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Republicans Working Hard to Undermine FCC Neutrality Rules

Republican opponents of net neutrality in the House are still trying to kill the FCC's net neutrality rules -- by stripping away FCC funding and authority in a series of amendments attached to government funding bills. According to the Washington Post, the Senate Appropriations Committee and the house have both passed bills that would hamstring the FCC's authority to oversee broadband providers.

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As the Post notes it's a risky bet for Republicans.

As noted previously, Senator John Thune and Representative Fred Upton are trying to push a bill backed by incumbent ISPs that would codify much weaker net neutrality guidelines into law, pre-empting the tougher FCC rules. But the Post notes these other bills could threaten this effort:
quote:
Efforts to push the defunding language forward complicates Thune and Upton's own cause. A top Democrat who's been working with Thune, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), told the Hill Wednesday that their "real progress … [could be] undermined if lawmakers try to fiddle with the FCC in a funding bill."
Given the amount of grass roots Internet outrage over the subject of neutrality, it's highly unlikely that the President would support any funding bill with neutrality-killing provisions attached, resulting in yet another bout of partisan gridlock at the nation's Capitol. Republican and net neutrality opponents' best chance at killing real net neutrality rules remains the upcoming 2016 election, after which the winner can install the FCC boss of its choosing.

Most recommended from 36 comments


Brim77
join:2012-03-16
Lansing, MI

14 recommendations

Brim77

Member

I'm really not too worried about this.

There will never be another Republican President. Hell, if it wasn't for heavy handed gerrymandering the Republican Party would be about as relevant as Adam Sandler in a "comedy" movie.