Markey: Republican Collins Joins CRA Effort

Only one more Republican supporter could conceivably tip balance According to Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), moderate Republican Susan Collins of Maine has agreed to support his Congressional Review Act resolution to reinstate the FCC's Title II classification of ISPs and net neutrality regs.

Thrilled to have the support of @SenatorCollins for my CRA. With her leadership we are on the road to 51! #NetNeutrality.https://t.co/pySqZqixAm

— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) January 9, 2018

That means if Markey gets one more Republican, and all the Democrats, he could actually succeed in nullifying the FCC's net neutrality reg rollback, just as Republicans-without needing any Dems--were able to roll back a number of Obama-era regs using the CRA.

On the news that Collins was on board, which came the same day Markey announced he had 40 Democratic co-sponsors, net neutrality activist group Demand Progress was celebrating. "Senator Collins’ support of the resolution to restore net neutrality protections is what it looks like when a Republican lawmaker stands with their constituents instead of telecom lobbyists," said Demand Progress communications director Mark Stanley.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.