Updated 5/16/18 — The Senate's final vote is in, with the official number being 52 - 47 in favor of restoring Net Neutrality! While this is an exciting and unexpected development, the battle to completely reverse FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's actions is far from over. The CRA will now go to the House of Representatives where Republicans currently hold the majority at 236 to 193. If it by some miracle passes through the House, it then needs to be approved by President Trump who will more than likely veto it. Net Neutrality still has a chance, but we're going to have to fight tooth and nail to make sure it sticks around.
In mid-December last year, the FCC voted to repeal Net Neutrality. That repeal will officially go into action on June 11, but not before the U.S. Senate votes to hopefully restore it.
On May 14, Democratic Senator Ed Markey announced that he and other fellow Democrats have pushed the U.S. Senate to vote on whether or not the FCC's repeal of Net Neutrality should be reversed. The vote will take place on Wednesday, May 16, and it's being done as part of a Congressional Review Act (also known as a CRA).
Commenting on the announcement, Senator Markey said –
By passing my CRA resolution to put net neutrality back on the books, we can send a clear message to American families that we support them, not the special interest agenda of President Trump and his broadband baron allies. May 16 will be the most important vote for the internet in the history of the Senate, and I call on my Republicans colleagues to join this movement and stand on the right side of digital history.
So far, 50 of the 100 Senators have said they'll vote to restore Net Neutrality (one of which is a Republican). Considering this and the fact that Republican Senator John McCain will be absent due to his current health conditions, there's a chance the Democrats could get the vote to go through.
If that happens, however, that doesn't necessarily mean Net Neutrality will once again be alive and well. After the Senate, the vote will then need to through the House of Representatives where Republicans have the majority of seats at 236 to 193. If it by some miracle gets through the House, there's still the chance that President Trump will veto it.
Even with those obstacles in mind, it's still somewhat reassuring to see that action is being taken to roll back FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's decision.
What do you expect will happen this Wednesday?
