Washington, D.C. – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) expressed its opposition to H.R. 5353, the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008, on which the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet is holding hearings today.

“Anytime Congress attempts to ‘protect’ anything, it usually means more regulation, less competition, less consumer choice, and higher costs,” said CCAGW President Tom Schatz.  “The market for high-speed Internet services should remain open to competition without government interference.”

H.R. 5353 adds heavy-handed government regulation and oversight by inserting net neutrality principles into the 1934 Telecommunications Act and defining broadband policy.  H.R. 5353 ignores the fact that consumers have more Internet choices than ever before.  Cable, satellite and wireless broadband providers are competing head-to-head for customers and providing better services at lower prices.

Internet providers have undertaken self-governing measures, such as the “connectivity principles” created by the High Tech Coalition and adopted by the Federal Communications Commission, that have allowed both innovation and investment to flourish.  The burden of premature regulation under the guise of net neutrality could discourage the advancement of high-speed services and the Internet.

“H.R. 5353 would impede the evolution of the Internet and the innovation it encourages.  This kind of aggressive law-making hurts taxpayers, violates common sense, and impedes the principles of the free market.  I urge Congress to oppose H.R. 5353 and instead, let competition flourish,” concluded Schatz.

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.