“As Chairman Wheeler pushes forward with plans to regulate the Internet, he still refuses to directly answer growing concerns about how the rules were developed, how they are structured, and how they will stand up to judicial scrutiny," said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Michigan), and Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), in a joint statement.
The Democrat-controlled FCC is expected to vote Thursday on whether to adopt Wheeler’s Net neutrality proposal. His draft order, circulated earlier this month to his colleagues, is intended to prevent broadband providers from slowing down, prioritizing or blocking Web traffic. Wheeler has recommended reclassifying broadband service as a telecommunications service.
With the FCC just a day away from a vote, a House communications subcommittee conducted a hearing Wednesday morning titled “The Uncertain Future of the Internet." Because Wheeler refused to testify, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee postponed its scheduled hearing today, according to Upton and Chaffetz.
“So long as the chairman continues to insist on secrecy, we will continue calling for more transparency and accountability at the commission," the lawmakers said. “Chairman Wheeler and the FCC are not above Congress. This fight continues as the future of the Internet is at stake."
Republicans and some of the nation’s largest broadband providers oppose Wheeler’s proposal, contending it is burdensome and will result in uncertainty due to the inevitability of litigation. Ajit Pai, one of the two Republican commissioners, has criticized Wheeler’s proposal as a heavy-handed regulatory approach that would curtail investment in broadband networks and open the door to billions in broadband taxes.
On Monday, Pai and fellow Republican commission Michael O’Rielly requested FCC leadership delay ...
