In the name of so-called “net neutrality,” a number of special-interest groups, like MoveOn.org, and Internet content providers, such as Google, Yahoo, and Amazon.com, are pushing for federal regulations of the Internet that will ultimately hit you and all Internet users right in the pocketbook!

Let me explain.

This cadre of high-tech companies that provide search engines, websites, and other “content” for the Internet want Congress to mandate that your Internet service provider - the company that you pay for broadband or dial-up access to the Internet - must carry every single piece of content and every service they have to offer, no matter the cost. If Congress bows to their demands and imposes some of the first-ever regulations on the freewheeling Internet, your service provider will have no option but to pass the higher cost for such universal service on to you.

In short, Google and the other high-tech Internet giants would have the government guarantee them below-cost access to premium high-speed network services - with you, the end-user, footing the bill!

The Internet has thrived as a tool enhancing communications and commerce precisely because the government has, for the most part, taken a hands-off approach with regard to regulation and taxation. Net neutrality regulations would discourage crucial investment in broadband networks and stifle the innovation that is at the heart of the Internet’s success.

Sincerely,

Thomas A. Schatz
President

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The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), the nation's largest taxpayer watchdog organization with more than one million members and supporters nationwide. CCAGW is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that lobbies for legislation to eliminate waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. For more information about CCAGW, visit www.ccagw.org