THE DAILY WHIP: FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2016

H.R. 2666 – No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act (Rep. Kinzinger – Energy and Commerce) (One hour of debate).  This bill would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) from regulating the rates that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) may charge for broadband internet service. 

When the FCC passed Net Neutrality regulations last year, they assured the public that they would not use new authorities to set rates for internet access.  H.R. 2666 was intended to codify that language, meaning it would prevent the Commission from using Title II of that Act to engage in rate regulation.  Both Democrats and Republicans supported the initial intention behind the legislation, but Committee Democrats argued that H.R. 2666 was too broadly written.  In its current form, the bill would severely limit the FCC’s ability to protect consumers and could potentially restrict and remove traditional functions of the Commission.  The FCC’s ability to act in the public interest, address unfair or discriminatory practices, enforce net neutrality rules, and conduct merger reviews would all be put in jeopardy if H.R. 2666 were enacted.

Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee offered many amendments during the mark-up of H.R. 2666 in order to limit the bill to rate setting and to clarify the exclusion of many vital areas in which the FCC should be allowed to regulate, but all of those amendments were rejected on party line votes.  With the exclusion of those amendments, H.R. 2666 was reported out of committee without a single Democratic vote.

In the Statement of Administrative Policy, the Administration argues “…H.R. 2666 would restrict the FCC's ability to take enforcement actions to protect consumers on issues where the FCC has received numerous consumer complaints.  The bill also would hamstring the FCC's public interest authority to review transactions.  H.R. 2666 also could limit the Commission's ability to address new practices and adapt its rules for a dynamic, fast-changing online marketplace.”  The SAP also states that if the President were presented with H.R. 2666, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill.  Members are urged to VOTE NO.

The Rule, which was adopted on Wednesday, makes in order 3 amendments, debatable for 10 minutes, equally divided between the offeror and an opponent.  The amendments are:

Doyle Amendment. Preserves the FCC's authority to accelerate the deployment of broadband internet access service to low income consumers.
Lujan/Pallone/Yarmuth/Clarke Amendment. Clarifies that nothing in H.R. 2666 would prevent the FCC from requiring that TV broadcast stations, AM or FM radio broadcast stations, cable operators, direct broadcast satellite service providers, or satellite digital audio radio service providers to upload the public inspection file in a format that is machine-readable, thereby enhancing transparency, to the extent such station, operator, or provider is required to make material in its public inspection file available on, or upload such material to, an Internet website.
McNerney Amendment. States that nothing in H.R. 2666 shall affect the authority of the Commission to act in the public interest, convenience, and necessity.

Bill Text for H.R. 2666:
PDF Version

Background for H.R. 2666:
House Report (HTML Version)
House Report (PDF Version)