Paul Kapustka's Blog
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May 25, 2006
Susan Crawford report on Senate Hearings
Since the smackdown man is in video-testing mode, we turn to Susan Crawford for a well thought out take on the day's proceedings on Capitol Hill. Susan's main point is that we shouldn't rush into legislation just to say we passed something, but instead to wait and get things right. We agree, adding the betting-man's view that waiting past the November elections might help net neutrality proponents in the number-of-people-on-their-side equation.
For more on what went on today, please see the Jeff Pulver blog with on-site reporting by Jonathan "wartime consigliere" Askin.
Jonathan, who was at the Judiciary Committee hearing, reports:
As I have mentioned, the Judiciary Committee, composed of many champions of the Internet and competition, is coming from a very different place than the Commerce Committee. Chairman Sensenbrenner and Ranking Member Conyers both gave strong endorsement for Net Neutrality. The Committee voted in support of the legislation 20-13. Every Democrat voted for it, and a majority of Republicans voted against it. The bill uses antitrust law to enforce network neutrality. Given this and other dynamics, the chance of telecom reform legislation being passed this year continues to decrease.
Hmmm. Is it time to reset the betting lines already?
Posted by paul at May 25, 2006 06:08 PM