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House Passes Amendment To Block Funds For Net Neutrality

Posted by Soulskill on from the one-way-or-another dept.

Charliemopps sends this quote from the National Journal: "The House passed an amendment Thursday that would bar the Federal Communications Commission from using any funding to implement the network-neutrality order it approved in December. The amendment, approved on a 244-181 vote, was offered by Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., to legislation that would fund government agencies for the rest of fiscal year 2011. Walden and other critics of the FCC's net-neutrality order argue it will stifle innovation and investment in broadband. "

4 of 393 comments (clear)

  1. Just to be clear... by Anubis+IV · · Score: 5, Informative

    This lack of funding is aimed at the FCC's version of "net neutrality", not to block net neutrality in general. This is a good thing. That version of "net neutrality" was in name only. Obviously there are interests on both sides of the aisle at play here (Big Business wants even less restriction, consumers want what they've always had), but we all agreed that the FCC's current idea sucked, so this is a win.

    1. Re:Just to be clear... by commodore6502 · · Score: 5, Informative

      >>>This is a good thing.

      It is? What was wrong with the FCC's latest rules? I didn't see anything objectionable about them, and I'm usually anti-government. The rules seemed reasonable - block ISPs from discriminating against sites or charging extra to reach them.

      --
      Information wants to be expensive AND wants to be free. So you have Value vs. Cheap distribution fighting each other.
  2. Re:The usual. by phantomcircuit · · Score: 5, Informative

    That's not at all what they're doing here. The article is intentionally misleading.

    This is a bill HR. 68 "To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit Federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting after fiscal year 2013. "

    Further they didn't even pass this yet, they merely referred it to committee. Indeed there isn't even any pork in it. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.68:

  3. Re:The House, Not The House & The Senate by Xacid · · Score: 5, Informative

    "Adding riders to "must-pass" bills is a time-honored technique for sneaking all kinds of looniness into law."

    And this nails precisely why this technique needs to be abolished. It's dishonest politicking. Each section of a bill ought to be required to be voted on.