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'There Will Be a [Senate] Vote' To Reinstate Net Neutrality, Schumer Says (arstechnica.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the back-and-forth dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he will force a vote on a bill that would reinstate the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules. Legislation to reverse the repeal "doesn't need the support of the majority leader," Schumer said during a press conference Friday, according to The Hill. "We can bring it to the floor and force a vote. So, there will be a vote to repeal the rule that the FCC passed." The Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal its own net neutrality rules last week, and the repeal will take effect 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. But Congress can overturn agency actions by invoking the Congressional Review Act (CRA), as it did earlier this year in order to eliminate consumer broadband privacy protections. A successful CRA vote in this case would invalidate the FCC's net neutrality repeal and prevent the FCC from issuing a similar repeal in the future. This would force the FCC to maintain the rules and the related classification of ISPs as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act. A CRA vote lets Congress "undo regulations with a simple majority," without the possibility of a filibuster, as a Washington Post story said in February. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) announced a plan to file the CRA resolution last week. "It's in our power to do that and that's the beauty of the CRA rule," Schumer said. "Sometimes we don't like them, when they used it to repeal some of the pro-environmental regulations, but now we can use the CRA to our benefit, and we intend to."

7 of 278 comments (clear)

  1. Good, but will it pass? by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Now we find out exactly how unified the GOP is. Spoiler: They're not unified at all. If it's a simple majority I think Ajit Pai is going to have his ass handed to him by Congress, and rightly so.

    1. Re:Good, but will it pass? by SlaveToTheGrind · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If it's a simple majority I think Ajit Pai is going to have his ass handed to him by Congress, and rightly so.

      Even if the Senate Dems were to vote in lockstep, which is less than clear, this would have to pass in the House as well, then survive a presidential veto. That's not going to happen, and TFA says as much. This is nothing but political posturing on Schumer's part.

    2. Re:Good, but will it pass? by jmccue · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is nothing but political posturing on Schumer's part.

      Why is that bad, then we will know who not to vote for next year.

    3. Re:Good, but will it pass? by Green+Mountain+Bot · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You could call it grandstanding. I prefer to call it "getting everyone to declare their position". If the House takes this up and passes it, great. If they don't, then it's clear that the House, and the speaker in particular are on the wrong side of the issue and need to be replaced. If it doesn't pass the Senate, and it's on party lines, then it's clear that the talk about "doing it the proper way" is just another in a long line of self-serving rules the GOP insists Democrats observe while doing nothing of the sort themselves.

  2. So you finally want to do it the PROPER way? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The proper way to implement significant policy changes is to change the law.

    Because what's done via a pen and a phone are just are properly undone by a pen and a phone.

  3. Re:Republicans will vote as a bloc by buss_error · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Democrats REALLY want the Federal Government to gain control of the Internet.

    I am a progressive. I do not want the government to control the internet, and I sure don't want the corporations with government granted monopolies to control it either.

    Here's a thought for you: If you don't want the government to step in here, then pass "One Touch Make Ready" and strike down the laws the telecoms got enacted to prevent cities and counties to establish co-ops for internet. They don't have to allow tv, just internet. That would restore open market freedoms and elemenate the telecom monopolies.

    --
    Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
  4. Re:Republicans will vote as a bloc by Darinbob · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Even the most rabid libertarian agrees that government is necessary for the common defense. In this case, we need a common defense against corporations. Regulations are necessary to prevent free market abuse, and anyone who thinks zero regulation makes the free market work best doesn't know very much about about history.