Americans For
Limited Government
10332 Main Street, Box 326 · Fairfax, VA 22030 · Phone: 703.383.0880 · Fax: 703.383.5288 · WWW.GETLIBERTY.ORG
September 21, 2016
Senator Mike Lee
361A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Senator Pat Toomey
248 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Senator Dan Sullivan
702 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Senator Roy Blunt
260 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senators:
As September 30 fast approaches and Congress rushes to get a continuing resolution done, so too
does the deadline for stopping the Commerce Department from irreversibly transitioning the
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions to the Internet Corporation of Assigned
Names and Numbers (ICANN).
As you are well aware, surrendering U.S. oversight of the Internet’s domain name system to
foreign powers and multinational corporations will remove any First Amendment and federal
court remedy protections afforded by the current government contract with ICANN, and risk
cementing the creation of a global Internet monopoly. A monopoly that will either be held
accountable by antitrust law, potentially breaking the Internet into a million pieces, or not,
creating a globally governed cartel unaccountable to anyone, risking censorship of the web
without any recourse.
It has been brought to our attention that in the current debate over the continuing resolution,
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been fighting to block the transfer of the Internet,
but is being held up by Senate Democrats on a separate provision for the Export Import Bank of
the United States. 1
It is up to Congress to set priorities. We urge you to support any arrangement that blocks the
Internet transfer even if it includes continuation or expansion of the odious Export-Import Bank.
Lacking 60 votes in the Senate or a willingness to change Senate rules, that means the
Republican majority must act responsibly on behalf of the American people.
1 “But the Obama administration strongly opposes the delay and Democrats have been unwilling to
accept that addition unless language is also included that would free the Export-Import Bank to approve
more deals.” “Senate leaders say they are close to deal to prevent government shutdown, provide Zika
funds,” Sept. 20, 2016 at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/09/20/senateleaders-say-they-are-close-to-deal-to-prevent-government-shutdown-provide-zika-funds/
Page 2
September 21, 2016
The Export Import Bank has been around for 80 years. It can be addressed next year, its charter
revised, etc. It’s not going anywhere. U.S. oversight of the Internet, however, once lost will not
be reclaimed. It is not an issue that can be revisited.
Pausing one wasteful corporate crony program Export Import Bank almost nobody has heard of
at the expense of U.S. oversight of the Internet that everyone uses would be an unacceptable
outcome of the continuing resolution.
Stopping censorship on the Internet we all use is far more important than an 80-year old program
which can be defunded next year. Once relinquished, we will never restore U.S. oversight of the
Internet domain name system and its inherent First Amendment protections.
For this reason, we urge you to take any and all actions necessary to block the Internet transfer,
even if it means including provision for the repugnant Export Import Bank.
Sincerely,
Richard M. Manning
President
Americans for Limited Government
CC: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell