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"Congressman Darrell Issa, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee and one of the most outspoken lawmakers on technology issues, posted to Reddit on Tuesday a draft bill proposing a halt new Internet regulation for two years.\nThe bill, titled the \"Internet American Moratorium Act of 2012,\" would \"create a two-year moratorium on any new laws, rules or regulations governing the Internet.\" \nAccording to Issa's Reddit post, the goal of the bill is to \"make Washington take a break from messing [with] the Internet.\" It comes in the midst of Congressional work on several Internet issues, including cybersecurity and online privacy \u2014 the latter of which is to be the subject of a Senate committee vote later this week. \nIssa's office has uploaded the text of the draft legislation to Madison, an open-source open government platform. Through Madison, Internet users across the country can comment upon and suggest changes to the bill. The Internet American Moratorium Act of 2012 has not yet been formally introduced in Congress; Issa is first seeking citizens' input before doing so.\nWashington is not known for its ability to keep up with the pace of technological change. When asked if a two-year moratorium on new Internet regulations would only serve to leave Congress further behind the times, an Issa spokesman argued the contrary.\n\"One of the things that the [Stop Online Piracy Act] and [PROTECT IP Act] debate made painfully clear is that Congress passes many laws and agencies issue many regulations without having a full understanding of their impact,\" said the spokesman. \"Taking a pause from new laws or rules gives government a chance to catch up to the web, not fall further behind.\"\nThe timing, however, is suspect: Issa is a leading Republican and has been a vocal critic of the Obama administration. The bill, if passed, would effectively cut a two-year hole in President Barack Obama's ability to affect technology policy change through Congress. \nAn Issa spokesman, however, said the bill is a reaction to the Stop Online Privacy Act, which sparked a debate that politically mobilized the Internet community in a way not before encountered. Issa was one of the most prominent voices in Congress against the SOPA, which caused an uproar among Internet users and activists earlier this year. \n\"After the secretive and rushed process that produced SOPA, it\u2019s clear that we need to have an open discussion and debate before policymaking, so the outcomes work best for all stakeholders involved and impacted,\" said the spokesman.\n\nSEE ALSO: Reddit vs. Darrell Issa: Congressman Explains His SOPA Alternative Online\nObama, at the moment, is considering an executive order on cybersecurity, an area where Congress has repeatedly stalled. Issa's current draft legislation acknowledges a need for improved cybersecurity by including a provision to allow exceptions for new Internet regulations in the case of an \"existential threat to the Internet.\"\nIssa is planning a live Reddit interview, known as an \"Ask Me Anything,\" to answer questions about the bill on Wednesday starting at 10:30 a.m. ET. Issa's initial Reddit post is two hours old of this writing, and already has more than 1,000 \"upvotes\" and nearly 200 comments.\nImage courtesy of Flickr, Congressman Darrell Issa"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/11/27/issa-internet-law-reddit/>