mr. wheeler. what the "wall street journal" get it right or were they wrong. >> on february 19th i said that we keep title 2 authority on the table. the commission has title -- >> i'm i understand that -- >> there is a laundry list sir. >> hang on. but i'm quoting from teletoday's testimony you just red. the proposed rule is 706. and the "wall street journal" as late as october 30th said it was what you were going to move forward. what happens between the 30th and the 10th seems to me two events. one, the president made his youtube video and commented and moved towards a title two approach. and issued a statement. and two, you had an important meeting with mr. zines on november 6th. >> i think that is an incorrect assumption. >> i'm going from the time line. >> let me quote from the "new york times" the day after the "wall street journal" saying there are four options on the table. >> you can respond when i ask you a question. that is how it works. now let me go through where the chairman was earl

mr. wheeler as we now wind down this hearing, mr. chairman i want to thank you again for your testimony. i think that there will you know, when decisions are made by various bodies, commissions quite often people are in disagreement with those decisions. and i don't think there's anything wrong with looking behind the curtain to try to figure out what the process was, because one of the things that we've been pushing very hard on in this committee is the whole ideatransparency. and so your testimony has been very enlightening. i think we need to keep in mind, you know that, these decisions are made by people who will come to government, and they don't have to do that. but they come to government, trying to bring their own experiences to the table. their concerns and their hopes of bringing us more and more to that and more perfect union that we talk about. and so i want to thank you for all that you've done, and continue to do. and i want to thank the other commissioners and your employees. i think a lot of times in these circumstanc

mr. wheeler. chairman wheeler: thank you very much mr. chairman.embers of the committee, i will take that hint and try and skip through early paragraphs. i'm proud of the process that the commission ran to develop the open internet order. it was one of the most open and transparent in commission history. and the public participation was unprecedented. last april, i circulated a draft, that included a set of open internet protections, and also asked questions about the best way to achieve an open internet. the open internet nprm, adopted in may, proposed a solution based on section 706 do the calculations act of 1996. it also asked whether title ii of the act of 1934 would be a better solution. a quick point on procedures. while historically some nprms just ask questions, during my chairmanship, i made it a policy to present draft nprm's to my colleagues at the means to fight for attention. i believe this is an important part of an open and transparent rulemaking process. let's be clear. the proposal is tentative. not a final conclusion. the purpose

mr. wheeler. chair wheeler: thank you very much mr. chairman. members of the committee, i will take that hand as well as your forgiveness and try and skip through early paragraphs. i'm proud of the process that the commission ran to develop the open internet order. it was one of the most open and transparent in commission history. and the public participation was unprecedented trade last april i circulated a draft, that included a set of open internet protections, and also asked questions about the best way to achieve an open internet. the open internet npr and adopted in may proposed a solution based on section 706 do the calculations act of 1996. -- telecommunications act of seven and -- 1996. whether title ii of the act of 1934 would be a better solution. a quick point on procedures. while historically some npr ends just ask questions, during my chairmanship, i made it a policy to present draft nprm's to my colleagues at the means to fight for attention. i believe this is an important part of an open and transparent rule. the proposal is tent

chair wheeler: i have no idea. mr. carter: do you feel you paid as close attention to the white house as you did to congress? chair wheeler: sir, i believe i have spent more time discussing this issue with members of congress then -- than the administration. mr. carter: do you feel like you listen to the input of congress more so than the white house? chair wheeler: i pay full attention to the record established in this proceeding. that included members of congress saying, do not do title ii and saying, do title ii. mr. carter: do you feel like you paid us close attention to congress as the white house? chair wheeler: i think my responsibility is to be responsible to all the people. mr. carter: i cannot tell whether that is a yes or no. chair wheeler: i was responsive to congress. mr. chaffetz: i appreciate the gentleman's commitment to st. patrick's day, but the chairs prepared to rule he has only been outdone by the gentleman from wisconsin, who is clearly wearing his colors. i will recognize that gentleman for five m

chair wheeler: yes sir. mr. carter: that is correct? it is true to say you have a i close relationship with the president? chair wheeler: i am not sure i have a close relationship with the president. mr. carter: you served on his transition team. i do not think he would have someone on the team that was not close to him. agreed? he did not ask me to be on his transition team. let's put it that way. well, after the rule, the day after the rule, the vote for the rule, did it strike you as being interesting that of fellow commissioner called the new rules president obama's plan? >> everybody is entitled to their own opinion. i think it is appropriate to state something very clearly. to a response to what you are saying. since taking this job i met once with the president in the oval office. it was the first week on the first couple of days on the job. it was congratulations, welcome to the job. >> in that meeting, he said to me, you need to understand i will never call you. you are an independent agency. >> then why do you think a fellow co

mr. wheeler thank you for appearing today and with that mr. chairman i yield back. >> i will hold the record open for five days for any statements and i recognize the witness. tom wheeler the chair of the federal commissioner. all witnesses will be sworn before they testify. if you will please rise and raise your right hand. do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. thank you. we appreciate it. in order to allow time for discussion, we normally ask for your testimony to be limited for five minutes and we are very for giving on this. we appreciate your verbal comments and your entire written statement will be made part of the record mr. wheeler. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman ranking member, members of the committee. i will take that hint as well as your forgive bs and try to skip through early paragraphs here. i'm proud of the process the commission ran for the open internet order it. was one of the most open and transparent in commission history a

mr. wheeler, it's too really solidify you in this position. chairman wheeler, you were supported by telcom companies when president obama selected you to this position, is that correct? chair wheeler: i believe so, yes. rep. lawrence: and you were unanimously confirmed by the senate and the house as well? chair wheeler: yes, ma'am. rep. lawrence: so it was not just one side, it was many -- both sides. you worked for the national cable television association which is representing these agencies that would be affected. from 1992 until 2004, you served as the president of the internet association is , that correct? chair wheeler: yes, ma'am. rep. lawrence: clearly you would not be a wallflower. you know this industry while because if there was ever such thing as an internet or an isp, you would know that, correct? chair wheeler: i have spent my professional life in this space, ma'am. rep. lawrence: knowing this, would you push for regulation that you knowingly would be aware that would damage the industry that you represented for so many years? so

mr. wheeler as we wind down this hearing, mr. chairman i want to thank you again for your testimony. i think that there -- when decisions are made by these commissions, quite often people are in disagreement with their decisions and i don't think there's anything wrong with looking behind the curtain to try to figure out what the process was because one of the things we've been pushing very hard on this committee is the whole idea of transparency. so your testimony has been very enlightening. i think we need to keep in mind that these decisions are made by people who come to government, and they don't have to do that. but they come to government trying to bring their own experiences to the table, their concerns and their hopes of bringing us more and more to that more perfect union that we talk about. so i want to thank you for all that you've done and continue to do. and i want to thank the other commissioners and your employees. i think a lot of times in these circumstances we forget that there are employees who have worked very hard on these issues and trying to do it right. so th

mr. wheeler. would radically alter course and reclassify broadband and mobile services under title 2. i'm sure much will be made about the 4 million comments that were made, but they were not made in the context of fully changing this to title 2. the fcc adopted the rule change on february 26th in a 3-2 vote. the lack of transparency surrounding the open internet rule making process leaves us with a lot of questions. this is a fact finding hearing. the committee remains committed -- this committee remains committed to ensuring full transparency across government. i look forward to hearing more from chairman wheeler today. with that i will now recognize the ranking member from maryland, mr. cummings for five minutes. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. we are here today to discuss net neutrality, the rule, that was adopted last month by the fcc. there are strong opinions on all sides of this issue, no doubt about it. on one hand, internet service providers, including comcast, at&t verizon and tim

mr. wheeler, how you arrived at the forbearances?d you sort of start with the net neutrality principles and then forebear everything else, or how did you arrive at

mr. wheeler. chairman willard announced the sec would radically alter -- the fcc would radically alter the course. the comments were not made in the context of fully changing this to title ii. the fcc adopted the change on february 26 and a three-to vote. a the lack of transparency leaves us with a lot of questions. this is a fact-finding hearing. this committee remains committed to ensuring full transparency across government. i look forward to hearing more from chairman wheeler today. i will now recognize the ranking member from maryland. rep. cummings: we are here to discuss net neutrality. the rule adopted last month by the fcc. there are strong opinions on all sides of this issue. no doubt about it. on one hand, internet service providers, including comcast at&t, verizon, and time warner oppose the rule and lobbied against it. they argued that additional regulation would increase fees, reviews investment, slow network upgrades, and reduce competition and innovation. on the other hand supporte

mr. wheeler.opefully it will bring them back to the negotiating table for a more common sense, moderate approach. cory: that is congressman kevin cramer, republican in north dakota here it also speaking out, former fcc commissioner who says these rules are not good for consumers. >> here we have in the united states, for 20 years writing itself on not regulating the internet, and something has changed. this cannot be good for the american public. cory: yet those who advocate title to say that something has changed, the internet service providers have started to charge fees to pick favorites, winners over losers on the content side. are you saying that title ii is the wrong way to do it, or any regulation on the internet is bad? >> i do not believe there is any need for regulation. all of these allegations about isps imposing charges on service -- on content companies, this is all hypothetical. they cannot point to actual examples. this is all regulation in the name of what might possibly happen in

mr. wheeler thank you for being here. we know you have a tough job and we look forward to your comments. >> thank you very much mr. chairman, ranking member eshoo it's a privet should be here with all of my colleagues. there has been some reference appear about the open internet. i am sure we will discuss it more today. clearly the decision we made was a watershed. you and your legislation mr. chairman and we and our regulation identified a challenge, a problem that needs to be solved. we take different approaches to be sure and no doubt we are going to be discussing those now and in the future. but there is, in agreement that the internet is too important to ignore, too important to not have a set of yardsticks and rules. we have completed our work. now open internet rules will be in place. let me move on to another couple of issues that i think are important to the committee. one is that there is a national emergency in emergency services. and congress holds the key to the solution. the vast majority of the calls to 911

mr. wheeler how you arrived at the forbearances? did you sort of start with the net neutrality principles and then forebear everything else or how did you arrive at those forbearance questions? >> thank you, senator. we started with back to 332 and senator markey. and those 19 that clearly have, experience has shown are not necessary. and then we went through and said what are other ones that in this situation are not applicable. and that got us a list of 27, up from the 19 of earlier. >> so what remains of the four principles of net neutrality that haven't been foreborn? >> i won't go through the list but the highlights, the big ticket items. section 101 and 202, which is basically where this just and reasonable test resides. section 208, which is the consumer protection aspect. section 222, which is the privacy activities. section 254 which is universal service and that's probably the first hand. >> is it fair to say this is unprecedented as far as the number of things that have been foreborn. has that been done before. >> it was

mr. wheeler, thank you for being here. we know you have a tough job and we look forward to your comments. >> thank you very much, mr. clarm chairman. it is a privilege to be here with all of my colleagues. there's been some reference up here about the open internet. i'm sure we will discuss it more today. clearly the decision that we made was a watershed. you in your legislation, mr. chairman, and we in our regulation, identify a challenge, a problem that needs to be solved. we take different approaches, to be sure. and no doubt, we're going to be discussing those. now and in the future. but there's common agreement that the internet is too important to ignore, and too important to not have a set of yardsticks and rules. we've completed our work now. open internet rules will be in place. let me move on to another couple kf issues that i think are important to the committee and one is that there is a national emergency in emergency services. congress holds the key to the solution. the vast majority of the calls to 911 --, th

mr. chairman. i appreciate that. chairman wheeler, i will just add my viewpoint of when you look at our economic revolutions in society whether it was agricultural or industrial. the technology, the information, successful revolutions are about freeing up not restricting. and what we're looking at right now, is at the vantage point that you all are coming from is taking away and restricting not freeing up. mr. o'reilly commissioner o'reilly, let me come to you for a moment and talk taxes. you and i pinned an op ed back in july calling for the need for a cost benefit analysis. and really looking at what had been said by ppi free press. what they thought would happen with taxes, new york times agreed with that. i want to hear from you a little bit, 30 seconds worth about why we should have had a cost benefit analysis, and what you think the outlook is. >> i believe we should do better, and this is a perfect case. >> none was done? >> this is a woeful job that was done in this instance. we're talking about hypothetical harms and real wo

mr. wheeler, how you arrived at the forbearances? did you sort of start with the net neutrality principles and then forebear everything else, or how did you arrive at those forbearance questions? >> thank you, senator. we started with back to 332 and senator markey. and those 19 that clearly have, experience has shown, are not necessary. and then we went through and said, what are other ones that in this situation are not applicable. and that got us a list of 27, up from the 19 of earlier. >> so what remains of the four principles of net neutrality that haven't been foreborn? >> i won't go through the list, but the highlights, the big ticket items. section 101 and 202, which is basically where this just and reasonable test resides. section 208, which is the consumer protection aspect. section 222, which is the privacy activities. section 254, which is universal service and that's probably the first hand. >> is it fair to say this is unprecedented as far as the number of things that have been foreborn. has that been done before. >> it

mr. wheeler, thanks for joining us. i wonder if your state is ready for this. then after that you have applesauce grenades, where does it end? >> well, you know, zero tolerance doesn't have to mean zero common sense. it's sad we've come to a point in our society we where have to legislate common sense. apparently that's what we have to do here. >> it seems like a lot has changed in the silver state. we did a story yesterday about a couple who was banned from becoming foster parents because they had a concealed carry permit. i think of your state as being prosecond amendment. >> our state is very prosecond amendment. that's been on both sides of the aisle. but we've seen a lot of regulations come into effect in the last 20, 25 years that in my opinion are encroaching on our second amendment rights. i happened to sit on the committee when that couple came before us and heard the whole thing. i was flabbergasted we wouldn't allow a police officer or someone with a ccw to foster a child. so i think we'll fix that in this session. >> i hope you will. who's against t

mr. chairman and ranking member nelson. chairman wheeler, there are a number of members of congress who believe that new technologies can help the united states remain innovative. i am working with senator booker on the internet of things. i think that is going to be a very good bipartisan resolution and moving forward hopefully legislation so we can see that innovateers are able to grow businesses and able to solve problems with clear rules and also clear expectations. i think that's necessary that innovators have to have that certainty out there. when i look at the general conduct rule that is proposed that you have here i'm concerned it could jeopardize that regulatory certainty that i think we have to have if we are going to remain competitive. the electronic frontier foundation has described this rule as an overreach and confusing specifically the eff said the fcc believes it has broad authority to pursue any number of practices hardly the narrow light touch approach we need to protect the open internet. "wall street journal" reported

mr. pai on this. wheeler sitting on nprm on redefineing mpd in hopes of consensus was republicans. here's a statement from commissioner pai on our location orders. saying at the time i expressed concern they would fail to meet that test that the concern was born out by the record in this proceeding. i'm pleased we're now adopting requirements that meet these twos watch words. i want to commend the parties that work cooperatively on this effort. there is a -- i sit down with all of my colleagues every other week. we have a regular meeting for an hour on the schedule at least for an hour to say what are the issues and what do we need to work on. and i hope that we can continue to produce results that where we respect each other. and but we need to be real careful of talking about how redefining things and then saying because you won't take my redefinition you won't compromise. that's not compromise. >> i'll just conclude by saying that i have a great deal of faith in senator thune as a partner, as we go forth on a lot of issues on this committee. and whether or not we can work out so

mr. wheeler for being here today. we appreciate it very much. in the short five minutes i have, i want to try to get a better understanding of two things. first of all it just -- throughout the process today and through my reading and through listening, it just appears that the whole process, there was more attention paid to the white house than there was to congress. and i just don't understand why that would be the case in an independent body like yours. did you serve on the transition team for the obama administration? >> yes, sir. >> you did, that is correct. so, it's safe to say, and true to say you have a very close relationship with the president, is that right? >> i'm not sure i have a close relationship with the president. i know the president. >> well, you served on his transition team. i don't think he'd have somebody that wasn't close to him on his transition team, agreed? okay, okay. >> i'm not going to -- >> fair enough. fair enough. >> okay. >> well, he didn't ask me to be on his transition team, let's put it that way, okay? well,

wheeler said he is redefining -- mr. commisso: i do not know how that is going to work out. my people know the answers better than me, but there is all kinds of the justice, -- logit stics and regulatory issues with what wheeler is trying to do. the question is -- do i qualify? if netflix can do that -- reporter: do you think it would lead to increased competition for you guys? mr. commisso: it probably could. but listen, i lost 650,000 video customers in the last 12 years. i've lost - i'm not proud to say that. but when somebody calls me a monopoly maybe they should look at the facts. monopolies do not lose customers. i have because people do not want to pay the money they're paying at the end of the day. now we are trying to replicate the failures of what happened in 1992 with what the fcc has done today. today is thursday the very choice six. -- february 26. i have no doubt this is not good for the american consumer, at least the consumers i serve. we'll only increase costs. if it cost me more money and i cannot pass along to netflix or google, then who is going to pay for

mr. chairman wheeler, to continue to work with us to craft the right policies to accomplish that goal. as important as the issue of net neutrality is to this nation, we should never forget the other vital work that is done by the fcc. with ongoing regulatory oversight over as much as sun-sixth of our nation's economy, this agency plays a critical role in ensuring universal access and promoting competition and protecting public safety and protecting consumers. the fcc recently closed the biggest spectrum auction in history, $41 billion. and funding the nationwide public safety wireless broadband network in providing $20 billion for deficit reduction. that's huge. and it's in the midst of planning for the voluntary broadcast television incentive auction, a new form of spectrum action that could fundamentally change the nation's spectrum policy. yet, we can't rest. and when it comes to spectrum continued public and private tech technological development will continue to put train on us. congress, the fcc and the rest of the federal government needs to work together to develop a smart forw

mr. chairman, chairman wheeler, why do you think that's a good idea? should we do that? i think the chairman -- >> congress makes the rules. congress decide not to for 25 years. if congress decides to do it again, congress makes the rules. >> commissioner pai. >> i think it's a useful exercise because it allows congress to modernize our operations and make sure our rules keep pace with the times. and i think that's important for congress to be involved with. >> let me just follow up on that. you're an independent agency. so big policy decisions. who makes those calls? congress? the president? you? who's responsible for making big policy decisions that impact telecommunications? >> i didn't know who you were -- >> i'm sorry. i'm just -- i've got so many questions this is -- >> clearly congress has historically set down the parameters and said this is what we want the agency to do -- >> do you think regulating the internet is a big policy decision that wasn't contemplated 70 years ago that should be more of a congressional action than an independent agency action? >> i thi

mr. dickerson. >> thank you, chairman wheeler for the opportunity to his today. as the ceo of etsy, i'm here to thank you and your colleagues for taking decisive action to protect the internet. etsy's an online marketplace for you can buy handmade and vintage good from artists around the world. we've democratize access to entrepreneurship for 1.2 million sellers. most are sole proprietors work from home. they live in all 50 states and the depend on their etsy income to support their families. 18% support themselves full-time on etsy. etsy and our sellers rely on a free and open internet that allows the company to grow from a tiny startup in a brooklyn apartment to a global company with over 600 employees. it allows the micro businesses that sell to reach buyers around the world and compute with much bigger, more established brands. back in 1993, it allowed me, in english major with a data entry job at a newspaper to jump start my career in technology by teaching myself how to code. there is hope for english majors. [laughter] without strong rules prevent discrimi

mr. chairman. i appreciate that. chairman wheeler, i would just say, my viewpoint when you look at our economic revolutions in society weather was agricultural or the industrial, the technology the information, successful revolutions are about freeing up, not mr. king. what we are looking at right now is the vantage point that you were a coming from is taking way and restricting, not freeing up. commissioner o'reilly, let me come to you for a moment. you and i penned an op-ed back in july calling for the need for a cost-benefit analysis and really look at what has been said by ppi, free press professional -- or fester farber and whether that would happen with taxes, "new york times" agreed with the. i want to hear from you a little bit, 30 seconds worth about why we should that a cost-benefit analysis of what you think the outlook is. >> so i believe we should do better at the fcc and cost-benefit analysis and this is a perfect case. >> none was done speak with this was a woeful job done in this incident. talking hypothetical harm in

mr. chairman. i appreciate that. chairman wheeler revolution in society what it was agricultural for the industrial the technology, the information, successful revolutions are about freeing up not restricting. what we are looking at right now is the vantage point that you are coming from is taking away and restricting, not freeing up. commissioner o'rielly, but they can do for a moment. you and i and an op-ed back in july going for the need for a cost-benefit analysis, and we look at what had been said by ppi free press professor farber, you become what they would happen with taxes "new york times" agreed with the. i want to hear from you a little bit, 30 seconds worth about why we should have a cost-benefit analysis of what you think the outlook is. >> i believe we should do that at the sec on cost-benefit analysis. this is a perfect case. >> none was done. >> this was a woeful job done in this instance. we are talking hypothetical harm and real world impact on businesses. in terms of your question on taxes, i would switch 40 tax an

i thank our commissioners and chairman wheeler inform attendance today and look forward to the productive session ahead. and device chair. thank you mr. chair man. i appreciate you for yielding and holding the day's hearing and i thank the commissioners for being here this is the success and the productivity of the communications and the technology independent story. and it never ceases to amaze me. it has been and it is a constant bright spot in the economy. as it will rapidly advance to meet consumer demand and given the fcc's role in the marketplace is critical that the agency is transparent. and efficient. accountable that is why i am concern with the the fcc's decision to reclassify broadband internet services and telecommunications entitled two. that fact that they will go to the regulatory proof that the fundamental to flexibility needed to invest and invade and create jobs. and the order is processed is not transe parent and regulatory over reach that would have lasting negative consequences and the hearing is a step into the right direction in efforts to make the agency more efficient affective. by the policy and decisions a

mr. speaker, i don't know if you know, it's the fastest growing container port in the country. container port being those ports that specialize in getting those 18-wheelerargo containers off the ships onto a chassis, living goods to where they need to go. pastest growing container port in the country it sits right here at the end of i-16. we have major construction projects to get those products out of those ships out across the southeastern united states. so this map of red lines, mr. speaker, not only represents interstate highways but also federal roads. i have u.s. 1 mr. speaker. u.s. 1, mr. speaker as you may know runs about -- goly we're about 2 1/2 miles from this building. about 2 1/2 miles west from this building, you're going to hit u.s. 1. well, u.s. 1 runs all the way down the eastern coast from the great northeast all the way down to florida. it's a federal transportation corridor. . what's not on this list mr. speaker, for example, is highway 29. u.s. highway 29. it runs right past my house. it's a u.s. highway. it consumes u.s. transportation dollars. and while once upon a time it was a major corridor for moving nationally important equip