COMMITTEE ON RULES 
R ANKING M EMBER 
W-5tt•~QTON OHill 
2469 R AYBURN ButLOt~!l 
WASHNGION, DC 205 15 3221 
(2021 225 3615 
LOUISE M. SLAUGHTER 
CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES 
25TH DISTRICT, NEW YORK 
The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
Chairman 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 I th Street SW 
Washington, D.C. 20554 
Dear Chairman Wheeler: 
October 6, 2014 
DISTRICT OFFICE: 
3 120 FEDERAL BUILDING 
100 STATE STREET 
ROCHESTER. NY 14614 
(5851 232 4850 
WEBSITf. http: 'WWW lOUISe house.gov 
Received & Inspected 
OCT ·1 U !U14 
FCC Mail Room 
I am writing to urge you to implement strong and unambiguous net neutrality rules that protect 
the Internet from discrimination and other practices that will impede its ability to serve our 
democracy, empower consumers, and fuel economic growth. Erecting toll booths or designating 
fast lanes on the information superhighway would stifle free speech, limit consumer choice, and 
thwart innovation. 
The FCC must act in a clear and decisive way to ensure the Internet does not become the bastion 
of powerful incumbents and carriers, but rather remains a place where all speakers, creators, and 
innovators can harness its power now and in the future. The Internet is a staple of our lives and 
our economy. The FCC should protect access to the Internet under a Title II framework, with 
appropriate forbearance, thereby ensuring greater regulatory and market certainty for users and 
broadband providers. 
To ensure that the Internet fulfills its promise of being a powerful, open platform for social , 
political, and economic life, the FCC must adopt a rule against blocking, a bright-line rule 
against application-specific discrimination, and a rule banning access fees . These principles of 
fairness and openness should not only apply to the so-called last-mile network, but also at points 
of interconnection to the broadband access provider's network. Likewise, strong net neutrality 
rules must apply regardless of whether users access the Internet on fixed or mobile connections. 
The FCC's proposed rules would be a significant departure from how the Internet currently 
works, limiting the economic and expressive opportunity it provides. Investors, entrepreneurs, 
and employees have invested in businesses based on the certainty of a level playing field and 
equal-opportunity marketplace. The proposal would threaten those investments and undermine 
PRINTED ON RECYCLfD PAl'!. A 
Ill 
the necessary certainty that businesses and investors need going forward. The current proposed 
rules, albeit well-meaning, would be far-reaching. Erecting new barriers to entry would result in 
fewer innovative startups, fewer micro-entrepreneurs, and fewer diverse voices in the public 
square. The FCC should abandon its current proposal and adopt a simple rule that reflects the 
essential values of our free markets, our participatory democracy, and our communications laws. 
When the history of the Internet is written, 2014 will be remembered as a defining moment. This 
FCC will be remembered either for handing the Internet over to the highest bidders or for 
ensuring that the conditions oflnternet openness remain for the next generation of American 
entrepreneurs and citizens. I urge you to take bold and unequivocal action that will protect the 
open Internet and the opportunity it affords for innovation, economic development, 
communication, and democracy itself.