Senate Dems to Push for Save the Internet Act Senate Vote

As expected, Senate Democrats will push Tuesday (June 11) for a Senate floor vote on the House-passed Save the Internet Act, which would reregulate internet access. 

That will come on the first anniversary of the effective date of the current FCC's deregulatory Restoring Internet Freedom order, which eliminated rules against blocking, throttling and paid prioritization, plus a general conduct standard to get at ISP conduct not covered by those rules.  

Given that the Senate calendar is controlled by Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the push is more likely an effort to make a point on that anniversary than to make legislation. 

The plan is for Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to make that Senate floor call for a vote at about 11:30 a.m. 

Elsewhere, net neutrality activists plan to deliver a petition to McConnell's office Tuesday urging him to hold the vote. 

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.