INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Senate today voted 52-47 to disapprove the FCC recent order replacing 2015 net neutrality rules, a pleasant surprise for internet
advocates and consumers throughout the country
Although the disapproval will almost certainly not lead to the new rules being undone, it is a powerful statement of solidarity with a
constituency activated against this deeply unpopular order.
To be clear, the FCC &Restoring Internet Freedom& is still set to take effect in
June.
BREAKING: The Senate just voted to restore #NetNeutrality! We won
To all of those who kept fighting and didn&t get discouraged: you did this
You raised your voices and we heard you
On to the House!
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) May 16, 2018
Senate Joint Resolution 52 officially disapproves the rule under the Congressional
Review Act, which allows Congress to undo recently created rules by federal agencies
It will have to pass in the House as well and then be signed by the president for the old rules to be restored (that or a two-thirds
majority, which is equally unlikely).
On the other hand, forcing everyone in Congress to officially weigh in will potentially make this an
issue in the upcoming midterms.
&‘Do you support net neutrality& Every candidate in America is going to be asked that question,& said
Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) at a press conference after the vote.
Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) related that a Republican colleague of his told
him that their office had received more than 6,000 calls from people expressing support for net neutrality and the FCC original rules, and
10 opposed.
&People who use the internet all the time realize what this is about
Millions of calls, we don&t get that on every issue
People intuitively get this,& said Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) at the press conference.
Commission Impossible: How and why the FCC created
net neutrality
Until yesterday Senate Democrats, who brought the resolution, had 50 supporters, including one Republican, more than enough
to force the issue to be voted on, but not enough to actually pass.
Two more Republicans, Alaska Lisa Murowski and Louisiana John Kennedy
joined Maine Susan Collins (the first to cross the aisle) to vote aye on the measure, making the final tally 52-47
(The missing vote belongs to Sen
McCain, who is absent while fighting cancer.)
&We salute them for their courage,& said Senate minority leader Nancy Pelosi at the press
conference.
FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel commended the Senate action.
&Today the United States Senate took a big step to fix the
serious mess the FCC made when it rolled back net neutrality late last year,& she said in a statement
&Today vote is a sign that the fight for internet freedom is far from over
I&ll keep raising a ruckus to support net neutrality and I hope others will too.&
Chairman Ajit Pai, however, was less congratulatory in his
own statement.
&It disappointing that Senate Democrats forced this resolution through by a narrow margin,& he said, &But ultimately, I&m
confident that their effort to reinstate heavy-handed government regulation of the Internet will fail.&
Both he and Commissioner Carr cited
a &three-Pinnochio& fact-check of Democratic claims regarding net neutrality that a good guide to avoiding the hysteria occasionally
encountered in this debate but provides precious little support for Restoring Internet Freedom, which is itself plagued by technical
misunderstandings.
The FCC case against net neutrality rests on a deliberate misrepresentation of how the internet works
Representative
Mike Doyle, who has been working on the corresponding effort in the House, said he is taking the next step tomorrow morning.
With the
Majority Leadership in the House opposed to this bill, the only way to bring it before the full House for a vote is through a discharge
Under the rules of the House, a bill must be brought to the House Floor for a vote if a majority of Representatives sign a discharge
I&m filing a discharge petition to force a vote on the legislation to save Net Neutrality, and we just need to get a majority of
Representatives to sign it
I&m sure that every Member of the House will want to know where their constituents stand on this issue.
As everyone notes above, the fight
Be sure to contact your member of Congress.
