[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 34 (Monday, February 26, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S1204]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             NET NEUTRALITY

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on another matter, last week the 
Republican-led FCC formally published a rule reversing net neutrality--
the legal infrastructure that kept the internet free and open to all 
Americans. The FCC's rule will give the ISP--the internet service 
providers--the authority to restrict customers' access to their 
favorite websites by forcing consumers to buy internet packages, such 
as cable, and pay more for premium access.
  In this new universe, big companies that can pay to play could get 
faster internet service while startups and everyday Americans are stuck 
in the slow lane. It will mean the end of the free and open internet as 
we know it. The way the internet has driven innovation and 
entrepreneurship and the way it has provided unprecedented 
opportunities for Americans to learn and connect with one another could 
all change, with a profit-making organization at the toll booth 
deciding who pays what.
  We have an opportunity to save the internet by undoing the FCC's 
ruling through the Congressional Review Act. All 49 Democrats have 
already signed on to the bill, and one Republican, Susan Collins, has 
joined us. We now need only one more vote, one more Republican, to 
reverse the FCC's ruling here in the Senate.
  When we force a vote on this bill, for the first time, Republicans in 
Congress will have the opportunity to right the administration's wrong 
and show the American people whose side they are on--the average 
consumer or once again side with big corporate interests. Are they on 
the side of big internet service providers and corporations, or are 
they on the side of consumers, entrepreneurs, startups, and small 
business owners?
  Tomorrow there will be a net neutrality day of action here on the 
Hill that I hope will focus the Senate's attention on the issue. We 
have 60 legislative days to pass the CRA, and I urge every single one 
of my Republican colleagues to join us and help save the internet.
  I yield the floor.

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