More than 60 groups including the ACLU and Free Press have called on the House Appropriations Committee to drop an amendment on the Financial Services appropriations bill that would defund the FCC's enforcement of new network neutrality rules.
The House Financial Services Subcommittee Thursday (June 11) approved by voice vote the bill and underlying amendment. The bill would also cut the FCC's budget substantially and force publication of drafts of FCC decisions before they are voted.
“These measures, buried in a spending bill that is 150 pages long, constitute a direct rebuke to the millions of people that asked for strong Net Neutrality rules,” the groups said in a letter to chair and ranking member of the Appropriations Committee. “By eliminating the FCC’s ability to protect Net Neutrality, this appropriations bill would have a chilling effect on our First Amendment rights and our economy.”
The FCC's new rules went into effect June 12.
Others signing on to the letter included Common Cause, Consumers Union and MoveOn.org.
