MICHAEL F. BENNET 
COLORADO 
COMM1'"1EES 
AGAICUL TUAE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY 
FINANCE 
HEAL TH, EDUCATION, LABOR, 
AND PENSIONS 
Chairman Ajit V. Pai 
United ~rotes ~cnatc 
WASHINGTON, DC 20510-0609 
December 13, 2017 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 12th Street SW 
Washington, DC 20554 
Dear Chairman Pai: 
WASHINGTON, DC: 
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I write to. urge you to abandon your plan to rescind the FCC's net neutrality rules. Over the last 
two decades, the Internet has become essential for technological innovation, economic 
development, and freedom of expression both in Colorado and across the country. It has also 
become a powerful force in breaking cycles of poverty and inequality. As Commissioner Mignon 
Clyburn has said, "broadband is the greatest equalizer of our time." 
The Open Internet rules that the FCC passed in 2015 prohibit broadband providers from 
blocking, slowing down, or charging more for the delivery of certain Internet content. By 
rescinding these rules, Internet service providers (ISPs) would be able to favor or discriminate 
against websites or online media by charging higher fees for access to faster network speeds or 
premium content. This would undermine the fundamental promise of the Internet, which has 
enabled economic growth and entrepreneurship, as well as the free exchange of ideas essential to 
our democracy. 
The FCC has a role to play to ensure that promise. Even under the Bush-era FCC, then-FCC 
chair Michael Powell gave a speech in Boulder, Colorado in 2004 declaring the "Four Internet 
Freedoms": freedom to access content; freedom to use applications; freedom to attach personal 
devices; and freedom to obtain service plan information. The Bush Administration later codified 
these basic rules as regulations. Your proposal threatens to eliminate the FCC' s oversight role 
that has been in place for decades under both Democratic and Republican presidents. 
A free and open internet has become a key component of our democracy, economy, and pursuit 
of a more equal society. As a regulatory body, the FCC has a responsibility to protect the 
standards that make it possible for our communities to thrive in the 21st Century. 
Sincerely, 
~ r. ¢:.. :/-
Michael F. Bennet 
United States Senator 
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