Lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act, which would reverse the Federal Communications Commission’s unpopular repeal of Net Neutrality protections.
Led by Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, the Senate version of the resolution has already drawn support from 50 senators, just one shy of the number needed to pass the chamber. Rep. Michael Doyle of Pennsylvania introduced an identical resolution in the House, where the measure currently has 150 co-sponsors, with more joining every day.
Democrats plan to force a vote on the resolution in the coming months. The move follows the publication of the FCC repeal in the Federal Register last week, which triggered a countdown clock for legal and congressional actions to overturn the agency’s widely disparaged decision to strip internet users of Title II Net Neutrality protections.
The resolution’s introduction kicks off an internet-wide day of action on Tuesday. Throughout the day, internet users, small businesses, online communities, public-interest groups, technology companies and popular websites will harness their reach to flood lawmakers with calls, emails and tweets aimed at securing the final votes in the Senate and House needed to pass the CRA resolution.
More information about today’s activism is available via the coalition website BattlefortheNet.com.
Free Press Action Fund Government Relations Director Sandra Fulton made the following statement:
“Today millions of Net Neutrality supporters from across the country are putting lawmakers on notice: You have to choose whether you side with big phone and cable lobbyists or with the majority of people in the United States — both Republicans and Democrats — who want to restore Net Neutrality protections.
“We thank the hundreds of members of Congress who have already made their choice clear and stood up for the open internet, along with the educators, entrepreneurs, advocates and activists who depend on this essential platform to make their voices heard.
“People are shocked by what Chairman Pai and his Republican FCC colleagues have done. Striking down the 2015 rules is a radical rewiring of the internet that hands control of the network to a few powerful internet service providers. The FCC repeal blatantly ignored the fact that the 2015 rules were working for everyone, as broadband investment and deployment continued under the Title II-based protections the Pai FCC struck down.
“Pai’s actions are so wrongheaded and outrageous that it’s no surprise millions of people are speaking out in defense of the open internet. Lawmakers who haven’t yet committed their support to the CRA resolution need to wake up, listen to their constituents and sign on in support of restoring Net Neutrality. And they need to act now while the CRA opens this window for fully rejecting the FCC’s dangerous action.”
