Senate Votes to Actually Implement Abandoned Net Neutrality Rules
posted Friday May 18, 2018 by Scott Ertz
A little over a year ago, the FCC voted not to implement guidelines intended to re-establish a guarantee for an open internet in the United States. There were problems with the original intent, of course, with the most important being a lack of legal jurisdiction for the FCC to have drafted the guidelines in the first place. The FCC belongs to the Executive branch, which cannot create new law - it can only enforce existing laws.
Creating laws is reserved for the Legislative branch, who allowed previous Net Neutrality rules to lapse almost a decade previous. In the past 13 months, the topic of Net Neutrality has not faded, as opponents had hoped. In fact, support for implementing the rules through the proper channels has grown, with drafts being written and passed around both houses of Congress.
This week, the first of these drafts was put up for a vote in the Senate. The Senate resolution took the easy route to a vote, simply creating a legal framework for the guidelines originally drafted within the FCC. The tact worked, as the Senate passed the resolution 52-47. Now the resolution will have to go through the House of Representatives, and finally be signed by President Trump.
There is a lot of money being spent in opposition lobbying, especially within the House. There is even a question as to whether the House will have the ability to call for a vote at all, so the resolution is far from being codified. There is a push within the House to force a vote, however, and House Democrats are hopeful they will be able to get it done. There is also question as to whether President Trump will sign or veto the resolution. If he vetoes, it is unlikely that Congress will get a 2/3 vote to override.
It will likely not be long before the votes are cast, as the guidelines officially expire within the FCC on June 11th. We'll continue to keep you posted on the reality of what is happening, as it happens.
