WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation today delivered the keynote speech to the American Enterprise Institute’s (AEI) day long discussion, “Tech policy 2015: The year ahead.”

The full written
text of Thune’s remarks can be found here.

Video of Thune’s
speech will be available here (1:09:30 mark).

Highlights:

On the success of America’s tech entrepreneurs:

“It is a testament to the ingenuity of American businesses that they have been able to adapt and succeed with laws that are increasingly out-of-date. While I do not doubt that they can and will continue to work around the growing shortcomings of our nation’s laws, American industries deserve better from our government. Congress has a responsibility to ensure that our statutes and regulations are appropriately and narrowly tailored for today’s economy and for the future.”

On breaking gridlock:

“Voters in November entrusted Republicans with control of the Congress. They expect us to break the partisan gridlock and get Congress back to working for the American people. My colleagues and I intend to do exactly that. We are wasting no time in tackling these important issues. Indeed, House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, and I have begun the new Congress with a process to find a legislative solution to a problem that has vexed policymakers for more than a decade – how best to protect the open Internet. “

Efforts to protect an Open Internet:

“I’ll be the first to tell you that I have long been skeptical that the Internet needs more government intervention to preserve its openness. The legal and regulatory uncertainty about what the FCC can and will do, however, has become a major problem for people both at the edge of the Internet and at its core. Congress, however, is the only entity that can settle this uncertainty, and I believe we can do so in a way that will empower the FCC with the strong tools many believe are needed to protect the Internet while simultaneously ensuring the agency is appropriately limited in its reach and authority.” 

A broader update of the Communications Act:

“Updating the Communications Act is no small undertaking, but it would be a dereliction of duty if Congress did not at least try to modernize the law. According to my former colleague John Kerry, the last significant update to the Communications Act, the Telecommunications Act of 1996, was “obsolete” within six months of enactment because it didn’t take the Internet into account. With the FCC poised to reclassify broadband due to a lack of clear statutory authority, we can readily see the consequences of that obsolescence and the need for action.”

Spectrum policy:

“Spectrum policy is one area that has the potential for bipartisan consensus and Congressional collaboration with the White House. I think everyone was surprised to see just how successful the AWS-3 auction has been. Forty-five billion dollars is a lot of money, even in Washington D.C., and it illustrates the incredible demand for wireless spectrum, which is needed to fuel the mobile revolution. But private sector users are not the only ones who rely upon spectrum; government users have important spectrum needs too.”

Cybersecurity:

“Cybersecurity is another issue where bipartisan collaboration should be possible. Earlier this month, the President sent a legislative proposal to Congress to address the sharing of cyber threat information and create a uniform national standard for notifying affected consumers after a data breach. I welcome the President back to the discussion on cybersecurity.” 

Oversight of Internet Governance:

“I have been working with Senator Marco Rubio to hold the Administration accountable to its promises and to urge ICANN to implement accountability reforms as part of the IANA transition process. If these goals cannot be met, the Administration should simply renew the IANA contract indefinitely. Keeping the Internet open and free from control by foreign governments is very important to my Republican colleagues, all of whom last year called for a hearing on this topic. At some point after ICANN’s February meeting in Singapore, I expect to hold a hearing with Department of Commerce Assistant  Secretary Larry Strickling and ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade to discuss the status of the proposed IANA transition.”

Big year for tech policy:

“We can continue to get by with aged technology laws and regulations, but Congress should strive to do better. I look forward to engaging all of my colleagues on the Commerce Committee and throughout the Senate to work on ensuring our nation’s laws are as forward-looking as our nation’s innovators and entrepreneurs. I am willing to put in the hard work necessary to do what is needed, and I know many of my colleagues feel the same way. If we can find enough willing partners to work with, I think 2015 is going to be a big year for tech policy.”

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