Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) will lead a vote in his Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet aimed at stripping the force of law from the FCC’s internet network neutrality regulations. The measure, a resolution of disapproval, comes to a vote Wednesday 3/2/11.
The resolution counts Energy and Commerce Committee chair Fred Upton (R-MI) among its many co-sponsors, and it is a model of brevity. It essentially says that Congress does not approve of the FCC’s actions and that they shall have no “force or effect.” It can be viewed here.
The subcommittee will take up the matter at 9:30AM eastern time.
RBR-TVBR observation: The resolution of disapproval is a rarely-used legislative tactic. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) used it to try to bring down Michael Powell’s attempt to loosen media ownership rules. He got it through the Senate, but it never made it to the floor of the House. Walden’s resolution likely faces the opposite fate – clearing the House, only to stagnate in the Senate.
Dorgan eventually got pretty much what he wanted anyway, from the Prometheus Decision by the Third Circuit Court, which effectively derailed the Powell agenda. Walden’s resolution may also be rendered moot by judicial action. Stay tuned.
