On the other hand, Senate Democrats are trying to force a vote to restore net neutrality through the Congressional Review Act. The CRA hopes to overturn the FCC’s decision.
Advertisement
At the moment Democrats are unanimously supporting this resolution which leaves Markey only two votes from the Republicans in order to pass the Senate. Susan Collins, Maine Republican, prepared to vote with them. If that effort is successful, Donald Trump could still overturn the measure with a veto.
The FCC’s revocation of net neutrality will officially take effect on JUNE 11th. That vote could come as soon as next week.
Senate Democrats are also making a last-ditch effort to salvage the rules that they say maintain an “open internet”. A spokesman for McCarthy, Matthew Sparks, declined to comment on when or whether the House could take up the CRA, saying that the House is dedicated to working on a separate net neutrality bill “to permanently address this issue”.
Timothy Karr, senior director of strategy and communications for Free Press based in Washington, D.C., and Florence, Mass., said that the June 11 date was expected, though there was some confusion as to an earlier date.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), headquartered in San Francisco, Calif., has engaged in multiple campaigns around the preservation of Net Neutrality. This is a fight for the most powerful platform for commerce and communications in the history of the planet: “the internet”.
Proponents for net neutrality believe that the internet should be treated as a utility, like electricity and water, and giving too much power over the internet to telecom companies could drastically affect the lives of Americans in negative ways.
If you went on Reddit, Tumblr or any number of other sites today, you probably noticed a call to action to save net neutrality. For many rural consumers with only one choice for internet service, there is no real opportunity to comparison shop or find a new provider if they are unhappy with their service.
“Are they protecting average consumers and middle-class families, or are they protecting the big corporate special interests?” he asked. Republicans might be able to muster only 49 votes because of the absence of Sen.
Public Knowledge opposes Chairman Pai’s deeply troubling break with nearly 20 years of bipartisan FCC support for the Open Internet, and is also suing the FCC.
“There will be nowhere for Senators to hide”, Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) added in a tweet.
Supporters of the resolution are well aware of the legislative hurdles they have to clear.
Advertisement
To win the vote and undo FCC chairman Ajit Pai’s Republican-led decision, the resolution needs to hold a majority in both the Senate and the House, followed by President Trump’s signature.
