Thursday, November 13, 2008

DEMOCRATS IN THE SENATE: How do they feel about Net Neutrality?

Net neutrality, consumer privacy issues such as regulation over electronic medical records, and patent reform, is being talked about amongst the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. This is the most up-to-date (as of right now) I could find using the Google News section.

Kay Hagan, the incoming Democratic senator for North Carolina, touted Net neutrality on the campaign trail.
In the House, look for Conyers and Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the Telecommunications and the Internet panel in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, to take the lead. On the Senate side, senators like Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) are likely to remain focused on tech-related issues.
Some new members are expected to bolster the Democrats' commitment to tech issues, "particularly Mark Warner who is very technology savvy," said Atkinson. Warner, the former Democratic governor of Virginia, was elected to fill the seat of retiring Republican Senator John Warner.
After the election, Computer and Communications Industry Association President Ed Black praised the new Democratic senators for their tech-friendly platforms, noting that Mark Udall of Colorado and Kay Hagan of North Carolina both pledged their support for Net neutrality during their campaigns.
Some uncertainties exist on the tech policy front, like who will chair the Senate Republican High Tech Task Force since Chair Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) lost his seat last week. A senior aide to the task force said Republican leadership has yet to determine who will chair the group, but its agenda will remain focused on issues like broadband deployment, immigration reform, and securing U.S. competitiveness in the global high-tech marketplace.
Additionally, some Democratic agenda items, which call for more spending, and presumably higher taxes to fund those projects, could fall by the wayside if moderate Democrats insist on maintaining a pay-go system.

Information found at http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10095382-38.html

Ok, so, this says that the Democratic Senators support Network Neutrality largely and hope to see it developing more in The States as time progresses. They see Net Neutrality as a way that, if successfully integrated into the USA, will lead to a completely reformed marketplace that will spread to the farthest corners of the Earth, and lead to technological advances and additional reform.

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