WASHINGTON, DC – The Energy and Commerce Committee today passed H.R. 2666, the No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act, sponsored by Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), by a vote of 29 to 19. H.R. 2666 would prevent the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from regulating rates charged for broadband Internet, just as the administration promised when they reclassified access to the Internet as a utility under Title II of the Communications Act.

As Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) put it, “We were assured by President Obama and Chairman Wheeler that the Commission was not going to use Title II to regulate rates for broadband. This bill will enshrine that commitment into law, simply ensuring the FCC cannot use its self-declared expansive authority over the Internet to engage in rate regulation.”

Rep. Kinzinger echoed Chairman Upton’s point, adding, “In front of this very committee the Chairman [Wheeler] agreed with this language. Not only that, but then Chairman Wheeler was asked the same question by my colleague on the other side of the Capitol. In that hearing, Senator Boozman (R-AR) posed the same question to the Chairman, and once again Chairman Wheeler reiterated his support for the premise of this legislation."

Watch Rep. Kinzinger ask Chairman Wheeler last March if he supported
a provision barring the FCC from regulating rates HERE.

Communications and Technology Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) concluded, “This legislation leaves in place FCC authority to protect consumers from fraudulent actions, such as cramming and slamming, as well as breach of contract by carriers. Meanwhile, it gives certainty to innovators in the Internet marketplace so that they can continue to develop new services to save consumers money without having their creativity second guessed, after-the-fact by Washington bureaucrats.”

For more information on today’s markup, including a background memo, and archived webcast please click HERE.

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