Spearheaded by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the measure would reverse the FCC’s December decision to repeal the Obama-era regulations. | Lulas Schulze/Getty Images Democrats introduce resolution to reverse FCC net neutrality repeal

Congressional Democrats today introduced a long-promised resolution aimed at undoing the Federal Communications Commission's repeal of the net neutrality rules.

Spearheaded by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the measure would reverse the FCC’s December decision to repeal the Obama-era regulations. It would do so via the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to nix agency rules, within 60 days of their publication in the Federal Register, by a simple majority vote.


“Whose side are you on?” Markey told a crowd of net neutrality advocates outside the Capitol. “Do you stand with the big-money corporate interests and their army of lobbyists?”

The measure is currently one vote short of the 51 needed to ensure passage in the Senate. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has signed onto the resolution, joining the Senate's 47 Democrats and two independents. In the House, it has 150 Democratic sponsors, with no Republican support.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says he will force a vote in the coming months, which he's able to do because the Congressional Review Act only requires 30 sponsors to bring a resolution to the floor.

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But the measure, even if it passes the Senate, faces an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled House, and President Donald Trump is unlikely to sign it.

Still, there's a symbolic value for Democrats in pushing the resolution. They want to make net neutrality a 2018 campaign issue, and say a Senate vote will put Republicans opposed to the regulation on the record as favoring internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon over consumers.

If Republicans don't "wise up and join us," Democrats will make this a "major issue" in the midterm elections, Schumer said at the Capitol rally. “We have an opportunity to save the internet.”

The congressional tussle is the latest wrinkle in the decadelong fight over net neutrality, the notion that internet providers should treat all web traffic equally as it passes through their networks. The FCC has tried repeatedly to enact such rules, only to be brought down by court challenges. Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, tapped by Trump to head the agency, led the charge to take down the latest version of the rules in December.

The Democratic resolution drew immediate rebukes Tuesday from major internet providers, who adamantly oppose the FCC net neutrality rules and have called for the Republican-led Congress to legislate the issue.

The resolution "only delays us from really providing consumers some basic protections on the internet," AT&T Senior Executive Vice President of External & Legislative Affairs Bob Quinn wrote in a blog post, adding that his company "supports the opening of a dialogue to solve this vexing issue through legislation once and for all."

USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter called the move “short-sighted” and a “temporary sugar high” that distracts from the need for net neutrality legislation.

By deploying the Congressional Review Act, Democrats are taking a page from the Republican playbook. GOP lawmakers successfully used the law after Trump took office to eliminate more than a dozen Obama-era policies on issues like coal mining pollution, gun rights and internet privacy.

The net neutrality fight is also playing out in court. A number of state attorneys general and groups like Public Knowledge and the National Hispanic Media Coalition have filed legal challenges to the repeal.

