US Senate to vote on maintaining net neutrality on Wednesday

The US Senate will vote on May 16 on a resolution that could reverse the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality. As far as is known, the number of supporters and opponents is exactly in balance, so that a vote can be decisive.

Democratic Senator Ed Markey took to Twitter to say that the vote on May 16 takes place, although he did not say anything about the chances of the resolution being voted on. He indicated in February that Democratic senators would force a vote on maintaining net neutrality, although no date was set at the time.

All 47 Democratic senators, the two independent senators and one Republican senator are in favor of the resolution, requiring only one other Republican senator to pass the resolution. With Republican Senator John McCain absent for medical reasons, there is a chance the resolution will pass. If that happens, the House of Representatives still has to bend, where the Republicans have a large majority. President Trump can still veto any positive House decision.

The vote will take place under the Congressional Review Act, which gives the Senate the ability to reverse a decision by an independent agency, such as the Federal Communications Commission, through a resolution.

The FCC voted to abolish net neutrality on December 14, 2017, with the Republican majority of the committee voting for the abolition. Republican FCC chairman Ajit Pai wants to get rid of the rules, among other things, because they would lead to less large investments by providers in their networks. Recently, the FCC announced that the rules preserving net neutrality will, in principle, expire on June 11.