As a longtime advocate for a free and open internet for all, I have consistently supported net neutrality, which provides a level playing field for small businesses and entrepreneurs to compete, while simultaneously protecting consumers from exorbitant fees for faster service. I am pleased that Longhorns have continued to contact me in support of net neutrality and hope to continue hearing from them on other federal issues.

With a complete disregard for public opinion, Donald Trump’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman, Ajit Pai, led the repeal of the net neutrality rules, allowing huge businesses to create fast lanes for their customers while competitors’ clients are forced to use the internet equivalent of a dirt road. “Slow lanes” will strangle competition, which could threaten free speech and is bad news for consumers and small businesses. 

I am sponsoring a congressional resolution to override the FCC’s recent decision. While Republicans can probably block a vote in the House, they now cannot in the Senate. The clock is ticking, we have until April 23rd to pass this resolution before Trump’s FCC drags us backward. We must continue to speak up and remain civilly engaged to prevent the Trump Administration’s disastrous decision.  I also voted against Republican legislation that repealed internet privacy rules, allowing the sale of your web searches. Your privacy should not be available to the highest bidder.

Doggett represents Texas’s 35th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served as the University of Texas student body president in 1967.