Despite FCC vote, Republicans in Congress not conceding on net neutrality

FCC’s vote is “just the beginning of the debate,” Republican says.

Jon Brodkin – Feb 25, 2015 10:20 am | 318

Credit: Aurich Lawson / Thinkstock

With just one day until the Federal Communications Commission votes on a controversial net neutrality plan, Republicans in Congress are keeping up the pressure on Chairman Tom Wheeler.

Wheeler declined an invitation to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) postponed the hearing but criticized Wheeler in a joint statement with House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.).

They said:

We are deeply disappointed in Chairman Wheeler’s decision. As Chairman Wheeler pushes forward with plans to regulate the Internet, he still refuses to directly answer growing concerns about how the rules were developed, how they are structured, and how they will stand up to judicial scrutiny. After hearing from over four million Americans on such an important topic to our economic and cultural future, it’s striking that when Congress seeks transparency, Chairman Wheeler opts against it. The last time a rule of this magnitude was voted on by the FCC, then-Senator Obama was motivated to call for transparency at the commission. We continue that call today.

Reports as late as Tuesday suggest that changes in the proposed rules are still possible, with just hours left on the clock before the commission votes. So long as the chairman continues to insist on secrecy, we will continue calling for more transparency and accountability at the commission. Chairman Wheeler and the FCC are not above Congress. This fight continues as the future of the Internet is at stake.

Republicans are going forward with another hearing this morning with the Communications and Technology subcommittee, titled “The Uncertain Future of the Internet.”

“The closer we get to the FCC rubber stamping President Obama’s Internet grab, the more disturbing it becomes,” subcommittee Chairman Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) said in announcing the hearing. “Consumers, innovators, and job creators all stand to lose from this misguided approach. What’s more, this plan sends the wrong signal around the globe that freedom and openness on the Internet are best determined by governments—a far cry from decades of bipartisan commitment to light-touch regulation.”

The New York Times reported yesterday that Republicans have “concede[d] to Obama” on net neutrality, but that notion was swiftly put to rest. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) still intends to pass legislation undercutting FCC authority.

Claims that Republicans conceded on #NetNeutrality are a mischaracterization. I am committed to a legislative solution to @FCC power grab.

— Senator John Thune (@SenJohnThune) February 25, 2015

Thune is “still interested in finding alternatives to what the Federal Communications Commission has proposed as the strongest rules on Internet providers the country has ever seen,” The Washington Post reported.

Thune proposed legislation that imposes net neutrality restrictions to prevent broadband providers from interfering with Internet traffic. But the bill would also prevent the FCC from imposing the stricter “Title II” regime that Wheeler proposes, limiting the FCC’s ability to regulate Internet providers if it turns out the Republicans’ legislation isn’t sufficient to protect consumers.

If Wheeler has the votes tomorrow, the FCC will reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act, but Thune’s bill would undo that, defining broadband as a lightly regulated information service. The bill would also remove FCC powers in Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act, which Wheeler plans to use to preempt state laws that hinder municipal broadband networks.

“Tomorrow’s commission vote does not signal the end of this debate. Rather, it is just the beginning,” Upton said in this morning’s hearing.

Democrats argued against interfering with the FCC’s proceeding. “Now is the time for the FCC to do its work,” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said.

“I urge the Federal Communications Commission to finish its work,” Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.).

While Republicans control both chambers of Congress, they’d have to get any legislation past Obama’s veto pen. But even if Republicans don’t pass legislation, broadband providers are likely to sue the FCC. The FCC previously passed net neutrality rules in 2010 only to see them mostly invalidated by a Verizon legal challenge. Reclassifying broadband under Title II is meant to give the FCC a stronger defense in court.