Conservative House Caucus Imagines Budget Without USF, Net Neutrality Order
The House Republican Study Committee (RSC) embraced the net neutrality vision of House Commerce Committee Vice Chairwoman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. The committee, representing a conservative caucus within the GOP, released a 110-page Blueprint for a Balanced Budget document this week,…
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saying “Congress should repeal the [FCC]’s February 26, 2015 rule reclassifying broadband Internet access as a telecommunication service under Title II of the Communications Act,” basing the idea explicitly on Blackburn’s Internet Freedom Act (HR-1212). House Republican Study Committee Chairman Bill Flores, R-Texas, is an original co-sponsor among HR-1212’s 43 GOP backers. The RSC budget proposal for FY 2016 also would repeal the USF, suggesting a Congressional Budget Office-predicted savings of $96 billion over the coming decade: “Unfortunately, the programs run by the fund -- including the LifeLine program that provides free government-subsidized cell phones -- are too often fraught with waste, fraud, and abuse.” The Lifeline program doesn't give away free cellphones. The RSC proposal also calls for passage of the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act and for a reduction of government competition with the private sector, slamming the Obama administration “encouraging local governments to offer broadband Internet service, overriding state laws through regulation and offering incentives in the tax code.” Flores and RSC Budget and Spending Task Force Chairman Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., claimed credit for the proposal, which they say will balance the budget in six years. Republicans and Democrats on the House Budget Committee are considering warring proposals. Telecom issues also arose last week during a markup session that cleared the House Budget Committee’s GOP proposal. Rep. Donald Norcross, D-N.J., had offered an amendment backed by several other Democrats that would have supported infrastructure investment. It would have found that “the federal government has played a critical role in the development of America’s infrastructure,” including “telephone networks” and “the development of the Internet” and would have included the sense that Congress should “work to ensure that Americans enjoy increased access to high-speed broadband internet services.” It failed in a 14-21 party-line vote.