With only 25 session days left to schedule a vote, Democrats will formally file CRA discharge petition on May 9

Washington, D.C. – As businesses, entrepreneurs, students, and advocates gear up for the final stretch of a month’s-long campaign to save net neutrality, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) today announced they will officially file the discharge petition for the Congressional Review Act to reinstate net neutrality rules on Wednesday, May 9. Advocates are planning a massive day of action on net neutrality on the same day and will be focused on securing the one more vote needed to pass Senator Markey’s CRA resolution. All 49 members of the Senate Democratic caucus support the resolution, along with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME). Since the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the repeal in December 2017, senators and net neutrality supporters have been holding events in their communities and building grassroots momentum in support of repealing the partisan FCC decision. The deadline for a Senate vote on Senator Markey’s CRA is June 12^th.

“We’re in the homestretch in the fight to save net neutrality,” said Senate Democratic Leader Schumer. “Soon, the American people will know which side their member of congress is on: fighting for big corporations and ISPs or defending small business owners, entrepreneurs, middle-class families, and everyday consumers.”

“In 2018, access to a free and open internet isn’t a privilege, it’s a right,” said Senator Markey. “Since the FCC’s decision to repeal net neutrality, we have witnessed a historic movement emerge to protect that right, and it continues to build. With only one more vote needed for my CRA resolution to undo the Trump administration’s political decision on net neutrality, Republicans have a choice – stand with the overwhelming number of Americans who support net neutrality or side with the corporate interests who only care about their bottom line. The day of reckoning in the Senate on net neutrality is coming, and Republicans are on notice.”

The FCC’s Open Internet Order prohibited internet service providers from blocking, slowing down, or discriminating against content online. Repealing these net neutrality rules could lead to higher prices for consumers, slower internet traffic, and even blocked websites. A recent poll showed that 86 percent of Americans do not approve of the FCC’s action to repeal net neutrality rules.

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