House Dems plan April vote on net neutrality bill

The House will hold a vote on Democrats’ bill to reinstate the Obama-era net neutrality rules next month, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) announced on Monday.

Hoyer said in a letter to colleagues that the House will consider the Save the Internet Act during the week of April 8.

Party leaders introduced the legislation earlier this month with a show of force on Capitol Hill.

“Supporting this bill means supporting our democracy, ensuring that the voices of the public are heard, their will is respected and the internet remains free and open to all,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said at a press conference unveiling the legislation.

{mosads}The Republican-led Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted along party lines in 2017 to repeal the popular regulations prohibiting internet service providers from blocking or throttling websites, or from creating internet fast lanes.

Democrats and consumer groups are fighting the repeal with a legal challenge in federal court and have pushed net neutrality regulations at the state level.

While Republicans have floated their own bills to replace the rules, many oppose the Save the Internet Act because it reinstates the provision in the 2015 order that designates broadband providers as common carriers, opening them up to tougher regulation and oversight from the FCC.

Though it enjoys widespread support among Democrats, the legislation may have a hard time getting through the GOP-held Senate.

The bill, which was officially introduced by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), has 144 co-sponsors.