Republican members of Congress today made their case for legislation that enforces net neutrality rules while limiting the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to regulate broadband providers.

“The Internet is not a monopoly like the telephone companies were and the utilities were in the 1930s,” said US Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX). “It is one of the most vibrant markets in the world. The chairman’s draft is an attempt to keep it that vibrant marketplace.”

Barton was speaking during a hearing on draft legislation proposed by republicans including Greg Walden (R-OR), chairman of the House Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. The bill enforces net neutrality principles such as a ban on blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization, but with exceptions for “specialized services.”

The bill would also forbid the FCC from regulating broadband as a common carrier service under Title II of the Communications Act, which is used to regulate the wireline telephone network. The FCC is considering using Title II to enforce net neutrality rules, but without the statute's stricter provisions such as rate regulation.

The bill would also prevent the FCC from issuing any rules based on authority from Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The FCC is considering using Section 706 to preempt state laws that limit the rights of cities and towns to build broadband networks.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has argued that most Americans lack any choice of high-speed broadband providers and that Title II could help the FCC protect consumers without imposing onerous restrictions on the industry.

Walden said rules should be put forward by elected officials instead of three unelected ones, referring to the FCC’s three-member Democratic majority led by Wheeler. Walden called reclassification of broadband as a common carrier service the “nuclear option” and said his legislation is largely based on the FCC’s own 2010 net neutrality rules that were vacated by a court ruling on a lawsuit filed by Verizon.

“Much of this bill’s language is taken from past FCC attempts, but limits on the FCC authority have resulted in years of litigation and uncertainty,” said Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI). “Consumers deserve better… providers need certainty.”

Democrats: FCC needs authority to protect consumers

Congressional Democrats objected to limiting FCC authority.

“I don’t want to undermine the FCC authority, I don’t think that will serve to protect consumers,” said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ). “The FCC must continue to serve an important role in the broadband age… It has taken the FCC nearly 13 months to craft rules that respond to the needs of the American public. Congress cannot be expected to work it all out in 13 days.”

Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) warned that taking Title II authority away could undermine the FCC’s ability to improve rural Internet service by using the Universal Service Fund. Matsui also pointed out that she proposed legislation that enforces net neutrality principles without limiting FCC authority.

Matsui argued that the Republican bill’s exception for specialized services will create a loophole in the paid prioritization ban, but Walden noted that even previous FCC proposals had carve-outs for specialized services.

The hearing also featured testimony from cable and wireless lobbyists, groups representing minorities, and Web companies Etsy and Amazon.

Etsy and Amazon officials criticized the Republican bill and said the US should regulate interconnection disputes such as those that led to congestion in Netflix’s connections to major ISPs. Interconnection, a direct exchange of traffic between two providers at the edges of their networks, is generally not covered by net neutrality proposals, which focus on what happens to traffic after it enters an Internet provider’s network.

Jessica Gonzalez, executive VP and general counsel of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, said the Republican legislation would strip the FCC of its ability to address problems at interconnection points.

“The draft forecloses the FCC from exploring the use of Title II authority to address broadband universal service goals, privacy, accessibility for persons with disabilities, interconnection, network reliability, and a number of other important policy goals identified explicitly in the statute,” Gonzalez said.

The FCC should also be able to prevent misuse of data caps, she said.

Walden said the Republican bill is not an attempt to remove the FCC’s authority over interconnection points.