House Panel Approves Spending Bill that Guts Net Neutrality

WASHINGTON, DC — The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services approved a bill this morning that would gut the Federal Communications Commission’s recently-approved Open Internet Order. The bill, which was approved by voice vote, now goes to the full House Appropriations Committee for a vote that could occur as soon as next week. New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) strongly opposes this legislation.

The following statement can be attributed to Joshua Stager, Policy Counsel for New America’s Open Technology Institute:

“We are disappointed by today’s vote and urge the full House Appropriations Committee to fix this legislation at the next markup. As currently drafted, the bill jeopardizes our digital economy by tilting the Internet’s level playing field in favor of entrenched cable and telephone companies. A vote for this bill is a vote against consumers and small businesses, plain and simple.”