Jeff Pulver in passing sums up the problem with legislating:

We thought it would be sufficient for Jonathan Askin to cover the House Judiciary Committee Markup, given the fact that Staci Pies was going to testify at the Senate Hearing on behalf of the VON Coalition. Well, yesterday afternoon, the VON Coalition was removed from inclusion on the panel. So, the Senate was left with no one expressing the views of the Internet communications industry and the effects that the Senate Bill might have on the emerging industry.

My Worlds Collide on Capitol Hill Today, Jeff Pulver, The Jeff Pulver Blog, 25 May 2006

Legislatures almost by definition can’t be experts on every subject they legislate on. So instead they depend heavily on lobbyists. And sometimes they deliberately exclude parties who are trying to represent important points of view.

Legislators also listen to constituents. If enough constituents say net neutrality is sacrosanct, maybe Congress will get net religion. If your business wants a level playing field that isn’t skewed towards a handful of big telcos, you may want to speak up.

-jsq