House Democrats are set to revive a fight over the Obama-era net neutrality rules, putting them on a collision course with the White House and the GOP-controlled Senate.
According to The Hill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has set a vote for Tuesday on the Save the Internet Act, which would reinstate the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) regulations requiring internet service providers to treat all web traffic equally.
The Obama-era rules prohibited internet service providers from blocking or throttling web content or from creating internet fast lanes.
Democrats argue the bill is a necessary step to ensure the internet remains accessible to all.
But critics argue the bill places bureaucrats in charge of the internet, which they feel could have strong negative implications.
Republicans tried, without success, to amend the Democrats' bill in committee including undercutting the FCC's authority to enforce the rules. They also called for Democrats to come up with a compromise bill that would establish less oversight of the broadband industry.
A majority of the Senate voted last year to reinstate the Obama-era FCC’s net neutrality rules.
But Senate Democrats now only hold 47 seats in the chamber, after Republicans netted two additional seats during the 2018 midterm election. And the 60-day window for forcing a vote on the bill under the Congressional Review Act lapsed last year, giving the new legislation long odds in the GOP-controlled Senate.
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