Nelson Unsure of 'Common Ground' on Net Neutrality
Senate discussions on bipartisan net neutrality legislation will continue, but a senior Democrat has concerns. “I’m not sure there is common ground if the issues are as divided as they are,” said Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla.,…
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Wednesday during an FCC oversight hearing nearly four hours in length (see 1503180055">1503180055). “And that saddens me because I think that reasonable people can usually come together and find a consensus.” The fate of any compromise legislation is “to be determined,” he said. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., has circulated a draft bill and said he wants bipartisan negotiation. “I hope we can find that ‘Title X’ as you call it, that sweet spot,” Thune told Nelson. Thune also turned to the five FCC commissioners. “I would hope the commission could play a constructive role, not discourage us from legislating,” he said. “Can I just be supportive of those comments, sir?” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told Thune. “We will provide you whatever expertise that we can, including from different points of view.” On the contentious fighting over net neutrality, Nelson said: “We’re going to have to let this percolate a bit before we can actually have this consensus bill that you and I are talking about.” Thune told reporters the draft legislation lets the FCC retain “a lot of their authorities,” considering Democratic concerns about how the draft bill undercuts FCC powers. “It’s a limited authority that we grant them and doesn’t give them kind of the carte blanche authority that they have right now under [Communications Act] Title II and coupled with Section 706, which wasn’t talked about a lot today, but this is a very far-reaching move by the FCC," Thune said.