Regulatory Reform - May 2017

Many states have been discussing ways to pay for road funding. Now, there are two ways to make something affordable. One way is to increase revenue and the other way is to drive down costs. It has been suggested to take a look at replacing the gas tax to be able to afford road funding since the revenue brought in by the gas tax is on the decline while road coasts are increasing.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai put the Obama-era “net neutrality” rules on the chopping block in a 2-1 vote on May 18th to move forward with a proposed rulemaking to overturn the 2015 Open Internet Order. One mythical claim by activists who favor net neutrality is that repeal of the Open Internet Order legalizes website censorship and hurts free speech. Following this narrative, internet service providers (ISPs) could arbitrarily block their broadband customers from accessing any websites they please. An especially feared target of censorship is online services provided by competitor companies.

Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) reintroduced the CREATES Act, S. 974, in an effort to close regulatory loopholes at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that limit competition in the emerging market for biosimilars. Sen. Mike Lee and all of the other cosponsors of last year’s bill have returned as cosponsors. Rep. Tom Marino also introduced this bill in the House of Representatives on April 27th.

The internet has been buzzing about late-night talk show comedian John Oliver’s resurgence of interest in the regulations on internet broadband providers, about which he had an extended monologue on his show this week. But his misguided call-to-action has already had repercussions, including cyber-attacks on the FCC’s website, ruining the ability for them to receive comments on what the public thinks of the ”Restoring Internet Freedom” proposal presented by Ajit Pai.

In the wake of the United debacle, advocates for increased airline regulation are coming out of the woodwork. Never let a good crisis go to waste, right? They assert that tighter controls, a heavier government hand, are the only solution to the apparent horror of flying created by deregulation in the 1970s.