending billions to upgrade their networks for broadband, they need to be able earn a healthy return by offering premium services. Burdensome net neutrality rules, they say, would discourage future investments.
Waxman's proposal, the product of weeks of negotiations, attempted to carve out a middle ground by prohibiting Internet traffic discrimination over wireline networks while giving broadband providers more leeway when it comes to managing traffic on wireless networks. The plan would have given the Federal Communications Commission authority to impose fines of up to $2 million for net-neutrality violations.
For the broadband companies, Waxman's retreat is a setback. They fear the issue could now go back to the FCC, which deadlocked over the matter in August. The commission could impose more restrictive rules on the industry than a House compromise would have.
"If Congress can't act, the FCC must," Waxman said in a statement. He added that "this development is a loss for consumers."
Net neutrality was the Obama administration's top campaign pledge to the technology industry and a major priority of the current FCC chairman, Julius Genachowski, a key architect of Obama's technology platform. But frustration is growing — particularly among public interest groups — as the debate has dragged on over the past year without resolution either at the FCC or in Congress.
Waxman's proposal, in part, fell victim to today's political climate, with Republicans hoping to rack up gains in the upcoming midterm elections apparently unwilling to help Democrats make progress on such a contentious issue. With an anti-government, anti-regulation sentiment sweeping the nation — and boosting Tea Party candidates — Republicans also were reluctant to support a proposal that opponents equate to regulating the Internet.
Yet in what would have been a big victory for the phone and cable companies, Waxman's proposal would have headed off an effort by Genachowski to redefine broadband as a telecommunications service subject to "common carrier" obligations to treat all traffic equally.
The FCC has been trying to craft a new framework for regulating broadband since a federal appeals court in April threw out its current approach, which treats broadband as a lightly regulated "information service." The agency had argued that this approach gave it ample jurisdiction to mandate net neutrality.
But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected that argument. It ruled that the agency had overstepped its authority when it ordered Comcast to stop blocking subscribers from using an online file-sharing service called BitTorrent to swap movies and other big files.
With Congress making no progress to resolve this issue, several public interest groups on Wednesday called on Genachowski to move ahead with his proposal to reclassify broadband as a telecom service.
"The FCC must act now to protect consumers by reinstating its authority over broadband," Gigi Sohn, president of the public interest group Public Knowledge, said in a statement. "We expect the FCC to do so to carry out one of the fundamental promises of the Obama administration."
But Joe Barton of Texas, the top Republican on the House Commerce Committee, said Genachowski's proposal would "stifle investment and create regulatory overhang in one of the most dynamic sectors of our economy."
Showing posts with label House Democrats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label House Democrats. Show all posts
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Democratic ‘budget hawks’ champion expensive tax cuts for wealthy
(There is nothing "fiscally sound" about cutting Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security in order to finance a $70 billion per year hit to the deficit so that the richest get even richer.--jef)
By Sahil Kapur - Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
With Congress poised for a showdown over the Bush tax cuts, 24 members of the Blue Dog Coalition – a group of House Democrats who tout "fiscal responsibility" as their core belief – are championing the extension of $70-billion-per-year tax cuts for the highest income-earners.
The Democrats voiced their positions in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), both of whom – along with President Barack Obama – support allowing the high-end Bush tax cuts expire as scheduled at the end of this year.
"We believe in times of economic recovery it makes good sense to maintain things as they are in the short term," they wrote. (Ha!-jef)
Thirty-one House Democrats signed the letter – their names were first reported by Christina Bellantoni of Talking Points Memo. All but seven are Blue Dogs, Raw Story has learned.
"Today, our underlying structural deficits represent the biggest threat to our economic security," reads the front page of the 54-member coalition's Web site, which describes its members as "independent voices for fiscal responsibility and accountability."
The Web site also includes a ticker on the national debt, a section called "Budget Reform," and a number of press releases about coalition members supporting fiscally responsible measures.
But this stance suggests that despite claiming to be fiscal hawks, deficit reduction for many Blue Dogs takes a back seat to providing tax breaks for rich Americans.
A spokeswoman for the Blue Dog Coalition did not respond to a request for comment.
This is strong agreement between Democrats and Republicans on continuing the tax cuts for individuals earning less than $200,000 per year and families earning less than $250,000 – those making more are set to have their taxes return to Bill Clinton-era levels unless Republicans and dissenting Democrats get their way.
Under Obama’s proposal, individual income above $200,000 would be taxed at 39.6 percent rather than 36 percent come January – even the wealthy would continue to pay the same lower rate for their earnings below that figure.
Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) have joined Republicans and the 31 House Democrats in opposing the expiration of the Bush tax cuts for top earners.
Republicans, who have relentlessly criticized Democrats as reckless spendthrifts, are threatening to block tax extensions for the middle class if high-end tax cuts aren’t also in the mix. They have floated temporary extensions of the top-bracket rates, but skeptics claim their real intention is to codify them permanently.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that extending the cuts on the top marginal tax rate would only affect 2 to 3 percent of small businesses and would have a minor overall impact in spurring economic growth, while dramatically increasing the deficit.
Below is the list of the 24 Blue Dogs, as compiled by Raw Story, who oppose letting the high-end Bush tax cuts expire.
By Sahil Kapur - Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
With Congress poised for a showdown over the Bush tax cuts, 24 members of the Blue Dog Coalition – a group of House Democrats who tout "fiscal responsibility" as their core belief – are championing the extension of $70-billion-per-year tax cuts for the highest income-earners.
The Democrats voiced their positions in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), both of whom – along with President Barack Obama – support allowing the high-end Bush tax cuts expire as scheduled at the end of this year.
"We believe in times of economic recovery it makes good sense to maintain things as they are in the short term," they wrote. (Ha!-jef)
Thirty-one House Democrats signed the letter – their names were first reported by Christina Bellantoni of Talking Points Memo. All but seven are Blue Dogs, Raw Story has learned.
"Today, our underlying structural deficits represent the biggest threat to our economic security," reads the front page of the 54-member coalition's Web site, which describes its members as "independent voices for fiscal responsibility and accountability."
The Web site also includes a ticker on the national debt, a section called "Budget Reform," and a number of press releases about coalition members supporting fiscally responsible measures.
But this stance suggests that despite claiming to be fiscal hawks, deficit reduction for many Blue Dogs takes a back seat to providing tax breaks for rich Americans.
A spokeswoman for the Blue Dog Coalition did not respond to a request for comment.
This is strong agreement between Democrats and Republicans on continuing the tax cuts for individuals earning less than $200,000 per year and families earning less than $250,000 – those making more are set to have their taxes return to Bill Clinton-era levels unless Republicans and dissenting Democrats get their way.
Under Obama’s proposal, individual income above $200,000 would be taxed at 39.6 percent rather than 36 percent come January – even the wealthy would continue to pay the same lower rate for their earnings below that figure.
Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) have joined Republicans and the 31 House Democrats in opposing the expiration of the Bush tax cuts for top earners.
Republicans, who have relentlessly criticized Democrats as reckless spendthrifts, are threatening to block tax extensions for the middle class if high-end tax cuts aren’t also in the mix. They have floated temporary extensions of the top-bracket rates, but skeptics claim their real intention is to codify them permanently.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that extending the cuts on the top marginal tax rate would only affect 2 to 3 percent of small businesses and would have a minor overall impact in spurring economic growth, while dramatically increasing the deficit.
Below is the list of the 24 Blue Dogs, as compiled by Raw Story, who oppose letting the high-end Bush tax cuts expire.
Rep. Allen Boyd (FL)
Rep. Jim Costa (CA)
Rep. Jim Matheson (UT)
Rep. Glenn Nye (VA)
Rep. Lincoln Davis (TN)
Rep. Brad Ellsworth (IN)
Rep. Dan Boren (IN)
Rep. Mike McIntyre (NC)
Rep. John Barrow (GA)
Rep. Zack Space (OH)
Rep. Jason Altmire (PA)
Rep. Jim Cooper (TN)
Rep. Joe Donnelly (IN)
Rep. John Salazar (CO)
Rep. Frank Kratovil (MD)
Rep. Earl Pomeroy (ND)
Rep. Jim Marshall (GA)
Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (SD)
Rep. Sanford Bishop (GA)
Rep. Mike Ross (AR)
Rep. Travis Childers (MS)
Rep. Walt Minnick (ID)
Rep. Harry Mitchell (AZ)
Thursday, May 27, 2010
73 Democrats tell FCC: drop net neutrality rules
Well, then--let's vote these corporate douchebags out of office.
73 Democrats tell FCC: drop net neutrality rules
~+X+~
|
A slew of House Democrats have sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission warning the agency not to go forward with its plan to partially reclassify ISPs as common carriers, a move needed to impose net neutrality rules.
"The uncertainty this proposal creates will jeopardize jobs and deter needed investment for years to come," wrote Texas Congressman Gene Green on Monday. "The significant regulatory impact of reclassifying broadband service is not something that should be taken lightly and should not be done without additional direction from Congress."
Plus, the "controversy surrounding that approach" could "serve as a distraction from what should be our Nation's foremost communications priority: bringing broadband to every corner of America, getting every American online," the letter continues. It's co-signed by 73 Democrats.
The FCC has been looking for a revised means to set up Internet non-discrimination rules ever since a Federal court shot down its Order against Comcast for P2P throttling. But at the same time that Green and his backers sent the FCC their letter, Capitol Hill's top Democrats, far more sympathetic to the FCC's plans, announced that they want to get that "additional direction from Congress" thing going via hearings to revise the Communications Act.
"In the long term, if there is a need to rewrite the law to provide consumers, the Commission, and industry with a new framework for telecommunications policy, we are committed as Committee Chairmen to doing so," wrote Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) earlier this month.
The Green letter seemed heaven-sent by the anti-net neutrality group Americans for Prosperity, host of the website NoInternetTakeover.com. And it was roundly condemned by the pro-net neutrality group Free Press, which unsparingly dissects the document on its SavetheInternet site.
The statement "is so full of misinformation that no member of Congress should in good conscience put his or her name on it," Save the Internet insists. Nevertheless, many did—and they are members of FCC Chair Julius Genachowski's own party.
Name | State | Party | Industry and lobbyist money | Phone | Twitter/Facebook | |
| Rep. Bobby Bright | AL-02 | D | $35,000 | (202) 225- 2901 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Mike Ross | AR-04 | D | $65,000 | (202) 225-3772 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick | AZ-01 | D | $10,500 | (202) 225-2315 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Ed Pastor | AZ-04 | D | $33,500 | (202) 225-4065 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Gabrielle Giffords | AZ-8 | D | $27,000 | (202) 225-2315 | Send E-mail | @Rep_Giffords |
| Rep. Dennis Cardoza | CA-18 | D | $34,500 | (202) 225-6131 | Send E-mail | @RepCardoza |
| Rep. Jim Costa | CA-20 | D | $35,500 | (202) 225-3341 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Laura Richardson | CA-37 | D | $29,000 | (202) 225-7924 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Joe Baca | CA-43 | D | $92,000 | (202) 225-6161 | Send E-mail | @bacaca43 |
| Rep. Loretta Sanchez | CA-47 | D | $77,000 | (202) 225-2965 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Allen Boyd | FL-02 | D | $58,500 | (202) 225-5235 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Corrine Brown | FL-03 | D | $20,500 | (202) 225-0123 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Alcee Hastings | FL-23 | D | $28,000 | (202) 225-1313 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Suzanne Kosmas | FL-24 | D | $25,000 | (202) 225-2706 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Sanford D Bishop, Jr. | GA-02 | D | $52,000 | (202) 225-3631 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. John Barrow | GA-12 | D | $87,500 | (202) 225-2823 | Send E-mail | @repjohnbarrow |
| Rep. David Scott | GA-13 | D | $32,500 | (202) 225-2939 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Leonard Boswell | IA-03 | D | $53,500 | (202) 225-3806 | Send E-mail | @leonardboswell |
| Rep. Wally Minnick | ID-01 | D | n/a | (202) 225-6611 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Bobby Rush | IL-01 | D | $128,799 | (202) 225-0123 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Debbie Halvorson | IL-11 | D | $5,500 | (202) 225-3635 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Baron P Hill | IN-09 | D | $87,374 | (202) 225-5315 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Dennis Moore | KS-03 | D | $55,500 | (202) 225-2865 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Charlie Melancon | LA-03 | D | $55,000 | (202) 225-4031 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Frank Kratovil, Jr. | MD-01 | D | $44,500 | (202) 225-5311 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger | MD-2 | D | $47,000 | (202) 225-3061 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Elijah Cummings | MD-07 | D | $56,250 | (202) 225-4741 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Gary Peters | MI-9 | D | $21,500 | (202) 225-5802 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr | MO-01 | D | $40,000 | ((202) 225-2406 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Russ Carnahan | MO-03 | D | $38,000 | (202) 225-2671 | Send E-mail | @repcarnahan |
| Rep. Travis Childers | MS-01 | D | $42,500 | (202) 225-4306 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Bennie G Thompson | MS-02 | D | $46,500 | (202) 225-5876 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Gene Taylor | MS-04 | D | $14,500 | (202) 225.5772 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. G. K. Butterfield | NC-01 | D | $33,500 | (202) 225-3101 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Heath Shuler | NC-11 | D | $23,000 | (202) 225-6401 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Gene Taylor | MS-04 | D | $14,500 | (202) 225.5772 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. John Adler | NJ-3 | D | $29,000 | (202) 225-4765 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Albio Sires | NJ-13 | D | $28,500 | (202) 225-7919 | Send E-mail | @rep_albio_sires |
| Rep. Harry Teague | NM-2 | D | $8,000 | (202) 225-2365 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Tim Bishop | NY-01 | D | n/a | (202) 225-3826 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Gregory Meeks | NY-06 | D | $66,000 | (202) 225-3461 | Send E-mail | @gregorymeeks |
| Rep. Joseph Crowley | NY-07 | D | $55,000 | (202) 225-3965 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Ed Towns | NY-10 | D | n/a | (202) 225-5936 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Yvette Clarke | NY-11 | D | $15,000 | (202) 225-6231 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Michael McMahon | NY-13 | D | $27,000 | (202) 225-3371 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Scott Murphy | NY-20 | D | $17,000 | (202) 225-5614 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Bill Owens | NY-23 | D | $3,000 | (202) 225-4611 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Michael Arcuri | NY-24 | D | $30,000 | (202) 225-3665 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Daniel Maffei | NY-25 | D | $29,000 | (202) 225-3701 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Steve Driehaus | OH-01 | D | $6,000 | (202) 225-2216 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Charlie Wilson | OH-06 | D | $29,000 | (202) 225-5705 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Marcia Fudge | OH-11 | D | $11,000 | (202) 225-7032 | Send E-mail | @mlfudge |
| Rep. Zachary T. Space | OH-18 | D | $39,500 | (202) 225-6265 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Dan Boren | OK-02 | D | $31,500 | (202) 225-2701 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Kurt Schrader | OR-05 | D | $25,000 | (202) 225-5711 | Send E-mail | @repschrader |
| Rep. Robert Brady | PA-01 | D | $56,100 | (202) 225-4731 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Chaka Fattah | PA-02 | D | $46,500 | (202) 225-4001 | Send E-mail | @chakafattah |
| Rep. Kathleen Dahlkemper | PA-03 | D | $20,500 | (202) 225-5406 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Jason Altmire | PA-04 | D | $39,500 | (202) 225-2565 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Christopher Carney | PA-10 | D | n/a | (202) 225-3731 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Allyson Schwartz | PA-13 | D | $58,250 | (202) 225-6111 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Tim Holden | PA-17 | D | $47,500 | (202) 225-5546 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Lincoln Davis | TN-04 | D | $29,500 | (202) 225-6831 | <Send E-mail | |
| Rep. John Tanner | TN-08 | D | $61,300 | (202) 225-4714 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Al Green | TX-09 | D | $36,000 | (202) 225-7508 | Send E-mail | n/a |
| Rep. Ruben Hinojosa | TX-15 | D | $35,500 | (202) 225-2531 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Charlie Gonzalez | TX-20 | D | $33,500 | (202) 225-3236 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Ciro Rodriguez | TX-23 | D | $36,750 | (202) 225-4511 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Solomon Ortiz | TX-27 | D | $31,500 | (202) 225-7742 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Henry Cuellar | TX-28 | D | $23,000 | (202) 225-1640 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Gene Green | TX-29 | D | $111,199 | (202) 225-1688 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson | TX-30 | D | $32,500 | (202) 225-8885 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Glenn Nye | VA-02 | D | $24,833 | (202) 225-4215 | Send E-mail | @glennnye |
| Rep. Rick Larsen | WA-02 | D | $29,500 | (202) 225-2605 | Send E-mail | |
| Rep. Nick Rahall | WV-03 | D | $32,000 | (202) 225-3452 | Send E-mail |
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