Washington, D.C. – Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and 38 other Senators to cosponsor a resolution of disapproval that overturns the anti-consumer regulations passed in December by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai and supported by President Donald Trump to end net neutrality. With this Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution, Democrats in the Senate are working to legislatively restore the 2015 FCC Open Internet Order that enabled stronger net neutrality consumer protections. Thirty Senators are needed to send the CRA to the floor for a vote and a simple majority is needed for passage.
“Chairman Pai’s reckless decision destroys the principle of a truly free and open internet” said Senator Cortez Masto. “This decision allows internet service providers to charge more for their broadband plans and threatens the reliable internet access of schools, first responders, hospitals, and rural communities. Senator Markey’s CRA is crucial to overturning this irresponsible decision made without public hearings and adequate consumer protections for all of us who depend on access to quality broadband.”
Last month, the FCC voted to repeal the 2015 Open Internet Order, which the D.C. Circuit Court upheld in 2016. The Open Internet Order prohibited internet service providers from blocking, slowing down, or discriminating against content online. Repealing the net neutrality rules could lead to additional costs for consumers, slower and less reliable internet service, and even blocked websites.
In addition, the CRA’s primary sponsor, Senator Edward J, Markey (D-Mass.) said, “Chairman Pai’s reckless decision destroys the principle of a truly free and open internet. This decision allows internet service providers to charge more for their broadband plans and threatens the reliable internet access of schools, first responders, hospitals, and rural communities. Senator Markey’s CRA is crucial to overturning this irresponsible decision made without public hearings and adequate consumer protections for all of us who depend on access to quality broadband.”
Senators co-sponsoring the CRA resolution include Senators Cortez Masto, Markey, Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sherrod Brown (D-O.H.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Angus King (I-Maine) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.).