Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, today issued the following statement in response to the announcement from the Federal Communications Commission that it will implement regulations of the Internet:

“The Internet for decades has been an open frontier for limitless free speech, innovation, creation, business and economic growth and, importantly, immeasurable amounts of free information at our fingertips. 

“The Internet is one of the very last spaces we can access in our daily lives without the burdensome intrusion of the federal government. Because it has not been regulated until now, it has been one of the success stories of our modern time in terms of boundless freedom, opportunity, diversity and innovation. Regulation of this space by unelected Washington bureaucrats is the nail in the coffin for American ingenuity. Sadly, because of the FCC’s ruling today, it is only a matter of time when the Internet – like everything else – is no longer a story of freedom and advancement, but of big government, divisiveness, red tape and consumer frustration that does nothing to improve American competitiveness and growth.”

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