WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) issued the following statement Tuesday in response to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals decision to uphold the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality regulation.

“I was disappointed in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals decision to uphold the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order, a regulation that has already led to a decline in innovation at the expense of ordinary Americans.

“Judge Williams’ 69-page dissent will not be forgotten though, particularly his conclusion that: ‘the Commission’s unreasoned patchwork … shunts broadband service into the legal track suited to natural monopolies.’ This will only result in a far less free and open Internet, as it ensures government protection of incumbent firms.

“Today’s decision reinforces the importance of the Restoring Internet Freedom Act, a bill that I recently introduced in the Senate, which aims to nullify the FCC’s Open Internet Order in order to foster the development of a more democratic, fact-based, and economically reasonable approach to ensuring transparency and consumer protection in the Internet ecosystem.

“Today’s decision also illustrates the dysfunction that arises when Congress delegates vast discretionary authority to unelected federal bureaucrats, and points to the need for Congress to reclaim its lawmaking powers currently exercised by rule-writing agencies in the Executive Branch. To that end, earlier this year I joined nine of my colleagues to launch the Article 1 Project: a new network of House and Senate conservatives working together on a new agenda of government reform and congressional rehabilitation.

“The policies advanced by A1P members seek to reassert Congress’s legislative authority, ensuring that the American people’s elected representatives are responsible, and accountable, for the country’s laws.”