Wyden, Merkley cheer Senate vote to preserve net neutrality

Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., applauded the Senate vote Wednesday to reverse the Federal Communication Commission’s “misguided” decision to end net neutrality protection, which they said would harm consumers, innovation and the open internet.

“Today’s vote in the Senate is the biggest win for internet freedom since we blocked PIPA and SOPA from becoming law. Now we’re a step closer to putting real net neutrality rules back on the books,” Wyden said.

“Now it’s time for the House to do its job and make sure that the Trump administration doesn’t let big cable companies cash in on American consumers by increasing prices on the content that Americans already consume. Voting for this resolution is a vote for a truly free internet. A vote against it is a vote for less choice, fewer independent voices and higher prices online.”

Wyden spoke on the Senate floor shortly before the vote. View his floor speech here.

Wyden’s office said in a news release that the senator has led the fight for an open internet for more than a decade, authoring the first strong net neutrality bill in the Senate in 2006. He strongly supported former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s move to formalize strong net neutrality rules in 2015, and has fought current FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s “misguided, anti-consumer, pro-Big Cable agenda to end net neutrality,” the statement concluded.

Merkley released the following statement after the Senate voted on a bipartisan basis to restore net neutrality, the principle that internet service providers should treat all web traffic equally rather than favoring some traffic over others:

“Americans don’t want slow and fast lanes on the internet based on how much they can pay. We don’t want good internet service to be a privilege just for the rich and powerful. Net neutrality is critical to small businesses, innovation, and the free and open internet we all hold dear.

“Today’s vote is a huge victory for freedom, entrepreneurship, and the ‘We the People’ values foundational to our nation. Now, our grassroots movement has to push harder than ever to get this measure through the House and onto the President’s desk.”