The Republican majority in the House of Representatives has proposed a number of ways to prevent the FCC from implementing its plans to enforce the concept of network neutrality, from defunding it to hitting it with a resolution of disapproval. But a quartet of Democratic senators is standing ready to counter their efforts.
The senators include John Kerry (D-MA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Al Franken (D-MN).
They note that there are many major corporations who are staunchly in favor of the network neutrality concept, as are many others. They claim that although the House Republicans claim they are acting in the name freedom, the freedom will mainly work to the benefit of large corporations, and that the freedom of internet users will be lost.
Many Democrats are critical of the FCC’s approach to internet regulation because it doesn’t go far enough. Two of them, Cantwell and Franken, have introduced legislation aimed at going further than the FCC did late in 2010, according to Hillicon Valley.
RBR-TVBR observation: When the Democrats enjoyed majorities in the House and the Senate the last two years, in addition to controlling the White House, they still had trouble actually getting anything done because a united bloc of 40 Republicans, or even one senator with an anonymous hold were all it took to derail a bill. That is why the Senate is known as the place where bills go to die – and it is widely expected to be as true for the Republican House of the 112th Congress as it was for the Democratic House of the 111th.
