Senate Democrats have already forced a vote on a bill to protect net neutrality, and on Tuesday, Democrats announced that they are now just one vote short of passing the bill in the Senate.
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In a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, the Senate Democrats announced:
Senate Democrats announced today that the legislation to overturn the FCC’s recent vote to repeal the net neutrality rule now has the support of all 49 Democrats in the United States Senate. Today’s announcement is the latest milestone in the Democrats’ fight to stand up for average consumers, small business owners, and entrepreneurs. Last month, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to repeal the 2015 Open Internet Order, which the D.C. Circuit Court upheld in 2016. The Open Internet Order prohibited internet service providers from blocking, slowing down, or discriminating against content online. Repealing the net neutrality rules could lead to higher prices for consumers, slower internet traffic, and even blocked websites.
The resolution of disapproval, which is being led by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and now has the support of the entire Senate Democratic caucus, would rescind FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s item and fully restore the Open Internet Order. CRA resolutions allow Congress to overturn regulatory actions at federal agencies with a simple majority vote in both chambers. In accordance with the Congressional Review Act, the Senators will formally introduce the resolution after the rule is submitted to both houses of Congress and published in the federal register and then force a vote within 60 legislative days.
With Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine also supporting the bill, Democrats need to secure one Republican vote to pass the bill, and those Republican votes are out there to be had because a free and unfettered internet is the definition of open market conservatism. The killing of net neutrality is an anti-free market maneuver that is intended to give control of the internet to large corporate Internet Service Providers.
The FCC’s ruling killing net neutrality is likely to be tied up in court for long enough that if Democrats can get the bill passed, the ideologically empty president, who doesn’t use or understand the internet could sign it because it would give him a “win.”
If Democrats and Republicans could cobble together a veto-proof majority in the Senate, Trump wouldn’t matter.
Democrats are fighting to save net neutrality, and today’s announcement is another step closer to saving the internet for all Americans.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
