Congress Has Until Dec. 10 to Force a Vote to Restore Net Neutrality – Should They?

What’s the story?

• House Democrats have until December 10th to gather enough signatures to force a vote on restoring net neutrality protections.

"Congress has until the end of this session to reverse [FCC Chairman] Ajit Pai's net neutrality repeal—afterwards, it gets way harder to restore protections against blocking, throttling, and new fees," advocacy groups Fight for the Future and Demand Progress wrote in a press release ahead of a Day of Action on Thursday.

Why December 10th?

• It's the result of an obscure tool known as the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to reject regulations that were finalized within the last 60 legislative days with simple majorities of each chamber and the president’s signature. 
• In May, the Senate narrowly passed a joint resolution - under the Congressional Review Act - that would reverse the Federal Communications Commission's rollback of net neutrality.
• The joint resolution was sent to the House, where Democrats introduced a discharge petition—if it gets 218 signatures by December 10, it will force the lower chamber to vote on the resolution, regardless of recommendation by a committee.
• Democrats would have to sign up every member of their own party, and a few Republicans, to reach 218. As of November 30, they have 177 signatures.

What do you think?

Take action above to tell your reps whether they should support or oppose efforts to reinstate net neutrality rules and share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / Tanya St)