Hot on the heels of a surprising 52-47 Senate disapproval of the FCC new, weaker net neutrality rules, the House of Representatives will soon attempt to force a similar vote under the Congressional Review Act.
Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA) announced in a statement and at a press conference following the Senate vote that he will begin the process first thing tomorrow morning.&I have introduced a companion CRA in the house,& Rep.
Doyle said, &but I&m also going to begin a discharge petition which we will have open for signature tomorrow morning.
And I urge every member who uproots a free and open internet to join me and sign this petition so we can bring this legislation to the floor.&The CRA requires Senate and House to submit the resolution itself, in the former case Joint Resolution 52, after which a certain number of people to sign off on what called a discharge petition, actually forces a vote.Senate votes to reverse FCC order and restore net neutralityIn the Senate this number is only 30, which makes it a useful tool for the minority party, which can easily gather that many votes if it an important issue (a full majority is still required to pass the resolution).But in the House a majority is required, 218 at present.
That a more difficult ask, since Democrats only hold 193 seats there.
They&d need two dozen Republicans to switch sides, and while it clear from the defection of three Senators from the party line that such bipartisan support is possible, it far from a done deal.
Today success may help move the needle, though.Should the required votes be gathered, which could happen tomorrow, or take much longer, the vote will then be scheduled, though a congressional aide I talked to was unsure how quickly it would follow.
It only took a week in the Senate to go from petition to floor vote, but that period could be longer in the House depending on how the schedule works out.