House To Vote On Anti-Net Neutrality Measure; Administration Threatens Veto

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Save the internet Net Neutrality protest at G...

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Jonathan Charnitski, Managing Editor, BroadbandBreakfast.com

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2011 – The House of Representatives is anticipated to hold a floor debate and vote this week on a measure that would put the kibosh on net neutrality rules passed by the Federal Communications Commission late last year, but the White House has said that it would likely veto such a measure should it come across the President’s desk.

House Joint Resolution 37, which is a Resolution of Disapproval, states simply that Congress disapproves of the Open Internet Order issued by the Commission late last year and that the rules shall have no effect.

A Resolution of Disapproval is a seldom-used Congressional maneuver under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) that nullifies an action by an administrative agency – in this case, the FCC.  To take effect, both the House and Senate must pass the measure by a simple majority and the President must sign off on the action.

The Order, which the Commission passed by a 3-2 vote in December of last year, provides three guidelines by which Internet Service Providers (ISPs) must abide in their offerings to consumers.  First, ISPs must provide services in a transparent manner by disclosing their network management practices and performance characteristics.  Second, network providers must not block lawful content from their customers, and third, providers may not unreasonably discriminate by prioritizing certain network traffic without sufficient reason.

House Republicans, led by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), Chair of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, have carried a campaign against the Order, calling it unnecessary and an overreach of the FCC’s authority.

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About Mark Milliman

Mark Milliman is a Principal Consultant at Inphotonics Research driving the adoption and assisting local governments to plan, build, operate, and lease access open-access municipal broadband networks. Additionally, he works with entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to increase the value of their intellectual capital through the creation of strategic product plans and execution of innovative marketing strategies. With more than 22 years of experience in the telecommunications industry that began at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Mark has built fiber, cable, and wireless networks around the world to deliver voice, video, and data services. His thorough knowledge of all aspects of service delivery from content creation to the design, operation, and management of the network is utilized by carriers and equipment manufacturers. Mark conceived and developed one of the industry's first multi-service provisioning platform and is multiple patent holder. He is active in the IEEE as a senior member. Mark received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
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