Blunt, Cantwell on Senate Floor Flag Concerns Over Net Neutrality

a good idea if the White House would get on receive and try to figure out what that message is and what is wrong with those policies the American people don’t like.” Voters are “concerned about the president’s recent overreach” on net neutrality “where even the chairman of the FCC, nominated by the president, confirmed by this Senate, even the chairman of the FCC says, no, I think the president’s headed in the wrong direction there and we need to do something different than that,” Blunt said. President Barack Obama recently backed Communications Act Title II reclassification of broadband, and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has not publicly disagreed with that proposal (see 1411190039">1411190039). Wheeler is widely seen as having worked on a hybrid proposal, drawing on Title II and Section 706. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., defended net neutrality. She called for strong rules to prevent blocking, throttling, paid prioritization deals and to promote transparency, for wired and wireless networks. She worries about ISPs “cutting backroom deals,” she said, flanked by a large sign displaying the words net neutrality. “We face a pivotal moment,” Cantwell said. “I’m calling on the FCC to take forceful action that adopts the strongest rules possible to provide maximum protection for consumers, maximum flexibility to promote the Internet economy.” She called net neutrality “one of the most important economic issues before us.”