U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) today reintroduced bipartisan legislation to protect Montana and West Virginia small businesses from the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) burdensome regulations.
The Small Business Broadband Deployment Act would extend a temporary exemption from the FCC’s “enhanced transparency requirements,” which would require Internet service providers to disclose an excess of information about their network performance, some of which may require hiring an engineer.
The bill extends the temporary exemption so that small businesses don’t have to comply with unnecessary and burdensome regulations that would cost small businesses time and money.
“Building a small business is challenging enough without adding burdensome regulations from Washington, D.C. bureaucrats,” Daines stated. “We need to provide relief to allow small buinsess owners to focus on serving their customers and building their businesses, not on complying with regulations.”
“Small providers in West Virginia should be allowed to focus on serving consumers,” Manchin said. “I am proud to take this step to clear these burdensome requirements so our small businesses can continue providing and expanding broadband access to rural communities across the country.”
Daines led the effort in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives in the 114th Congress.
On December 13, Daines and Manchin urged the FCC to take action and extend the exemption.
The exemption is supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, American Cable Association, Rural Wireless Association, Competitive Carriers Association, Wireless Internet Service Providers Association, CTIA – The Wireless Association, Rural Broadband Provider Coalition, NTCA – the Rural Broadband Association, and WTA – Advocates for Rural Broadband.
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