WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced that they have joined a group of 39 Democratic senators in urging Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai to abandon his plan to repeal the agency's net neutrality rules in favor of giving internet providers the ability to freely block or slow down consumers' access to the internet. The senators' letter comes ahead of a Thursday vote by the FCC to dismantle net neutrality protections.

"Your plan gives a broadband provider the ability to significantly alter their subscribers' internet experience," the lawmakers wrote. "Once adopted, this proposal will permit that provider to freely block, slow down or manipulate a consumer's access to the internet as long as it discloses those practices – no matter how anti-consumer – somewhere within mounds of legalese in a new 'net neutrality' policy. …It is a stunning regulatory overreach."

"The future of the internet hangs in the balance," the lawmakers continued. "The FCC's responsibilities over the nation's communications networks remain, and are more crucial than ever, as the internet has become fundamental to every aspect of our society. On behalf of our constituents – and future generations of Americans – we urge you to abandon this radical and reckless plan to turn the FCC's back on consumers and the future of the free and open internet."

Repealing net neutrality rules will affect New Mexicans in many ways – from small business owners who rely on the internet to compete with bigger companies, to students who need to access internet content for school, to the growing number of consumers who stream television shows and movies instead of paying higher costs for cable.

The letter was led by U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), and in addition to Udall and Heinrich, it was signed by U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Gary C. Peters (D-Mich.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Angus S. King, Jr. (I-Maine), Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), Robert P. Casey (D-Pa.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-Ore.), Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Margaret Wood Hassan (D-N.H.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.),Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Cory A. Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Christopher Murphy (D-Conn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.).

The full letter can be found below and here.

Dear Chairman Pai:

We write to urge you to abandon your reckless plan to radically alter the free and open internet as we know it. Your proposed action will amount to the largest abdication of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) statutory responsibilities in history.

At its inception, Congress delegated to the FCC the primary responsibility to protect consumers and the public interest with respect to the nation's communications networks. With your current proposal, you have now decided to throw overboard those long-standing responsibilities – and consumers with them. In short, you are walking away from your statutory duties and effectively eliminating FCC oversight over high-speed internet access.

Your plan gives a broadband provider the ability to significantly alter their subscribers' internet experience. Once adopted, this proposal will permit that provider to freely block, slow down or manipulate a consumer's access to the internet as long as it discloses those practices – no matter how anti-consumer – somewhere within mounds of legalese in a new "net neutrality" policy.

Your proposal also makes sure that no other state or local government can fill this gaping consumer protection void by preempting them from adopting their own open internet consumer protections. It is not enough for the FCC to turn its back on consumers. You willfully plan to tie the states' hands to prevent them from protecting their own residents. It is a stunning regulatory overreach.

Underlying your plan is the false notion that your action will return the internet to the supposed halcyon days of "light touch" regulation in the past. This notion – that the way the agency approached internet access in the 1990s and early 2000s is the perfect approach today – ignores the very different role that the internet plays in 2017. Over the past 20 years, internet communications have become widely adopted and relied on by American homes and businesses. Yet, your plan ignores the central and critical role that access to a free and open internet plays in Americans' lives and the role that the nation's expert communications agency should play with respect to the networks underlying that access. Moreover, your assertion that your plan returns internet access to the way it was before is not correct. Even under the Bush-era FCC, the agency adopted open internet principles and held out the threat of regulatory action to combat harmful activity. Your plan eradicates even that backstop and leaves Americans without a regulatory safety net.

The future of the internet hangs in the balance. The FCC's responsibilities over the nation's communications networks remain, and are more crucial than ever, as the internet has become fundamental to every aspect of our society. On behalf of our constituents – and future generations of Americans – we urge you to abandon this radical and reckless plan to turn the FCC's back on consumers and the future of the free and open internet.

Sincerely,

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.