Can this Senator’s support save net neutrality?
Senator Claire McCaskill’s support sends net neutrality to the Senate for a vote. But can it save the open Internet?
Last month, the Internet and 83 percent of American voters were dealt a stunning defeat when the Federal Communications Commission repealed Title II regulations enforcing net neutrality. But the fight for reinstating Obama-era policies that ensure equal access to the Internet is far from over, thanks to one woman.
Posting on Twitter, Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri gave the movement to protect an open Internet new life, announcing that she would be the “magic” 30th cosponsor of a proposed resolution to restore neutrality protections.
Check out the tweet below:
30 is the magic number of cosponsors needed to get a #NetNeutrality vote in the full Senate.
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) January 8, 2018
Proud to be that 30th cosponsor of @SenMarkey bill to restore free and open internet.
The resolution was introduced by Sen. Edward Markey (D) of Massachusetts with the support of an additional 27 senators only a day after FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced the controversial repeal. Using the Congressional Review Act (CRA), Markey’s proposal would fast-track a vote on repeal to the Senate without committee review.
A big step toward restoring a free and open Internet: with the support of @clairecmc, we now have the 30 votes we need to force a vote on my CRA to reverse the repeal of #NetNeutrality! pic.twitter.com/gXtWQmeIJS
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) January 8, 2018
McCaskill’s support puts the resolution over the threshold needed to bring it to the floor, but it appears to be a Hail Mary-move that is doomed to fail — and everyone knows it.
Republicans still hold a slim majority in the Senate, and it is unlikely that Democrats would be able to secure the two additional conservative votes necessary to pass the bill and move it to the House, where Republicans dominate 239 to 193. Even if it passed in both chambers of Congress, President Donald Trump would likely veto on sight.
Democrat’s efforts may appear symbolic at best and empty at worst. But their true intentions are likely to force Senators on both sides of the aisle to explicitly state their stance during an election year. The vast majority of voters support net neutrality, as well as some of the biggest names in tech, including Facebook, Google, and Amazon.
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This is just the beginning of the battle to restore net neutrality, and it may get ugly. This week, FCC Chairman Pai allegedly canceled plans to attend this year’s Consumer Electronics Show due to death threats.
Yikes.