Regulatory Reform - May 2017

FreedomWorks Foundation President Adam Brandon offered the following comments on Sec. Zinke’s announcement:

Ahead of today’s speech by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai, FreedomWorks Foundation is pleased to announce our support of the final proposed Restoring Internet Freedom Order—ending public utility regulation of Internet service providers under Title II of the Communications Act and repealing expansive and vague standards of practice that have crippled broadband investment.

FreedomWorks Foundation condemns the abhorrent personal attacks leveled against FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and his family following the release of the Restoring Internet Freedom order. Chairman Pai and his family have been the subject of a range of disgusting attacks, ranging from blatant racism to horrific and threatening messages at their home targeting Chairman Pai's children, by name.

Today, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated copies of the final Restoring Internet Freedom Order with his fellow commissioners. Tomorrow, copies will be made available to the public. This is a full three weeks prior to the vote on the proposal, an unprecedented level of transparency compared to the previous administration. The order is expected to reverse the 2015 FCC order subjecting internet service providers to vague and burdensome standards of public utility regulation under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. The specter of Title II regulation has already killed upwards of $125 billion in broadband infrastructure deployment.

Today, the Federal Communications Commission officially adopted changes to long-outdated media ownership standards. The key changes include eliminating the Newspaper/Broadcast Cross-Ownership Rule, eliminating the Radio/Television Cross-Ownership Rule, eliminating the Eight-Voices Test, and revising the Top-Four Prohibition to a case-by-case review process versus the previous outright ban.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced today that he would be signing a directive barring scientists who have received grant funding from the agency from serving on three of the agency’s scientific advisory bodies.

Today, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced before the House and Energy Commerce Committee updates to the Commission’s regulatory framework on media ownership. This modernization is long overdue, reflecting the massive changes in how Americans consume news and entertainment with advent of the Internet. These updates will also allow for struggling local broadcast stations and newspapers to compete more effectively with cable and Internet content providers.

FreedomWorks Foundation applauds President Trump and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on their announcement to repeal the Clean Power Plan (CPP). It is our organization’s intention to staunchly support this effort through our Regulatory Action Center, driving a grassroots campaign in support of this critical regulatory reform. FreedomWorks Foundation President Adam Brandon made the following statement: