John Doerr broached the 'Open Internet' agreement when he met with the president. | REUTERS 2 CEOs push Obama on net neutrality

The controversial “Open Internet” agreement pending at the Federal Communications Commission got a vote of confidence from two CEOs who visited the White House on Wednesday.

John Doerr, partner at powerhouse venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins in Silicon Valley, brought up the net neutrality proceeding during conversations with President Barack Obama, according to a person familiar with the discussions.


Doerr, who has invested in Web heavyweights including Google and Amazon, told Obama he was supportive of the net neutrality proposal on which the FCC plans to vote next week. Doerr emphasized the importance of regulatory certainty, which he said the net neutrality proposal would provide.

Also in attendance at the White House was Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, who further expressed the need for regulatory certainty, the source said. It is not clear whether other participants in Wednesday's meeting — including Google CEO Eric Schmidt or Cisco CEO John Chambers — sounded off on the issue.

The FCC plans to take up the issue of net neutrality – or rules that would require Internet service providers to treat all Web traffic equally – at its Tuesday meeting. The proposal is largely based on an agreement reached in October by House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.). That agreement failed when it did not receive any Republican support heading into the election.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has taken a similar approach as Waxman: His proposal requires the operators of traditional wired networks not to discriminate against any traffic or content, but takes a looser line on wireless networks.

Waxman told POLITICO on Wednesday he is only "aware of the agency's proposal in a general and not in a detailed sense." But the congressman said he supports the FCC's effort to "get important net neutrality provisions into law through their rule making."

"There are other ways it can be handled, but I think the FCC should act and I am encouraged they are acting," he said in an interview.

But Genachowski will first need to sell the proposal to his fellow commissioners — including senior Democratic FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, who has said Genachowski’s proposal does not provide enough protections for consumers. He is considered the key vote entering next week's open meeting.