The Federal Communications Commission last week released the full text of its Open Internet order, just in time for a series of Congressional hearings called by Republicans eager to chastise the FCC.

An FCC oversight meeting held this afternoon by the Senate Committee on Commerce began with committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) expressing his disappointment in the three Democratic members of the FCC.

"Rather than exercising regulatory humility, the three majority commissioners chose to take the most radical, polarizing, and partisan path possible," Thune said. "Instead of working with me and my colleagues in the House and Senate on a bipartisan basis, to find a consensus, the three of you chose an option that I believe will only increase political, regulatory, and legal uncertainty, which will ultimately hurt average Internet users. Simply put, your actions jeopardize the open Internet that we are all seeking to protect."

The Communications Act, which was created in 1934 and updated for the Internet age in 1996 by a Republican-controlled Congress, is now too old to be used to regulate the Internet, Republicans on the committee argued today.

"The Internet is not the telephone network, and you cannot apply the old rules of telecom to the new world of the Internet," Thune said. "Three weeks ago, three regulators turned their backs on that consensus, and I believe the Internet and its users will ultimately suffer for it."

The FCC decided to reclassify broadband as a common carrier service, similar to the landline telephone system and mobile voice, but without imposing the strictest parts of common carrier law. The Open Internet rules (aka "net neutrality") prohibit Internet service providers from blocking or throttling lawful traffic, prohibit the prioritizing or traffic in exchange for payment, and require network operators to make disclosures about how they manage their network. Another provision requires Internet providers to be truthful about the full price that will appear on consumers' bills.

Aside from the few hard-and-fast rules, the Open Internet order will have the FCC judge Internet service providers' conduct on a case-by-case basis to determine whether it is just and reasonable. Customer complaints about bills, and financial disputes between network operators that harm consumers will be judged against that standard.

While a customer could complain that a specific price is unjust or unreasonable, the FCC has declined to impose rate-of-return regulation, in which utility regulators determine what expenses are allowable and what a proper rate of return is. The FCC has also not used its longstanding authority to impose price caps on Internet service.

Republicans in Congress argue that the order gives the FCC too much oversight over broadband service and does not give Internet providers the regulatory certainty they need to invest in their networks.

Wheeler, a former lobbyist for the cable and wireless industries, took aim at those arguments.

"The ISPs for years have been saying for years that 'we don't want the FCC to have such broad rulemaking authority, they ought to be looking at things like the FTC [Federal Trade Commission], on a case by case basis,'" Wheeler said. "And now what happens is we've come out and we said, 'OK, we'll do something that is like the FTC on a case by case basis,' and everybody says, 'Oh, that's terrible uncertainty, we don't know what it is, if only they would be making rules and telling us what things were.' You can't have it both ways."

Reclassification puts Internet providers under Title II of the Communications Act, which could allow future commissions to impose stricter rules, such as strict price controls. But Wheeler said any such move would require another open proceeding "and have everyone in the country involved," just like the most recent net neutrality decision. The FCC used its "forbearance" authority to avoid imposing utility-style rate regulation, and Wheeler said that "the ability to de-forbear is going to be a high bar to hurdle."

All five members of the FCC testified at today's hearing.

The “Internet Freedom Act” and other bills to protect ISPs from regulation

Republicans have filed bills to roll back FCC decisions including an "Internet Freedom Act" that would overturn the net neutrality order. Other Republican legislation would enforce a version of net neutrality while gutting much of the FCC's authority to regulate broadband service.

Yesterday, US Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) proposed an FCC reauthorization bill that he said would "make the necessary reforms to an agency that is ill equipped for the innovation era,” including by creating an independent inspector general for the agency. The FCC's current inspector general is examining the FCC's net neutrality rulemaking process, but Wheeler has the ability to hire or fire the inspector general, according to Walden.

Thune today said he's skeptical about the FCC's latest budget request. "The FCC has requested $530 million for Fiscal Year 2016," Thune said. "This funding level would be the highest in the Commission’s history. That alone raises eyebrows, particularly when American households continue to do more with less in this stagnant economy, but the FCC also wants to fund this increase in part by raiding the Universal Service Fund." The fund is designed to improve telecommunications access in under-served areas. The FCC apparently wants to use part of the fund to pay for personnel that works on the Universal Service Fund.

Democrats on the Senate committee supported the FCC's net neutrality decision.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said, "I want to congratulate you" on the net neutrality order, saying it's consistent with previous FCC decisions that applied light-touch regulation. Markey noted that the net neutrality rules are similar to common carrier regulations that have applied to the mobile voice industry since 1993. "You have created a more predictable investment environment," Markey said.

Markey said net neutrality rules will protect entrepreneurs who rely on an open Internet to reach consumers.