WASHINGTON, DC – House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) today went to the House floor to urge passage of H.R. 2666, the No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act. H.R. 2666 passed the House with bipartisan support, 241-173.
Remarks:
“Thank you to Chairman Walden and I want to thank my colleague, Congressman Kinzinger, for his leadership on bringing this bill forward.
“What we’re trying to do here is to continue allowing the great innovation we’ve seen from the technology industry. It’s happened not because government sat there and regulated every aspect of what they do, it’s because government frankly hasn’t figured out how to regulate because the industry moves so fast. I think that’s been a good thing and it’s shown if you allow an industry to go out there and invest private money and create great new technologies, and great new projects, you look at the deployment of broadband, it’s literally changing people’s lives for the better — it’s allowed America to be a great technological leader.
“But when you see the threat of the FCC setting rates, regulating broadband, it will send a chilling effect that will not only kill that investment, slow down the ability and the growth that we’ve seen that have been so revolutionary in this country, but it will kill jobs in this country. We need to stop the threat of the FCC being able to set rates in a way that can slow down that growth. We’ve seen such tremendous growth in the technology industry by the government not being in this arena. What Congressman Kinzinger is doing with this bill protects taxpayers and protects the growth and innovation we need in this country.
“I urge adoption of this bill and I yield back.”