House Dem: Want of net-neutrality bill is not a permit to reclassify

If no bill is conjured in time, lawmakers are at odds over what the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should do next.

Green (D-Texas), who helped organize a letter earlier this year signed by over 70 Democrats who oppose reclassification, said the FCC still shouldn’t reclassify. Green said he is “encouraged” by the process playing out on the Hill and is pleased to see that “stakeholders have taken an active role” in pursuing a compromise.

But if no bill is produced, Green remains opposed to the Title II path. He believes “that it is the responsibility of Congress to first pass legislation to give the FCC the authority to regulate broadband Internet service,” he said on Tuesday.

Others have said that if a bill is not produced before the House leaves, the FCC gains a justification for moving forward with Title II.

Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said this month: “If Congress fails to successfully legislate clarifications this month to the FCC’s authority, it is my hope that the FCC will move quickly to complete its ‘Third Way’ proceeding in order to protect consumers, safeguard fair competition, and preserve the openness that has enabled the Internet to become the most successful communications and commercial medium in history.”

The FCC is considering the possibility of reclassifying broadband services under Title II of the Communications Act, a maneuver that would give it stronger grounds for enforcing net-neutrality rules. The blueprint for this path is titled “the third way.”