Next week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is anticipated to try to push through net neutrality regulations in the course of its December 21 meeting. But as a letter released this week by thirty Republican senators makes clear, key members of the legislative branch are having none of it, and will force a confrontation on the Senate floor if the FCC proceeds.
In the letter, according to the Washington Examiner, Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, John McCain, R-Ariz., Kit Bond, R-Mo., Judd Gregg, R-N.H., Michael Enzi, R-Wyo., Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Jim DeMint, R-S.C., James Risch, R-Idaho, Mike Johanns, R-Neb., John Thune, R-S.D., Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Robert Bennett, R-Utah, John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., John Cornyn, R-Texas, David Vitter, R-La., Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Tom Coburn, R-Okla., Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., Jim Bunning, R-Ky., Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, state that:
[The FCC has] admitted in published statements that the legal justification for imposing these new regulations is questionable and “has a serious risk of failure in court.” It is very clear that Congress has not granted the Commission the specific statutory authority to do what you are proposing. Whether and how the Internet should be regulated is something that America’s elected representatives in Congress, not the Commission, should determine.
Rep. Fred Upton, who is set to take over the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction where net neutrality is concerned, has already signaled his disapproval of the move in a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, which reads in part:
The FCC does not have authority to regulate the Internet, and pursuing net neutrality through Title I or reclassification is wholly unacceptable. Our new majority will use rigorous oversight, hearings and legislation to fight the FCC’s overt power grab.
As yet, it is unclear whether either letter will force the FCC to reverse course, but in the wake of Senate Republicans having forced Majority Leader Reid’s hand on the omnibus bill, some observers say they remain hopeful.