Photos: Senators on Net neutrality

On Thursday--the same day that the House Judiciary Committee approved a bill to require broadband providers to abide by strict Net neutrality principles--the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on whether to enact stiff Net neutrality regulations.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, asks a Verizon Communications lobbyist to explain why a two-tier network could benefit consumers.

"What do you do that's so great that you get paid?" Boxer asked.

Verizon lobbyist Tom Tauke replied that a heart patient who is released from the hospital might want a guaranteed Net-connection for remote monitoring and that new regulations will harm the launch of fiber links to the home.

"Consumers ought to be able to get any content they wish over the Internet without asking permission from anybody," said Sen. Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, during the Senate hearing on Thursday as Boxer looks on.