House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) released the following statement in response to the President’s comments regarding net neutrality and regulating the Internet:

“The Internet was born and bred from American ingenuity and innovation and has been one of, if not the most, successful drivers of economic growth here and abroad for the past 20 years. Small businesses have come to depend on and utilize the Internet in ways not even imagined two decades ago, allowing them to compete across town and across the globe. In that time, the Internet has remained free of burdensome regulations that had the potential to curb its growth or limit its role in our economy. I was troubled by President Obama’s announcement supporting regulation of the Internet as a utility under Title II of the Communications Act. Doing so has the real potential to stifle economic growth, hurt small businesses and the jobs they have created.”
 
In September, the Committee held a hearing with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Thomas Wheeler on telecommunications issues that are important to small firms, including net neutrality, broadband deployment, Universal Service Fund reform efforts, and wireless spectrum availability.

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