Security and Accountability for Every Port Act

SECURITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR EVERY PORT ACT -- (Senate - September 13, 2006)

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NET NEUTRALITY

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President and colleagues, I have put a public hold on the telecommunications legislation that has cleared the Senate Commerce Committee, and I have decided to come to the floor, from time to time, to try to outline why I have committed to block that legislation until the legislation ensures that the Internet will be free of discrimination.

That is what the debate known as Net neutrality is all about. It is something I feel very strongly about. I think as colleagues and the country come to understand more about what this issue is all about, there will be increasing concern about the absence in this legislation of tough, enforceable provisions to ensure that the Internet is free of discrimination.

Now, the lobbyists for the big communications concerns would like Americans to believe this is a very complicated issue. Certainly, there are technical aspects to it. But the bottom line proposition, Mr. President and colleagues, is, today, when you log on, you get to take your browser where you want to go, when you want to go there, and everybody is treated the same. That is what would change under this legislation because it would be possible, under the way the bill is written now, for major phone companies and cable companies to essentially set up what they have described--described in the business press--as a pay-to-play arrangement. It would change the fundamental nature of the way the Internet works today. I happen to think that is a great mistake.

Now, in prior speeches, I have come to the floor to give examples of what the world would look like without Net neutrality for consumers and small business and innovators.

Over the recess, a small business came to me and shared a story that I thought was particularly interesting. It is the story of a company known as New Mexico Chili. The two individuals, a married couple, who established this firm, NMChili.com, set it up as an alternative to the high-priced on-line Southwestern Chili stores that most people were forced to patronize on line. This couple started with a simple idea and a motto, ``Even our prices taste good.''

From the small town of Hatch, NM, home of the world famous Labor Day Chile Festival, people from around the world can now access the wonderful chili that has made Hatch famous. Somebody from my hometown in Portland can go on line and within 48 hours have delivered to their doorstep Hatch's finest mild red chili or hot green chili.

They have been able to achieve all of this because of the open nature of the Internet. They pay their fee to get on the Net and for the bandwidth they use, and the business can flourish. This is because the Net remains neutral and free of discrimination.

Under the Senate Commerce Committee telecommunications bill, this would no longer be the case. This particular couple, in the small town of Hatch, NM, would be forced to pay fees to Internet access providers around the United States in order to have access to subscribers of these providers, or else they could get stuck in the ``slow lane.'' They would be left with two bad choices: If they pay the fees to the providers, they would no longer be able to say ``even our prices taste good,'' as they will be forced to charge customers more in order to continue to make profits. If they do not pay the fees to providers, their Web site would get stuck in what will become the Internet ``slow lane,'' angering customers and causing them to lose business to larger competitors who can afford to pay the fee. Either way, New Mexico Chili, a small business that came to us, would lose, and its customers would lose.

In this example, the large businesses that own the Internet pipes extend their reach to the detriment of small business. According to the business plans of the major phone and cable companies, what they have been telling Wall Street, what is printed in the business press, this is the direction in which they are headed.

Without Net neutrality, without strong, enforceable provisions to ensure that the Internet is free of discrimination, this small firm in New Mexico would not be able to use the Net the way they can today, and there would be thousands and thousands of other small businesses like it.

Now, Mr. President and colleagues, we are going to hear a lot about this legislation in the days ahead. I have been hearing reports, for example, that if you have Net neutrality we are going to have problems for consumers in terms of blocking spam. That is not going to happen. And in the days ahead, I will outline how that is the case, as well.

The newest attack is that Net neutrality would prevent parents from keeping pornographic content away from their children's eyes and ears. That also is not going to happen. That is why organizations with great interest and expertise in the area, groups such as the Parents Television Council, are strongly supporting an Internet that is free of discrimination, an Internet that has strong provisions to protect Net neutrality.

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The fact is, an Internet free of discrimination, an Internet that ensures there is Net neutrality is going to allow parents to do the same things they now do in terms of keeping pornography out of their home. And the fact is, I think it is going to give parents new tools in the days ahead to have additional new and exciting options in video programming that is free of the violence and foul language and sexual content that many of them are forced to buy today in order to receive the best educational programming on television. That is because the promise of a competitive Internet television market is going to grow fastest with an Internet that is free of discrimination and an Internet that ensures there is true Net neutrality.

Mr. President, I see the distinguished Senators who have been active on the legislation, the distinguished Senator from Alaska and the distinguished Senator from Washington, on the Senate floor. It is not my intent to get in the way of their moving this important legislation. So I intend to come to the floor on additional occasions in the days ahead to discuss this issue. I wanted to go through the example of that small business in New Mexico, New Mexico Chili, to outline why they benefit so dramatically with an Internet that is free of discrimination. I also wanted to outline why Net neutrality is so important to the cause of protecting parents and families from pornography and ensuring that those families have the tools to fight spam.

As I have indicated to the Senate in the past, it is my intent to keep my public hold on the telecommunications legislation until strong language is included in that bill that ensures that the Internet, which today operates free of discrimination, treats all customers the same way. Until that is embedded in the legislation that comes before the Senate, I will continue to keep my hold on this legislation.

I know the sponsors of tonight's bill have important work to do.

Mr. President, with that, I yield the floor.

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