but what the obama f.c.c. did in 2015 went far beyond net neutrality. in the name of keeping the internet open to everyone, the obama f.c.c. asserted broad new government powers over the internet using rules that were designed for telephone monopolies back during the great depression. this opened the door to a whole host of new internet regulations, including price regulations. unpricingly, mr. president -- unsurprisingly, mr. president, the f.c.c.'s move resulted in a decline of broadband investment as companies saw the possibility of burdensome new regulations headed their way. that was bad news for americans, especially americans in rural states like my home state of south dakota. getting broadband to rural communities is already more challenging than installing broadband in cities or suburbs, and the possibility of heavier regulations acted as a further disincentive to expanding access. fast forward to 2017, the federal communications commission under chairman pai voted to repeal the heavy-handed internet regulations passed by the obama f.c.c. democ