WASHINGTON – U.S. House Republicans voted to nullify a rule barring Internet-service providers such as AT&T Inc. from interfering with subscribers’ Web traffic, sending the measure on for more votes in Congress.
The House subcommittee on communications and technology on Wednesday advanced a resolution of disapproval on a 15-8 vote. All the “yes” votes came from Republicans, who say the regulation passed by the Federal Communications Commission is unnecessary, and all the “no” votes were from Democrats, who say a rule is needed to keep companies from limiting online competition.
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The FCC passed its so-called net-neutrality rule in December on a 3-2 Democrat-led vote. It bars service providers from blocking or slowing Web content sent to homes and businesses, while allowing mobile-phone companies to put limits on traffic.
The House resolution would wipe out the regulation, and prevent the agency from passing similar rules. To succeed, it needs to be approved by the Energy and Commerce Committee, then pass the House, the Democrat-controlled Senate and be signed by President Barack Obama, who supported the FCC’s action. The House intends to move forward “in coming weeks,” Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Virginia Republican, said on Tuesday.
The resolution “is an exercise in futility,” Representative John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, said in an e- mailed statement. “It is a foregone conclusion that the other body will not pass it, and the president certainly will not sign it.”
Lacking Authority
During debate before the vote, Representative Greg Walden, the Oregon Republican who is chairman of the subcommittee, said the FCC had evaded court rulings limiting its power.
“The FCC adopted rules regulating the Internet without statutory authority to do so,” said Walden, who introduced the resolution. The rule will harm investment and jobs, Walden said.
Cable providers and companies such as Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. support the net-neutrality rule, in part because it establishes a “baseline” for behavior for Internet companies, said Representative Henry Waxman of California, the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, which including Walden’s panel.
“Phone and cable companies have near monopolies,” Waxman said. “Without sensible regulation, they could choke off innovation by charging Internet companies for the right to communicate with consumers.”
