Republicans are launching a multi-pronged assault on the net neutrality plan proposed by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler.

Ajit Pai, one of two Republicans on the five-member commission, held a press conference Tuesday denouncing Wheeler, saying the plan goes further than the Democratic chairman admits. Pai referred to the proposal as “President Obama’s plan” because Wheeler decided to reclassify broadband as a common carrier service after Obama asked him to do so.

Wheeler says the plan does not impose rate regulation on Internet providers, but Pai said, “the claim that President Obama’s plan to regulate the Internet does not include rate regulation is flat-out false."

Although the FCC won’t decide on rates initially, home Internet customers or companies that interconnect with Internet providers would be able to complain to the FCC that rates are unreasonable.

“The plan clearly states that the FCC can regulate the rates that Internet service providers charge for broadband Internet access, for interconnection, for transit—in short, for the core aspects of Internet services,” Pai said. “To be sure, the plan says that the FCC will not engage in what it calls ex ante rate regulation. But this only means that the FCC won’t set rates ahead of time. The plan repeatedly states that the FCC will apply sections 201 and 202 of the Communications Act, including their rate regulation provisions, to determine whether the prices charged by broadband providers are ‘unjust or unreasonable.’ The plan also repeatedly invites complaints about section 201 and 202 violations from end-users and edge providers alike. Thus, for the first time, the FCC would claim the power to declare broadband Internet rates and charges unreasonable after the fact. Indeed, the only limit on the FCC’s discretion to regulate rates is its own determination of whether rates are ‘just and reasonable,’ which isn’t much of a restriction at all.”

Protestors who support net neutrality interrupted Pai's press conference.

Pai also criticized Wheeler for releasing only a description of the plan instead of the entire 332-page document. Pai said he is prohibited from releasing the plan himself unless Wheeler allows it.

Pai said he believes in “a free and open Internet,” but said the Internet is already free and open and that net neutrality rules are thus “a solution in search of a problem.”

Wheeler’s plan would prevent Internet service providers from blocking or throttling traffic, or prioritizing Web content in exchange for payment.

Former FCC Chairman Michael Powell, who is now CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, also criticized Wheeler’s plan in an op-ed in USA Today Monday.

Wheeler’s plan relies on Title II of the Communications Act, which sets out the common carrier rules that have long applied to the wireline telephone system. This “would shackle the Internet in an outdated legal regime from the Ma Bell era that has nothing to do with net neutrality at all—opening the door to price regulation, new tax and fee increases, and a costly slowdown in investment and innovation,” Powell wrote. “We've seen where this approach leads in Europe, where under Title II-style rules broadband investment per household is half that of the US, and Internet speeds there, on average, are considerably slower. Even worse, by going down the legally risky road of Title II reclassification, we won't end the debate. We'll simply kick the problem to the courts (again), creating new uncertainties and leaving everyone who wants enforceable Internet rules in limbo.”

Powell, a Republican, helped make sure that Title II rules would not apply to Internet providers during his 2001-2005 tenure as FCC chairman.

Wheeler's office says his plan "will not impose, suggest or authorize any new taxes or fees."

Republicans in Congress are also taking action. Last week, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform claimed Obama had “improper influence” over the net neutrality decision and launched an investigation.

Republican senators have now begun a parallel investigation, and Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) has proposed legislation that would require the FCC to publish its full proposals before voting on them.

The FCC is scheduled to vote on Wheeler's proposal on February 26.

UPDATE: A spokesperson for Wheeler issued a response to Pai's concerns. "Regarding rate regulation, mobile voice services have been classified under similar Title II rules for 21 years, including a requirement by Congress that the FCC apply sections 201 and 202 to that service," the spokesperson said. "And the FCC has never used that authority to question prices in that sector. The Chairman’s Open Internet proposal follows this model."

As for whether to release the order before the vote, "the Chairman will continue following the FCC’s longstanding practice of circulating proposals to the commission three weeks before a meeting, getting their input, and making the final Order as agreed upon by the commissioners public after the vote," the spokesperson said.