Collins to Support Senate Net Neutrality CRA Measure; Thune Sees Negotiation Troubles Amid Push
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, went on record Tuesday as the first Senate Republican to support a planned Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval aimed at reversing the FCC's order to rescind its 2015 net neutrality rules amid Democratic leaders' claims of growing momentum for a Senate-side version of the measure led by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., meanwhile told reporters he believes Congress likely will need to get the debate over the CRA resolution “behind us before Democrats are going to be sufficiently motivated” to actively negotiate on a legislative compromise on net neutrality.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Collins “will support” Markey's resolution to “overturn the FCC’s vote,” a spokeswoman said in a statement. Collins already publicly opposed the FCC's action and joined Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, in December urging Pai “to cancel the FCC’s vote repealing these rules,” the spokeswoman said. Collins “believes that a careful, deliberative process involving experts and the public is warranted to ensure that consumers have strong protections that guarantee consumer choice, free markets, and continued growth.” Collins previously told reporters she would need to examine the specifics of the resolution before committing to support it (see 1712220036).
Senate Commerce ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and two other senators -- Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Tina Smith, D-Minn. -- signed on Tuesday as CRA resolution co-sponsors. The number of Senate backers of the proposed measure stood at more than 40 at our deadline. All of the resolution's official backers are Democrats or independents who caucus with the party. Multiple Senate Democrats signed on to the CRA resolution Monday to bring its support past the critical 30-senator threshold needed to successfully petition to discharge the Senate Commerce Committee of its jurisdiction over the measure and move it to the full Senate (see 1801080051).
Markey told reporters he believes the current timeline for publication of the FCC's rescission order, which would trigger his filing of the resolution, likely means the Senate will vote on the measure in late spring or early summer. At that point there is “real hope” enough Senate Republicans will support the resolution that it can pass, Markey said. The resolution requires 51 votes to clear the full Senate and faces longer odds against passage in the House (see 1712150049).
“What [FCC Chairman] Ajit Pai did [in the rescission order] was too cute by half,” Nelson said during a Tuesday news conference. Pai “could not contain himself and he went completely to the extreme. This will reverse that.” Nelson acknowledged his recent renewed support for reaching a legislative compromise on net neutrality (see 1712140044) but said that doesn't conflict with supporting the CRA resolution. “There is a time” for seeking a legislative compromise, but “this is the time” to pursue the CRA measure, Nelson told reporters. “It's going to give senators an opportunity to vote very clearly -- are they with [Chairman] Ajit Pai or are they with consumers?”
Thune said he wants “to keep the conversations going” with Nelson, Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and others on a net neutrality compromise. But “it seems to me at least that the CRA, if it could pass the Senate … it's not going to be enacted. [President Donald Trump] is not going to sign it," Thune said. Congressional Democrats “at some point ought to come to a realization that the best way to get certainty on this issue and a path forward with clear rules, is through legislation,” Thune said. “And I hope that eventually they get there.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Schatz emphasized their belief that the FCC's net neutrality actions will become an issue in the 2018 midterm elections. “We are going to let everybody know where we stand -- and [Republicans] stand” on the issue ahead of the election, Schumer said. Schatz said he thinks the repeal has galvanized potential young voters in a way that no issue has since the discontent over “the Iraq war.” The CRA push is likely to get Democrats' “base kind of energized,” but for “most people, if their Netflix works, I'm not sure what the argument is,” Thune said. “It's not going to create the sense of urgency” among most voters. But it could affect the economic decisions of “people who invest in high-speed internet services and greater broadband deployments,” he said.