The House Communications & Technology Subcommittee has scheduled a March 9 hearing on the FCC's network neutrality regs and a legislative effort to invalidate them.
A markup on the resolution of disapproval scheduled for March 3 was postponed after committee Democrats said they would like a legislative hearing on the bill.
In announcing the new hearing, the committee majority pointed out it would be the second hearing on the rules. The first in the subcommittee was an oversight hearing with all five FCC commissioners that dealt primarily with those regs, which were approved Dec. 21 on a 3-2 vote with the Republicans strongly opposed. House Republicans were strongly opposed as well. Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) introcued the resolution, and Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), both said this week they would take whatever steps necessary to block the regs.
That could also include trying to defund implementation as part of the appropriations bill being hammered out in Congress. An amendment to do that was made part of the earlier continuing resolution passed by the House but threatened with veto by the president.
The rules won't take effect until later this summer.
