110th CONGRESS, LEGISLATIVE ISSUES A - Z

ISSUE: Network neutrality, commonly referred to as “net neutrality”, is the term that has been applied to the concept of maintaining the rights of internet content providers and individual internet users to host websites and access their content without discrimination, denial of access, higher access and usage fees to internet service providers, or any other type of unfavorable or discriminatory treatment.

CUNA POSITION: CUNA supports legislation that would protect credit unions as well as their members from discriminatory or tiered pricing systems that may be implemented by internet service providers. We support the strongest possible net neutrality language in any overhaul of the nation’s telecommunications laws.

IMPACT ON CREDIT UNIONS: Under a tiered pricing system instituted by internet service providers, credit unions that maintain websites or offer online banking services would be subject to potentially drastic increases in the fees they pay to ensure that their members receive nondiscriminatory, secure, reliable, and quick access to the content and services on credit union websites. This cost could ultimately force credit unions to institute new fees, decrease member dividends, or seek revenue in some other manner in order to pay for the new and more costly internet access charges.

STATUS/OUTLOOK: On April 26, 2006, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed H.R. 5252, the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act of 2006, the first major overhaul of the nation’s telecommunications laws since the landmark 1996 Telecommunications Act. The legislation included some modest net neutrality provisions, but far less than what online content providers deemed necessary to ensure the fair and open nature of the internet. An amendment offered by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) to codify net neutrality was rejected by a vote of 22 to 34. Despite the defeat, the bill passed the Committee by a vote of 42 to 12.

On May 25, 2006, the House Judiciary Committee passed legislation that addressed issues under their jurisdiction as they pertain to the rewriting of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. H.R. 5417, the Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act, included net neutrality safeguards much more robust than those in the Energy and Commerce Committee bill.

The House of Representatives voted on the Energy and Commerce bill, H.R. 5252, on June 8, 2006. The bill passed by a vote of 321 to 101. This came despite the failure of a net neutrality amendment offered by Rep. Markey on the House floor.

On June 28, 2006, the Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation to rewrite large sections of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. This bill, like the final House bill, included weak net neutrality language. An attempt to offer more stringent protection was offered in an amendment authored by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND). The amendment failed on a tied vote. The underlying bill was ultimately approved by a 15 to 7 margin.

The Congress was unable to complete its rewrite of the 1996 Telecommunications Act by the end of the 109th Congress. This year, in the 110th Congress, any net neutrality provisions will likely only be enacted legislatively as part of a larger telecommunications bill.

CUNA will continue to advocate strong net neutrality language at every stage of the legislative process as the Congress seeks to rewrite the nation’s telecommunications law.

CONTACTS: John Hildreth, (202) 508-6724, , jhildreth@cuna.coop.

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