CRA now has 43 co-sponsors, would overturn FCC decision with majority vote by Congress
Boston (December 15, 2017) – Today, Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) joined Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and 42 Senators in a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would undo action by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and restore the 2015 net neutrality rules. Yesterday, in a partisan 3-2 vote, the FCC approved an item that repeals the 2015 Open Internet Order, which the D.C. Circuit Court upheld in 2016. The Open Internet Order prohibits internet service providers from blocking or discriminating against content online. Repealing these rules could lead to higher prices for consumers, slower internet traffic, and even blocked websites. A recent poll concluded that 83 percent of Americans do not approve of the FCC proposal to repeal net neutrality rules.
Several stakeholders have pledged to file lawsuits challenging the FCC action, including several state attorneys general, including Massachusetts and New York.
“To the millions of Americans who are outraged by the FCC’s decision to end net neutrality, your voices are being heard,” said Senator Markey, a member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. “Support for the Congressional Review Act to restore the Open Internet Order is growing in Congress. I am proud to have Leader Schumer by my side in this fight, and I look forward to bringing this issue to the floor of the Senate for a vote. Our Republicans colleagues have a choice - be on the right side of history and stand with the American people who support net neutrality, or hold hands with big corporations who only want to increase their profits at the expense of consumers and our economy.”
Senators co-sponsoring the CRA resolution include: Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii.), Richard Blumenthal (D–Conn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Angus King (I-Maine), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.).
###
