Paul Defends Merits of Paid Prioritization

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., defended paid prioritization deals Saturday when campaigning in California's Bay Area. “The marketplace will charge more for something that’s faster,” said Paul, who's seeking the GOP nomination in the 2016 White House race, at an event hosted by Lincoln Labs. He's leading a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval to dismantle the FCC’s net neutrality order. Paul compared paid prioritization deals to FedEx's charging different amounts for sending a letter in one day versus in five. There are other options aside from "regulating the Internet,” Paul said, encouraging more broadband competition. Paul questioned polls that suggest broad support for net neutrality protections: “I would say it depends on how you ask the question.” He said if you framed net neutrality as Internet regulation, the answer would be the opposite. The net neutrality label is “wonderful,” he remarked. “Who could be against net neutrality?” He slammed the idea of government monopolies in the broadband space and encouraged deregulation to “get rid of government monopolies” in delivering the service. Paul emphasized a particular fear of getting “rid of the pricing mechanism” and cautioned of possible distortions in the marketplace that would follow, comparing it to what happened to the price of bread in early Soviet Russia. Paul also said Jeb Bush, a former Florida governor seen as vying for the GOP nomination, is “mistaken” in his defense of government surveillance powers. “I’m for the Bill of Rights,” Paul said, arguing he’s the only presidential candidate of any party who would end government surveillance on the first day of his or her presidency. “I will lead the fight against extending the Patriot Act,” Paul said, noting he's working with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and anticipates five to 10 amendments on the Senate floor regarding any relevant legislation to “limit the overreach.”