WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens said yesterday that he has not been able to secure enough votes for the telecommunications bill he sponsored, legislation that has stalled largely due to its lack of “net neutrality” provisions.“I still think we’re a few votes short,” said Stevens (R-AK), shortly after addressing the Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) on Thursday.
In order to overcome a ‘hold’ placed on the bill by net neutrality advocate Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Stevens needs 60 votes in support, otherwise Wyden and other ‘Net Neutrality supporters could filibuster the bill to prevent a vote.
Stevens added that he would not consider attaching the bill to a budget or spending bill – a technique commonly employed to drive through highly contended legislation – saying that “we’re going to deal with our bill as it is.”
Addressing the PFF earlier in the day, Stevens said that he planned to push for passage of the telecom bill, and was still hopeful that it might go through.
“I do hope that all the work we’ve done on this communications bill will not go away just because of the end of this Congress,” Stevens said in his address to the PFF, according to a report on RedHerring.com. “It is still possible to get it passed, and I’m working as hard as I can to see that that happens.”
At a press conference earlier this week, representatives from a variety of tech sector manufacturers, including Corning and Motorola, gathered together to push the Senate to pass the telecommunications bill, arguing that the bill contains needed reforms and should not be derailed by the ‘Net Neutrality controversy.
“There are a lot of good things in this bill,” said Tim Regan, Corning vice president. “Let’s not let this get tied up over the most contentious thing out there, which is ‘Net Neutrality.”
Representative Bobby Rush (D-IL) the primary sponsor of a House telecom bill that passed in June, urged the senate to take immediate action on the telecom bill, and said that the law would provide “much needed relief to cable rates,” according to CNET.com.
“Don’t be confused by these spurious complaints about ‘Net Neutrality,” Rush said. “’Net Neutrality is a solution in search of a problem.”
Opponents of ‘Net Neutrality provisions also rolled out an opinion poll earlier this week, designed to show that consumers care more about low cable rates than ‘Net Neutrality.
In a press release issued Monday, Senator Stevens’ office issued a press release touted a “bipartisan” poll, funded by Verizon and conducted by The Glover Park Group and Public Opinion Strategies LLC, which shows that “an overwhelming majority of American voters favor video choice over onerous ‘Net Neutrality’ regulations,” according to the press release.
According to the release, the poll’s “key findings” included that “the vast majority of likely voters favor choice in cable TV because it would likely result in lower prices (82-percent), better customer service (81-percent), delivery of new technologies and enhanced services to customers (78-percent), and higher quality programming, such as high definition TV and video on demand content (73-percent).”
Critics of the poll have argued that the form and structure of the questions were designed to elicit the response that Verizon, an opponent of Net Neutrality, wanted to get.
One question from the poll, which is available on the Commerce Committee website, is worded as follows:
“Which of the following two items do you think is the most important to you:
Delivering the benefits of new TV and video choice so consumers will see increased competition and lower prices for cable TV
OR
Enhancing Internet neutrality by barring high speed internet providers from offering specialized services like faster speed and increased security for a fee”
The full survey is available here: http://commerce.senate.gov/public/_files/MemoonVideoChoiceUSandPAOHMO1.pdf
Critics and supporters of Stevens’ bill do agree on one thing; if the measure does not pass during the current Congressional session, it is likely dead.
Referring to the election upcoming in November and the possible change in the balance of Congressional power from the Republican and Democratic parties, Stevens said “I’ve been around through a couple of sea changes; nothing happens after a sea change.”
