Station:    KOA, 850 am

Show:       Colorado’s Morning News

Guests:    Coffman, Mike

Link:        https://koanewsradio.iheart.com/featured/colorado-s-morning-news/

Date:        July 17, 2018

Topics:     Vladimir Putin, Russian meddling, Elections, Defense, Germany, Natural Gas Pipeline, NATO, Europe, Trump Party, Rand Paul, Co-Equal Branch, Executive Branch, Legislative Branch, 21^st Century Internet Act, Net Neutrality, FCC, Federal Communications Commission,

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HOST APRIL ZESBAUGH: [00:00:00] Thanks for coming on, Congressman. We’ll get to net neutrality in just a minute. Thank you for coming on, though, Okay?

UNITED STATES CONGRESSMAN FROM COLORADO’S SIXTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, MIKE COFFMAN: [00:00:04] [chuckles] Okay. Hey, thanks for having me.

ZESBAUGH: [00:00:06] In watching the president saying those things while standing next to Vladimir Putin on foreign soil, what were you thinking and feeling?

COFFMAN: [00:00:13] Oh, just “incomprehensible.” I mean, just incomprehensible. I mean, the fact is, I mean, beyond the Russian meddling in our elections, I think the bigger issue was I think he went very hard on our allies, in some respects I think for good reason. I think not spending enough on defense, being too reliant upon the United States, not being tough enough on Russia in terms of Germany allowing the pipeline for natural gas from Russia making you’re more dependent upon the Russians for natural gas, giving them more leverage over Europe. But then at the same time he went soft on Russia with Putin, which was absolutely incredible. I mean, just — I think the only word to describe[it] is “uncomprehensible.” But not good. [It was] not a good day for American foreign policy, not a good day for our security interests.

CO-HOST MARTY LENTZ: [00:01:04] You know, it seems like, Representative Coffman, that your party has basically become the Trump party. So, what do you say to your colleagues like Rand Paul and some other[s] who are giving the president cover for what he did?

COFFMAN: [00:01:14] Oh, I don’t think — I don’t–. You know, the Congress pf the United States is a co-equal branch to the executive — you know — to the executive branch. And so, I think that members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have spoken out in terms of the president’s conduct on this visit. And so I hope the White House gets the message.

ZESBAUGH: [00:01:34] All right. And we’re about less than 20 minutes away, now — 15 minutes, or so — from you delivering some remarks there in D.C. unveiling and discussing your legislation: The 21st Century Internet Act. It’s all about the future of net neutrality. Tell us about it.

COFFMAN: [00:01:48] Well, I think it’s very important to preserve net neutrality. I think, you know, [there should be] no blocking of content for Internet service providers, you know, no throttling, no paid prioritization. So, those principles that are important in net neutrality […] [phone Signal lost, gap in audio] […] the United States to set this policy and not by an unelected commission, the FCC — [the] Federal Communications Commission — to set that policy. And then, that policy, they’d change with every administration. We need to create certainty. The Internet is so foundational for this economy. And so, I hope to establish that legislatively.

LENTZ: [00:02:33] Quickly, do you think the FCC and the commissioner — they’re are out of step with what you think should be done, then?

COFFMAN: [00:02:38] You know, I think that they really are. Well, I think the fact that Congress has not acted — I think that in Congress not acting, they are acting. But I think in repealing net neutrality, I think is the wrong move for the FCC. I think we ought to preserve net neutrality. But we need to modernize it. My legislation creates a new title for broadband that I think is very important. But it is — we need some regulation. We don’t need to overregulate it. But, you know, we rely on it now for commerce, and we need some certainty in terms of what the Internet is going to be in the future.

ZESBAUGH: [00:03:16] Congressman Mike Coffman from D.C., thanks for the time.

COFFMAN: [00:03:18] Hey, thanks for having me. I appreciate it.