Rep. Blackburn urging GOP to reject Internet regs

“Constituents are clear about this: they do not want the federal
government being the arbiter of the next generation of the pipeline,”
she said. “They don’t want the federal government assigning priority and
value to content. This is the wrong step at the wrong time.”

The bill, which has a 2012 sunset in its draft version, “kicks the can down the road” on telecommunications issues without resolving them, she said.

Blackburn called it an “11th hour bill” that committee Chairman Henry Waxman (Calif.) hopes to squeak through before Democrats lose seats in the elections.  Committee Democrats are seeking GOP support for the proposal.

“They’re pushing to do it because they feel like time is running out, so they are trying to make a deal,” she said. She anticipated that more Republicans will criticize the bill as they become familiar with the pending legislation, which is anticipated this week.

“We’ve learned in the debate over cap-and trade healthcare that when those bills come to the floor, they always look different,” Blackburn said. “The devil is in the details.”

Blackburn has previously sponsored legislation that would prohibit the
FCC from imposing net-neutrality rules and has argued that regulating
the Internet would hamper innovation and the spread of broadband.