After last week, when the FCC voted to roll back net neutrality protections, several lawmakers around the country said they would support plans to reinstate the rules. One of the most prominent ideas was announced the same day: Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), with 15 other democrats and independents, pledged to introduce Congressional legislation to undo the agency’s vote and reinstate the previous net neutrality rules.
“We will fight the FCC’s decisions”
Since then, the number of senators signing on to that plan has grown. As of today, 26 had pledged to vote for a resolution that would overrule the FCC through the Congressional Review Act. Under the act, Congress has 60 days to block the agency’s decision, and to prevent it from making similar decisions in the future.
“We will fight the FCC’s decisions in the courts, and we will fight it in the halls of Congress,” Markey said in a statement.
Senators who have signed on to the resolution now include Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). But the resolution may still be a longshot — assuming democrats uniformly sign on to the plan, it would still eventually require the support of at least some republican senators, not to mention approval from the House and President Trump.
Meanwhile, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has introduced legislation in the House, but supporters of past net neutrality protections have widely criticized the bill as insufficient.