FCC Republicans are solidly against the
network neutrality proposal.
Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker said the
FCC should not take any action before the new Congress convenes (in
January) and even then only after it gets the go-ahead from that Congress.
"This is a mistake," she said in a
statement. "We do not have authority to act. The new majority of the House
Committee on Energy and Commerce has asked the Commission not to circulate this
Order, and a clear majority of all Members of Congress has expressed concern
with our Internet policies. Whether the Internet should be regulated is a
decision best left to the directly elected representatives of the American
people."
Throwing a couple of rhetorical punches at the
chairman's proposal, she said it would be "reckless and inappropriate for
the Commission to act upon the Chairman's controversial and partisan
proposal."
Senior Republican Robert McDowell has said he
"strongly opposes" what he called an "ill-advised
maneuver."
