Sept. 28, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement blasting House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for a deal to fund the Flint, Mich. water supply with $170 million and not getting anything in return:
“So, Democrats block the continuing resolution, demand money for the Flint, Mich. water supply. House Republicans led by House Speaker Paul Ryan relent and agree to add it to the House water bill after that proposal was defeated in the House Rules Committee, and got nothing in return.
“Republicans have majorities in both houses of Congress, Democrats were actively demanding extra add-ons for these bills, and they couldn’t even get a rider stopping the irreversible transition of U.S. oversight of the Internet’s domain name system. That, even though the Department of Justice has repeatedly failed to respond to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on a number of outstanding legal concerns with the Internet transition of U.S. oversight of the domain name system. These issues risk either creating an unaccountable global Internet monopoly or a potentially fractured domain name system if antitrust does come into play. The transition proposal contemplates neither scenario, and these issues cannot be addressed once the transition occurs on Oct. 1.
“Did they even try? Ryan and McConnell have not issued any public statements on the matter, so we must assume they actively agree with surrendering U.S. oversight of the Internet. They didn’t even put up a fight. House and Senate Republicans are not what they say, they are what they do. And what they are doing is allowing President Obama to give away the Internet to the international community, threatening the American people’s vital Internet freedoms. And don’t let any Republican tell you different.
“Moreover, now former defense and Congressional officials, national security professionals and cyber experts are warning that the transition of the domain name system threatens our national security, which depends on private sector infrastructure, by exposing the nation to new cyber vulnerabilities. This lapse in U.S. oversight of the domain name system and IP addresses then not only threatens censorship on the Internet, but also poses new dangers to U.S. communications in the event of an attack. What could go wrong?”
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.
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