Cong. 2nd: Wulsin (D) Calls Net Neutrality Essential to Healthcare

On the eve of a critical floor debate in the House of Representatives, 2nd Congressional District candidate Dr. Victoria Wells Wulsin (D-Indian Hills) has a distinctive reason for supporting net neutrality: "It saves lives."

A public health doctor who has dedicated her life to defeating disease and workplace injuries, Wulsin says that "an open and neutral internet is absolutely necessary in order to develop the innovative technologies and systems that will improve health outcomes and reduce costs." As examples, she cites "paperless recordkeeping" to ensure that doctors and nurses have the information they need; "putting health records online and giving patients control of their records;" and "making research information freely available to doctors and organizations in poor countries" to improve the the fight against infectious disease. These improvements to the health care system depend on "the principles of openness, accessibility, and accuracy that make for good governance and, of course, communities like the netroots." However, they will be "utterly impossible" if telecommunications companies "discriminate between different users and organizations" or "stifle creativity and communication by exerting their monopoly power like they're trying to do."

Wulsin notes that she also supports net neutrality for other, non-health-related reasons. Because the internet "holds the potential to revolutionize our economy," to "re-energize our democracy," and to "arouse human creativity and collaboration," she says, the internet must be protected "from those who would monopolize its beauty and deprive our community of this great gift. The net must remain neutral and open, and our freedom to use it must not be curtailed."

Wulsin faces incumbent Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland) in the general election.