Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) says she has enough signatures on her resolution of disapproval for it to get a full Senate vote under the Congressional Review Act.
That is the legislative attempt to nullify the FCC's network neutrality rules, which many Republicans have targeted as an innovation and investment-chilling Internet reg.
The House has already passed the resolution and Hutchinson said that, armed with over 40 signatures, she is hoping to get a floor vote as early as next week, and in advance of the Nov. 21 date when the rules go into effect.
As B&C/Multi reported, Verizon D.C. exec Tom Tauke signaled last week that there were enough votes to bring the resolution to the floor.
The measure is unlikely to pass given that the Senate is controlled by Democrats, the FCC vote to expand and codify network neutrality rules was a straight party line vote, and the president made network neutrality a campaign issue.
The resolution is a little-used legislative tool, but the last time it was used on the FCC it was a Democratic-led effort to block implementation of then FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's effort to loosen the ban on newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership. In that case, it passed the Democratic-led Senate, but stalled in the Republican-controlled House.
Hutchison has been one of the most vocal opponents of the rules, warning the FCC not to adopt them, then trying to block FCC funding of implementation of the rules.
