Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Washington for her leadership and her articulation of a big issue before us. I too rise today ahead of a vote that is of vital importance to protecting a free and open internet.

Last week FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced that June 11 would be the date when key net neutrality protections will officially end. This backward, misguided decision from the FCC threatens the consumer friendly internet that Americans know today--an internet that ensures equal access to content, regardless of which internet service provider you use.

Ending net neutrality could impact all of our people. In New Hampshire, our citizens are rightly concerned, with thousands of Granite Staters contacting my office to urge Congress to save these key protections.

I am pleased to join my colleagues, both Republican and Democrat, to force a vote to do just that.

Reinstating net neutrality is critical to promoting innovation, supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses across New Hampshire, and encouraging economic growth. By ensuring that our businesses can compete on the internet on an equal footing, we provide more opportunity for a wide range of businesses, from high-tech companies and startups to farming and agriculture.

On Monday, I visited Stoneyfield Farm in Londonderry, NH, to discuss the negative impact that repealing net neutrality will have on their business and countless other businesses across our State. Stoneyfield is a New Hampshire business that sells organic dairy products all over our country and relies on the internet to reach their customers. They also rely on the internet to connect with small businesses and dairy farmers that help source their products.

When I met with representatives from Stoneyfield and farmers from around New England on Monday, they made clear that they are worried about what could happen if smaller farms are charged more for access to websites and services--a potential effect of repealing net neutrality.

Farmers are already operating on pretty small margins, and they could be hurt by having to pay even more to get the kind of speed on the internet they need in order to be competitive. This is particularly troubling in rural areas, where many communities still face challenges with access to broadband.

It is not just rural communities and farmers. This decision would hurt small businesses in any number of industries across New Hampshire, all to give big internet service providers another opportunity to raise their profits.

It would be unfair to all consumers to give internet service providers the power to discriminate against certain web pages, apps, and streaming and video services by slowing them down, blocking them, or favoring certain services while charging more for others.

Protecting a free and open internet means we are protecting the farmers who need the internet to sell their products. It means we are protecting the next great startup which needs a level playing field to compete against larger, more established companies. It means we are protecting the countless Americans who have used the internet as a mechanism to organize and civically engage online.

There has been so much energy from Granite Staters and Americans who are in favor of reinstating net neutrality because they know how much is at stake. I am grateful for their efforts to speak out because they have helped us get to this point today. I am hopeful more of my Republican colleagues will join us today to put consumers and small businesses first and to show that the U.S. Senate is in favor of a free and open internet.

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