Rand Paul seeks to block Internet rules

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday introduced a resolution to block net neutrality rules approved by the Federal Communications Commission in February. 

Paul, a recently announced GOP presidential candidate, said he does not want to see the government regulating the Internet. 

{mosads}“This regulation by the FCC is a textbook example of Washington’s desire to regulate anything and everything, and will do nothing more than wrap the Internet in red-tape,” he said in a statement. 

More than a dozen House lawmakers have already sponsored a nearly identical resolution to block the FCC’s new order, which would reclassify broadband Internet access under authority governing traditional telephones. The new authority is meant to give the FCC increased power to enforce rules that prevent service providers from prioritizing any piece of Internet traffic above another. 

The seven-line resolution said “Congress disapproves” of the new rules and that they “shall have no force or effect.”

The resolution under the Congressional Review Act would provide for an up-or-down vote in the Senate, allowing it to avoid a filibuster. But the resolution has little chance of getting past a presidential veto. 

Paul, in the past, has said he is determined to keep “government out of the Internet,” adding it has worked well for the past two decades with limited regulation. He also expressed skepticism of government regulations to ban fast lanes, a major tenant of the FCC’s new rules. 

He has not been as vocal about his opposition to the net neutrality order as some other GOP presidential contenders, like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). That might be because Paul does not sit on the Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the FCC.