Congress Eventually Will Counter Net Neutrality Order, Barton Promises
Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, is confident the FCC net neutrality order will be overturned “in the next two to three years,” he said during an episode of C-SPAN’s The Communicators, set for telecast this weekend. He criticized the agency for the order and worried about how the political climate may affect various matters, saying a longer-term perspective may be required.
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“Well, this is a family program, so I can’t give you my explicit opinion,” said Barton, a former Commerce Committee chairman, of FCC actions in the past year. He called the net neutrality order “wrong” and said the commission shouldn't regulate the Internet, especially since there’s no problem that needs fixing: “They better enjoy it while they can. We certainly have the votes to change the law and make it explicit that what they’re doing is inappropriate. Whether we have the votes to overturn the presidential veto of the change or a clarification is debate, but there’s a new presidential election coming next year. Eventually, we’ll change it.”
House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., have said they want to negotiate with Democrats on net neutrality legislation that would codify protections while limiting FCC authority. Negotiations stalled in the House but continue in the Senate. “I would be a little more aggressive than they’re being,” Barton said, saying he supports Upton and Walden. Some House Republicans have sought more extreme routes to counter the FCC’s order, such as policy riders on the House appropriations bill that would fund the agency, in other partisan pieces of legislation and in a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval. Barton is one of the 50 Republican co-sponsors of the Internet Freedom Act (HR-1212), which would nullify the order. Barton suspects a Walden/Upton net neutrality bill could pass Congress and he “would expect some of the Democrats to support it,” he said. “The question is, does the president veto it.”
Barton also backs an overhaul of the Communications Act but said it's unlikely to happen this Congress, referring to larger efforts that take many years and repeatedly framed congressional dynamics as partisan and without easy bicameral cooperation. Barton had embarked on what was an ultimately unsuccessful rewrite effort in 2005 and 2006 when he led Commerce. Senior Commerce Committee Democrats said they haven't been part of any broader GOP strategizing or negotiating in a telecom rewrite effort, though Barton told us then that GOP leaders wanted to make the climate less partisan (see 1505140064). Walden has said a comprehensive overhaul bill this Congress is unlikely (see 1504290037).
“It may take a while to do,” Barton said. “To really get it done right, you need bipartisanship. You probably need a new president.” He insisted it was a worthwhile pursuit: “Hard things are worth doing. Big things are worth doing.”
Barton, co-chairman of the Congressional Privacy Caucus, introduced the latest version of his Do Not Track Kids Act last week and called it “a no-brainer” that “we should be able to move” this Congress. He said he spoke with Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Barton’s partner on the bill in the past, a couple of weeks ago about the legislation. “I do not have a commitment from Chairman Upton on that bill but it is something I have asked him to put on his watch list,” Barton said, expressing desire for a hearing and stakeholder involvement.
Privacy is “politically complicated,” but “I’m willing” to attempt legislation, Barton said. He referred to the heavy scrutiny surrounding the Office of Personnel Management data breach and said he doesn’t “see a reason” for Director Katherine Archuleta, slated to testify before senators this week (see 1506190045), to resign. One of Barton’s staffers had information stolen, Barton added. Barton sees a “good chance” of pulling together a data breach bill and said lawmakers “ought to take every legislative step that we can take” to protect data and penalize hackers. All branches of government would be needed to come together for any “modern era equivalent of the Fourth Amendment.” That amendment covers unlawful searches and seizures.
“I’d like to tell you we could do it in some sort of omnibus,” Barton remarked. “Realistically, I don’t think that’s possible. I also don’t think we have the political climate to really re-establish privacy.”
Barton intends to reintroduce this Congress his legislation on online poker playing. “It’s not mandatory that anybody play poker on the Internet, but for those adults that wish to, there ought to be rules of the world that make sure it’s an honest, fair game,” Barton said, noting there’s no federal pre-emption of state rights in his legislation. He can see multiple perspectives when it comes to Internet governance, he added of that other ongoing debate. He compared the NTIA oversight of ICANN’s Internet Assigned Numbers Authority to the role of a “sheriff” and that if the powers transition beyond NTIA authority, “you don’t have the authority to stop” potential abuses. “I don’t think the current governance structure is broken,” Barton said.