WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, today issued the following statement regarding Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler’s announcement to expand the government’s authority over the Internet:

“There are better ways to preserve a free and open Internet than by imposing utility-style regulations on service providers. Such a proposal would negatively impact consumers and would stifle innovation in an industry that has been an economic engine for the past two decades.

“We have repeatedly asked the Administration and the agency to work with us to develop a legislative solution. It is disappointing – but not unexpected – that they have chosen to go it alone yet again.

“I look forward to working with Chairman Thune, our House Republican counterparts, and amenable Democrats to craft an alternative measure that would ensure certainty for consumers and providers while allowing innovation to continue to flourish.”