The principle of “net neutrality,” which requires telecommunications companies to provide equal, non-discriminatory access to the Internet, is likely to be weakened next month when the Federal Communications Commission takes up a proposal to modify Obama-era regulations on net neutrality.
The Congressional Research Service produced a newly updated report on the subject, suggesting that congressional intervention might be appropriate.
“The FCC’s move to reexamine its existing open Internet rules has reopened the debate over whether Congress should consider a more comprehensive measure to amend existing law to provide greater regulatory stability and guidance to the FCC,” the CRS report said, adding that whether Congress would do so “remains to be seen.” See The Net Neutrality Debate: Access to Broadband Networks, updated November 22, 2017.
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Another new CRS report notes that the 11 remaining signatories of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement are moving forward without the US, following President Trump’s January 2017 withdrawal from the negotiations. Twenty provisions of the agreement that had been sought by US negotiators have now been suspended as a result. See TPP Countries Near Agreement without U.S. Participation, CRS Insight, November 20, 2017.
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Other new and updated products from the Congressional Research Service include the following.
Zimbabwe’s Political Transition: Issues for Congress, CRS Insight, November 22, 2017
Cuba: U.S. Policy in the 115th Congress, updated November 22, 2017
FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Issues, November 22, 2017
End-Year DOD Contract Spending, CRS In Focus, November 17, 2017
Keystone XL Pipeline: Recent Developments, November 21, 2017
The Distribution of the Tax Policy Changes in H.R. 1 and the Senate’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, CRS Insight, November 21, 2017
FDA Human Medical Product User Fee Programs: In Brief, November 21, 2017
Post-Heller Second Amendment Jurisprudence, November 21, 2017
The Campus-Based Financial Aid Programs: Background and Issues, November 21, 2017
Fibbing to Get a Lawyer: Circuits Split on Punishment, CRS Legal Sidebar, November 27, 2017
The Federal Government’s Plenary Immigration Power Collides with the Constitutional Right to an Abortion (Part I), CRS Legal Sidebar, November 27, 2017
Navy Columbia (SSBN-826) Class Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Background and Issues for Congress, updated November 22, 2017
Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress, updated November 22, 2017
Slashing research and development programs across the DOE, all while Congress rolls back clean energy tax incentives and programs, is not going to solve the nation’s energy emergency. It makes our current challenges even worse.
With strategic investment, cross-sector coordination, and long-term planning, it is possible to reduce risks and protect vulnerable communities. We can build a future where power lines no longer spark disaster and homes stay safe and connected — no matter the weather.
A lack of sustained federal funding, deteriorating research infrastructure and networks, restrictive immigration policies, and waning international collaboration are driving this erosion into a full-scale “American Brain Drain.”
With 2000 nuclear weapons on alert, far more powerful than the first bomb tested in the Jornada Del Muerto during the Trinity Test 80 years ago, our world has been fundamentally altered.