Return of rules for ‘net neutrality’:

Voting 232 for and 190 against, the House on April 10 passed a bill (HR 1644) that would reinstate and write into law Federal Communications Commission “net neutrality” rules implemented in 2016 during the Obama administration but repealed in 2017 during the Trump administration. The rules require the internet to be made equally accessible to all users. They prohibit service providers such as Verizon and Comcast from offering faster content delivery to customers in return for higher fees while leaving other customers in a slower lane. The bill gives the FCC permanent authority to prevent internet gatekeepers from blocking or throttling customer access, and it retains FCC programs that expand broadband access in rural areas and make the internet more accessible to low-income persons.

Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said the bill “not only protects consumers from large corporations, but it also strengthens our economy by promoting innovation and small businesses. Net neutrality ensures that any business, no matter how small, gets the same internet at the same speeds as giant corporate interests.”

Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., said, “The government is not regulating the internet today, and it is growing and expanding to the point where we are the envy of the world. We have some of the best job creation in this industry. We don’t need the federal government to come in and save us from this great growth and expansion.”

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

Voting no: Bruce Westerman, R-4

Voting no: Louie Gohmert, R-1, John Ratcliffe, R-4