Washington, D.C. –  Congressman Ralph Norman (SC-05) has released the following statement on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voting in favor of the Restoring Internet Freedom Order:

"Today, the FCC voted to adopt the Restoring Internet Freedom Order. I thank Chairman Pai for his leadership and transparency. For the first time in FCC history, the text of an order was made available to the public for three weeks before the vote.

“The most pressing problem in the field of telecommunications is bridging the digital divide. To address this problem, and to reach unserved areas like those in South Carolina’s 5th District, billions of dollars in investment in rural broadband infrastructure is needed. Title II regulations have proved to be an investment killer – resulting in a $3.6 billion decline in broadband infrastructure investment. A return to the light touch regulatory framework that existed prior to 2015 will create the proper regulatory conditions to make these investments possible.

“Ultimately, legislation is the only real solution to this problem. If Democrats in Congress are truly concerned with protecting the net neutrality principles that we agree on, then we should be at the table now working out a deal to put these important consumer protections into law.”

Click image below to watch Congressman Norman’s video message: