Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017

[0] From the New York Times, I'm Michael Barbaro.

[1] This is The Daily.

[2] Today, Republicans in the House and Senate have reached a deal on the tax plan, why it keeps moving fast, but remains so unpopular.

[3] And the FCC is expected to repeal President Obama's net neutrality rules today.

[4] What would the Internet of 2017 look like without regulation?

[5] It's Thursday, December 14.

[6] As a candidate, I promise we would pass a massive tax cut for the everyday working American families who are the backbone and the heartbeat of our country.

[7] Wednesday afternoon, President Trump, fresh off what had been a brutal election defeat in Alabama the night before, stood out in the White House and delivered what the White House had called a closing argument for the tax reform bill.

[8] Jim Tankersley reports on taxes and the economy.

[9] He was surrounded by families.

[10] Leon and Maria, I would love you to discuss your middle -class tax cut a little bit with the millions of people watching right now on television.

[11] He let them talk about how great this bill would be not just for them, but for their communities.

[12] Thank you, Mr. President.

[13] God bless you and we'll continue to keep praying for you and your team as you move forward and forge ahead with this new future in America.

[14] God bless you.

[15] He can be my minister anytime.

[16] A lot of middle -class families don't think this will benefit them personally.

[17] Two -thirds of the country thinks they will either get a tax increase or no tax cut at all.

[18] So the president here, I think, was trying to give you something relatable, you American taxpayer, to say, hey, here are people who believe they're going to do well from this cut.

[19] And who, by the way, said very nice things about the president.

[20] And he was very happy to hear those things.

[21] Many of your predecessors promised that this reform was coming, but you did it.

[22] Okay, while the president is at the White House with these middle class families giving this final sales speech about the Republican tax plan, what is happening with this tax plan over in Congress, which, as I recall, passed this bill a couple of weeks ago, probably giving both themselves and the president their biggest legislative victory so far as here.

[23] Right.

[24] So the bill has passed the House and it's passed the Senate, but it hasn't passed both of them in the same form.

[25] So the House instead have convened a conference committee to work out the differences.

[26] And Wednesday morning, hours before the president takes the podium.

[27] The last few minutes or so across the news wires from the AP and now indicates that Republicans in the House and Republicans in the Senate have at least agreed in principle on a solid reconciled version of the tax reform bill that will move forward.

[28] There was an announcement that kind of leaked out off of Capitol Hill that there was an agreement in place on a bill that will become, they believe, the bill they sent to the bill.

[29] president next week.

[30] It slashes the top tax rate for the wealthiest individuals to 37 percent and reduces the corporate tax rate to 21 percent.

[31] President Trump says businesses and Americans would also see cuts early next year.

[32] Jim, this bill passed both the House and the Senate with basically no Democratic support.

[33] So what are Democrats now saying about the final appearance of the bill?

[34] Democrats are furious.

[35] The American people are witnessing a master class in how one political party relying on secrecy, distortion, and brute force can muscle an unpopular deficit exploding corporate giveaway to passage.

[36] They also are already starting to warn that if deficits increase, Republicans will turn to cutting social safety net programs such as Medicare and Social Security in order to make up the difference and reduce the national debt going forward.

[37] And they are warning that that would be essentially another transfer of wealth from poor people who are helped by programs to the more wealthy people who are benefiting from these tax cuts.

[38] A final bill will come with an astonishing price tag, and it's bound to do a terrible job getting help to those who need it.

[39] And they're furious because they just won an election in Alabama, and they think that their new Democratic senator from Alabama should be allowed to take his seat before this bill goes forward.

[40] In light of last night's election, Mr. Chairman, I do not believe that we should be holding today's meeting.

[41] In fact, I think it's imperative that we respect the will of the people.

[42] people of Alabama and delay any further action on this tax bill until Senator -elect Jones can be seated.

[43] The Democratic argument is essentially recent history that in 2010...

[44] Live at 924, Scott Brown is your new Republican senator from the state of Massachusetts.

[45] After Senator Ted Kennedy died, there was a special election in Massachusetts.

[46] A Republican won it, and when that happened, Democrats stopped the process of passing the Affordable Care Act until he was seated.

[47] Following the election, we heard strong words from Senator Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republican Party in which he, quote, stated emphatically, I think the message of the moment is that the American people all across the country are asking us, even in the most liberal state, Massachusetts, to stop this health care bill.

[48] What did Democrats do?

[49] We waited and respected the will of the people of Massachusetts.

[50] Quite simply, even when it was hard and against our own politics, Democrats did the right thing and allowed Senator Brown to cast a vote on final passage of the United States.

[51] the ACA.

[52] I hope we could do the same today.

[53] And the Republican response is that Senate election in 2010 was entirely about health care.

[54] And the Roy Moore -Doug Jones race was hardly at all about taxes.

[55] And there is no reason to stop the process now.

[56] It's almost over.

[57] Lame duck senators vote all the time.

[58] They are not seriously considering stopping the bill on those grounds.

[59] As this victory draws closer.

[60] I mean, we are so close right now, so close.

[61] In fact, almost, I don't want to talk about it.

[62] Maybe we shouldn't talk about it.

[63] In September, the administration and congressional leaders released sort of an outline of their tax plan.

[64] By November, start of November, they had an actual bill in the House.

[65] By the middle of November, they had a bill in the Senate.

[66] By the end of November, the very start of December, the bill had passed both the House and the Senate.

[67] That is very, very fast.

[68] Quite possibly the fastest we've seen for a major piece of non -emergency legislation in a real, long time.

[69] And what that speed has done is produce a bill that is likely to get in under the wire of things like this Alabama special election changing the calculus in Washington in politics.

[70] But it is also yielded a bill that a majority of the public does not like and that a majority of the public thinks will not help them.

[71] And so there has been a success on the speed, not as much success on the sale.

[72] And now we get to see which one's more important for Republicans.

[73] Thank you, Jim.

[74] Thank you.

[75] This moment will be forever remembered as a great new beginning, the dawn of a brilliant American future shining with patriotism, prosperity, and pride.

[76] With your help, we will bring back our jobs.

[77] We will bring back our wealth as a country.

[78] And for every citizen across this beautiful land, we will bring back our great American dreams.

[79] Thank you.

[80] And God bless you all.

[81] Thank you very much.

[82] Thank you.

[83] We'll be right back.

[84] It spans the globe like a super highway.

[85] It is called Internet.

[86] The net began back in 1969.

[87] It was a tool of the Pentagon.

[88] But nowadays, just about anyone with a computer and a modem can join in.

[89] Kevin, what was the Internet at its beginning?

[90] What was the philosophy of what it was?

[91] Well, it started as this sort of Defense Department project to connect computers.

[92] Kevin Roos writes about the internet for the times.

[93] And it sort of evolved through the decades into what we now know is the World Wide Web.

[94] There's a revolution going on in recrooms, offices, and classrooms around the world.

[95] A revolution in which 15 million people are taking part.

[96] When I became president, there were just 50 websites on the World Wide Web.

[97] Now there are 17 million and almost 50 million households online in the United States alone.

[98] They're sharing scientific.

[99] data, arguing philosophy, or passing on cooking tips and gossip.

[100] This sort of open -source, decentralized, royalty -free system where anyone can put up anything, everyone has access to the same tools, and all data is created equally and treated equally.

[101] You need a computer and a phone, and suddenly you're part of a new mesh of people, programs, archives, ideas.

[102] So no one is in control of the Internet, even from the start.

[103] And it's envisioned that way.

[104] Yeah, I think the early advocates for the Internet envisioned it as a place where people could be free.

[105] It was this stateless thing that was outside corporate control that would allow everyone equal footing.

[106] I mean, who is the CEO of the Internet, right?

[107] There is none.

[108] There is no one with a sort of red button that they can push to stop the Internet.

[109] It is this sort of by nature decentralized and open thing.

[110] And when did that start to change?

[111] I think it started a change in the early 2000s, and one moment that seems particularly crucial is this case in 2005 that involved a small Internet service provider in North Carolina called Madison River Communication.

[112] They provided high -speed internet as well as phones and other types of connections to their customers, and one of the decisions that they made that was very fateful was to block what's called voice.

[113] over internet protocol services, which are like internet phone services.

[114] Because they made their own phone services, right?

[115] They wanted their customers to use Madison River phone lines.

[116] So they were trying to snuff out the services of a competitor?

[117] Yes.

[118] That's what they were trying to do.

[119] And Vonage, remember Vonage?

[120] They had these crazy commercials with that.

[121] Remember that?

[122] They like ran on every station.

[123] If you've got broadband, you're ready to go.

[124] So Vonage was this early voiceover internet protocol company that made an internet calling service that would sort of bypass your traditional phone line.

[125] And they had about, they said, 200 customers on Madison River Communications internet service who were being blocked from using Vonage.

[126] And they thought we're being shut out of these people's business just because their internet service provider has a conference.

[127] They own their own phone service, too.

[128] And essentially, you had two ideological camps that open up about how the Internet should function.

[129] And one is this sort of dumb pipe theory, which is that the Internet and the way it's delivered to you should be a lot like the running water in your house.

[130] You open your tap and water comes out.

[131] You turn on your computer and Internet connection comes out.

[132] And the pipes that carry that Internet to you shouldn't be able to prioritize certain types of data over others.

[133] They shouldn't be able to say this type of video will run at this speed, but this other type of video will run much slower, and you can't access these five sites because we don't like those five sites or we own our own five sites that compete with those five sites.

[134] That's the dumb pipe theory, and Vonage is on that side.

[135] They say we are an internet -based service provider.

[136] Customers should be able to use us regardless of whether their internet service provider has a competing service.

[137] The other side is Madison River Communications side, which is, I guess you could call it the smart pipe theory, which is that, hey, we built these pipes.

[138] We built the infrastructure that delivers high -speed Internet to our customers.

[139] We have the right to treat data within our system however we want to treat it.

[140] And if that means shutting off Vantage or other things that compete with our own products, then that's our prerogative.

[141] And if customers don't like it, they can go out and find someone else to give them Internet.

[142] And in the larger ecosystem of the internet, who sides with the dump pipe theory and who sides with the smart pipe theory?

[143] Well, so it essentially divides into two kinds of businesses, internet service providers.

[144] So Verizon, AT &T, Comcast, these companies naturally want to have control over the services that they build.

[145] Because they build pipes.

[146] Right.

[147] And their argument is, we spend all.

[148] all this money developing these systems, we should be able to decide how we administer them.

[149] And then you have the companies that create stuff for the Internet, your Netflix's, your Googles, Facebooks, all of the companies that rely on the Internet to access their services.

[150] They use the pipes.

[151] They use the pipes, right?

[152] And so they don't want any data to be prioritized over other data because Netflix doesn't want, you know, AT &T to develop its own rival video service and block Netflix from AT &T customers.

[153] So in the case of Vonage versus Madison River, what happens?

[154] So Vonage files a complaint with the FCC who's the regulator who handles communications issues.

[155] And the FCC agrees with them.

[156] They say this is unfair to Vonage's customers.

[157] They settle with Madison River communication, which agrees to pay 15 ,000.

[158] as a fine and sort of promise not to do this again.

[159] And this is sort of the first victory for the movement that would become known as net neutrality.

[160] Well, the big debate in the United States is over net neutrality.

[161] Net neutrality, a policy that forces internet providers to treat all web traffic equally.

[162] So how much controls do the government have over web traffic and internet commerce and profits?

[163] So this ruling sets a precedent in the world of internet providers.

[164] that they shouldn't block or slow down in any way, any content on the Internet from getting to a customer.

[165] Is that the essence of net neutrality?

[166] Yes, that's what net neutrality advocates want, and that's what they've been trying to uphold in the 12 years since that happened.

[167] Hi, everybody.

[168] Ever since the Internet was created, it's been organized around basic principles of openness, fairness, and freedom.

[169] There are no gatekeepers deciding which sites you get to access.

[170] There are no toll roads on the information superhighway.

[171] This set of principles, the idea of net neutrality, has unleashed the power of the Internet and given innovators the chance to thrive.

[172] Abandoning these principles would threaten to end the Internet as we know it.

[173] In 2015, the FCC under the Obama administration essentially votes to codify net neutrality.

[174] The FCC has just approved.

[175] The net neutrality rules by a vote of three to two.

[176] That's as was expected here, but we had some...

[177] It was the end of a long, hard -fought battle over the future of the Internet.

[178] With this strict open Internet order that says you can't block sites or apps, you can't have paid fast lanes where certain types of data get to move faster than others, it's really the first comprehensive update to the rules that govern the Internet.

[179] They're essentially saying this is not a toy anymore.

[180] This is a utility.

[181] This is like the phone system, like the highways, like electricity.

[182] This is a crucial piece of how we operate as a society.

[183] So let's revisit the battle lines that we started to describe in 2005.

[184] Have they changed since then in terms of who supports regulating the Internet and who opposes it?

[185] Sort of.

[186] I mean, you still have the basic dynamic.

[187] of the companies that create content for the internet, wanting the internet to be a neutral platform.

[188] And then you still have the internet service providers who want to be able to control how their services are used.

[189] But then you also have all these weird sort of amalgamations and hybrids.

[190] So, for example, Google, which is a search engine and content company, now also has an internet service provider, Google Fiber, that people can use to get internet in some cities.

[191] On the other side, you have companies, like Comcast, which is an internet service provider, but also owns NBC.

[192] So they're in the content business as well.

[193] So the whole debate has just gotten a lot more cloudy, and the battle lines aren't really as clear now.

[194] Mr. President, later on today, the Senate will move to a vote to advance the nomination of Ajit Pai to become chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.

[195] So in January, newly inaugurated President Donald Trump installs Ajit Pi as the head of the FCC.

[196] He is working to establish the light -touch regulatory framework that allowed the Internet to become the marvel of the modern age.

[197] And Ajit Pi is a guy who was on the FCC in 2015 and disagreed with their decision to codify net neutrality.

[198] And I'm opposed to President Obama's plan for internet regulation precisely because it is going to make force, slower broadband for Americans, will increase their internet bills, and ultimately will reduce competition and innovation in the broadband marketplace.

[199] So in November, he unveils this plan to repeal net neutrality.

[200] And what is Ajit Pai's argument for rolling back what started off as a kind of informal understanding, but one that was well honored and then has become codified officially by the FCC net neutrality?

[201] What's his problem?

[202] with it and the argument for rolling it back.

[203] So his argument is essentially that in the years when the Internet was being built into the amazing and wonderful thing it is today, that we didn't have these rules, that it was a much more lightly regulated sector.

[204] And under that light regulation, it flourished and thrived and grew into what it is.

[205] Right.

[206] So there's a camp that says the Internet is freer when it is more regulated.

[207] And then there are people like Ajipai who say, actually, no, the Internet is freer.

[208] when it is freer.

[209] Right.

[210] And Ajipai would say, you know, the 2015 decision was an example of government overreach and micromanaging this sort of free and open space.

[211] And I think the net neutrality advocates would say, well, the thing that has kept the internet free and open is this understanding that net neutrality was an important thing to preserve and uphold.

[212] New tonight, protesters across the country are demanding neutrality.

[213] They're fighting against a proposed move by the FCC, which would see.

[214] seriously change the internet as we know it.

[215] Well, I feel like net neutrality is more than just the internet being equal.

[216] It's how we express ourselves.

[217] It's fearing the speech.

[218] Well, today, some of the biggest tech companies like Facebook and Google are participating what they call a day of action.

[219] It is a protest of the FCC's plan to roll back Obama -era net neutrality rules.

[220] What's the fear among proponents of net neutrality about what this proposal from President Trump's FCC will do.

[221] How exactly do they think this decision might change the Internet for the worst?

[222] Well, I think the darkest vision of this future Internet that people are scared of is that it will become essentially a pay -to -play scheme, that you'll get up one morning and try to go watch a movie on your favorite website, and it'll say, you know, in order to do this, you have to upgrade your package because that website.

[223] website actually isn't included with our basic internet package, or that you'll be slowed down when trying to visit certain types of websites because your internet service provider has a business relationship with competing websites.

[224] And the larger worry is that the companies that we all know and love today, Facebook, Google, Netflix, they all came of age because of net neutrality.

[225] They were able to grow and flourish because these principles were in place.

[226] So the worry is that the sort of next generation of cool companies that no one's heard of yet, they won't have a fair playing field to compete against the giants because net neutrality won't exist to protect them.

[227] Kevin, let's say net neutrality is rolled back as Ajipai and the Trump administration want.

[228] Is it possible that the Internet will change in a way where it can't go back to this idealistic, democratic place where it's started?

[229] that even if you reimposed net neutrality down the line with the next president after Trump, that something essential about the Internet will have been lost.

[230] Yeah, I think that's totally possible.

[231] But I think there's something that a lot of people are missing here, which is that the Internet has already lost that open democratic quality.

[232] We now have these giant Silicon Valley tech companies, these platforms that control much, if not most, of what people experience as the Internet, and they are not under the sort of thumb of net neutrality.

[233] They are not guided by these regulatory changes.

[234] And so in a way, the Internet has already lost some of the initial qualities that its founders envisioned.

[235] The Internet is not a sort of free and level playing field for everyone, and this could make it worse, or it could just continue the trend.

[236] Thank you, Kevin.

[237] Thank you for having me. Today, the Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to vote on a measure to undo the regulations put in place under President Obama.

[238] Of the five commissioners on the FCC, three are Republican, and the rollback is expected to pass by a three -to -two margin along party lines.

[239] Here's what else you need to know today.

[240] Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith of Minnesota will take over for Al Franken and, in the U .S. Senate, keeping a Democrat in the seat for now, but setting the stage for a big election in 2018.

[241] During the midterms, voters in Minnesota will vote for a candidate to fill the remaining two years of Franken's term, and Smith has said she'll run to stay in the seat in that election.

[242] And four women have accused the music mogul Russell Simmons of violent sexual behavior, with three of the women saying that he raped them in incidents spanning from 1988 to 2014.

[243] Last month, Simmons had stepped down from his companies and apologized for being, quote, thoughtless and insensitive.

[244] But Simmons is denying these latest accounts, first reported by the Times, saying these horrific accusations have shocked me to my core, and all of my relations have been consensual.

[245] That's it for the Daily.

[246] I'm Michael Barbaro.

[247] See you tomorrow.