• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, March 2, 2011

 

Democrats in the House have temporarily succeeded in putting the brakes on the GOP's move to vacate the new neutrality rules.

On Wednesday, the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology said it had indefinitely postponed a vote slated for that morning on a resolution of disapproval. The move came after Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass) and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) wrote to the committee's leadership to request a hearing before the bill moved forward.

They argued that the committee should not proceed with a repeal until after it hears from Web companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon and eBay, all of whom supported the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality regulations.

"You apparently believe that disapproving the FCC regulation will promote economic growth," the lawmakers wrote. "There are, however, many fast-growing companies that take a different position and believe approval of the disapproval resolution would be a serious threat to our economy."

The FCC's neutrality order, approved 3-2 in December, bans all broadband providers from blocking sites or competing applications. It also prohibits wireline broadband providers from engaging in unreasonable discrimination.

A spokesman for the House Energy committee said it intends to schedule another hearing about the matter. But she also left little doubt that the Republican leadership intends to continue advocating for a repeal. "A clear case has been made for advancing the resolution of disapproval," the spokesperson said, adding that another hearing would give the Republicans "the opportunity to shine additional light on the consequences of these regulations for job creators and American innovation."

The 1996 Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act allows Congress to vacate rules enacted by agencies like the FCC provided that both the House and Senate pass a resolution of disapproval that is then signed by the President. Republicans in the House and Senate introduced resolutions of disapproval two weeks ago, following a hearing at which all five FCC members testified.

Separately, the House also recently voted to prevent the FCC from using any federal funds to implement net neutrality regulations.