Civil rights groups want net neutrality to stay on Capitol...
Civil rights groups want net neutrality to stay on Capitol Hill. The House’s failure to reach consensus on a net neutrality bill has led Congressional Democrats and some public interest groups to push the FCC to move forward with plans…
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to reclassify broadband under Title II of the Communications Act (CD Sept 30 p9). But Friday, the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council and the Alliance for Digital Equality (ADE) urged the FCC to let Congress finish its work when members return in November. While failing to cross the finish line, House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., found more consensus than anyone before, MMTC President David Honig told reporters. That shows a legislative answer is “within our grasp,” he said. “The commission certainly ought to be respectful of Congress’s valiant effort to resolve this, and should give Congress some more time” to work out a deal in the lame duck session or early next year. Some legislators and observers doubt Congress can pass a net neutrality bill in the lame duck session (CD Sept 30 p1), but Honig was optimistic. It’s an important enough issue for Congress to act on, because uncertainty over the issue is hurting the telecom sector, which represents one-tenth of the nation’s gross national product, Honig said. And lame-duck sessions often produce bipartisanship since members have finished their campaigns, he said. The net neutrality fight has drained FCC resources, and a Hill answer would also free up the commission to work on minority issues and other critical matters, added Honig. ADE Chairman Julis Hollis also urged Hill action. “By calling for reclassification, fringe groups are simply out of touch with what our communities really need, and that’s jobs and investment,” he said. “We cannot allow them to hijack this debate, nor can we allow overregulation by the FCC to impede this goal. It is up to Congress to take the reins and continue moving forward to enforce policies that focus on the creation of jobs and increased employment through the deployment of affordable access.” It’s unlikely the FCC will schedule a net neutrality vote this year, even if Congress can’t break a stalemate over the issue, Medley Global Advisors analyst Jeff Silva wrote Friday. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski “will likely wait until a new Congress is seated and assess the reconstituted political landscape before making any major move on open Internet policy,” the analyst said. He believes Genachowski would rather find a compromise on net neutrality, and “preferably with bipartisan congressional guidance,” than move forward on reclassification.