Senate rekindles net neutrality battle.
Senate Democrats look into act that allows Congress to overturn federal agency rules
Senate Democrats tried to breathe new life into net neutrality rules Wednesday as they rolled out a new push to overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of the Obama-era regulations.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, is leading the way by formally forcing a vote on a resolution to try to restore the rules, which since 2015 have tried to ensure that all internet traffic is treated equally. The Republican-majority FCC overturned the Open Internet rules in a partisan 3-2 vote in December.
Markey and others aim to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA), a procedure through which Congress can review and overturn rules by federal agencies, to try to nullify the FCC vote. That vote repealed net neutrality regulations that were enacted under President Barack Obama after years of wrangling over the issue, including lawsuits against broadband providers for throttling or slowing down internet traffic.
“By passing this resolution, we can send a
clear message that this Congress won’t fall to the special-interest agenda of President Trump and his broadband baron allies, but rather we’ll do right by the people who sent us here,” Markey said during a news conference Wednesday.
Trump appointed FCC Chairman Ajit Pai — who led the charge to repeal the net neutrality rules — to his position.
The senators who have signed on to the effort are saying they need just one more vote to pass the resolution, but they already have 50 committed voters. If the ailing Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, cannot return for a vote, the resolution will pass. The Senate has 60 days to vote after a CRA petition, though a vote is expected as soon as next week.
Markey also noted Wednesday that Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is the only Republican who supports it, but that “there are a number of Republican senators who have shown an openness to potentially voting yes.”
Though net neutrality has historically drawn bipartisan support, the resolution could see a tougher slog in the House. So consumer advocacy groups and many tech companies, such as Reddit, Tinder and Tumblr, on Wednesday started showing “red alert” calls to action on their websites, urging people to put pressure on their lawmakers.
“This is an issue young people are voting on,” Gigi Sohn, former counselor to former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, said Wednesday. Sohn, who is also a Mozilla fellow and a distinguished fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy, pointed out that the resolution will force lawmakers to have to “go on the record as opposing net neutrality,” which could hurt their chances in the November election.
She also noted that if the resolution passes in the Senate, House members who have yet to “show their cards” on the issue may feel compelled to do so.
Opponents of net neutrality rules, such as cable and broadband companies, say the regulations hinder innovation. Some of them have called on Congress to address net neutrality with legislation.
“The CRA has been a massive political undertaking, pressuring lawmakers to support a largely symbolic bill that will not pass the U.S. House or gain the president’s signature,” said Jonathan Spalter, president and CEO of USTelecom, in an op-ed Wednesday. “It’s time for Congress to come together and craft forward-looking rules of the road to end this debate once and for all.”