FreedomWorks Letter Support H.J. Res 37 to Prohibit FCC Net Neutrality Regulations

Dear FreedomWorks member,

As one of our million-plus FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your representatives and ask them to vote YES on H.J. Res 37 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from imposing net neutrality regulations on Internet providers. These job-killing regulations would involve significant new controls on the Internet that would have significant implications for investing in innovation and broadband deployment.

Net neutrality is likely to cripple competition, restrict innovation, reduce employment and raise costs for all consumers—all of which would only exacerbate the current economic downturn. These new regulations would make the government the arbiter of broadband allocation and leave broadband providers with little say over their own networks. Despite claims from net neutrality regulation supporters, the Internet is a very competitive place. Net neutrality regulations are a solution in search of a problem, with no evidence that broadband providers are restricting any Internet user’s access to websites on the Internet.

The last thing that the American people need is a government takeover of the Internet. Congress has repeatedly rejected net neutrality legislation. The FCC should respect this fact—and the careful separation of power laid out in the US Constitution—and not make such sweeping law where the legislature has not. The FCC’s net neutrality regulations would restrict the freedom of all Internet users while further harming our fragile economy. New York Law School Advanced Communications Law and Policy Institute recently found that net neutrality would cost the U.S. economy at least 100,000 to 200,000 jobs per year over the next five years. We must ensure that the Internet remains competitive and free by fighting a government takeover of the Internet.

I urge you to call your representatives and ask them to vote YES on Rep. Walden’s (R-OR) H.J. Res 37 to disapprove of the rules submitted by the FCC with respect to regulating the Internet. We will count their vote on H.J. Res 37 as a KEY VOTE when calculating the FreedomWorks Economic Freedom Scorecard for 2011. The Economic Freedom Scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the Jefferson Award, which recognizes members of Congress with voting records that support economic freedom.

Sincerely,

Matt Kibbe
President and CEO
FreedomWorks
[Click here for a PDF version of this letter.]