U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii is praising Federal Communications Commission Chairman Wheeler’s net neutrality proposal, which was announced Wednesday.

Schatz, the ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet, said in a press release:

“I congratulate Chairman Wheeler for his leadership in putting forth a proposal to establish net neutrality rules tailored for the 21st century. A free and open Internet is critical to fostering innovation and enabling continued investment in our nation’s broadband network. It must continue to be a level playing field where everyone has an equal opportunity to compete.

I am pleased that the Chairman’s proposal bans blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization for both mobile and fixed broadband providers. I believe that these new proposed rules provide clear regulatory guidance for industry while at the same time, preserving the FCC’s authority to prevent other forms of discrimination that threaten Internet openness in the future.”

Flickr: IntelFreePress

Schatz was reacting to Wheeler’s proposal to use the FCC’s authority to regulate the Internet as a utility.

As NPR reports, “After months of debate, discussion and the culling of nearly 4 million public comments on the matter, the Federal Communications Commission appears poised to decide how it will regulate the Internet.”

Meanwhile, Salon reports that the FCC will vote Feb. 26 on his proposal.

“The plan would apply Title II of the 1934 Communications Act, regulating the Internet like phone service,” Salon explains. “Internet service providers, including those selling wireless connections, would be prohibited from slowing down or speeding up web traffic. …”

Appropriately, Wheeler laid out his proposal in a column Wednesday in Wired magazine online.

Schatz, a Democrat, has posted a column on his own in The Huffington Post titled An Open Internet That Works for Everyone.