Boucher Says Net Neutrality Stay May Invite GOP to Back Off Legislative Push
Former Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., said a court stay of the FCC net neutrality order that reclassified broadband under Communications Act Title II could make it more difficult for Congress to pass compromise legislation protecting net neutrality but keeping broadband…
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under less-regulated Title I. In a Thursday teleconference held by the Internet Innovation Alliance, Boucher, chairman of the IIA, questioned the belief of some that a stay of the order would facilitate legislative efforts because it would give Democrats, who are content with the FCC's actions, more incentive to negotiate with Republicans. "It's a delicate matter," he said. Democrats and Republicans have roughly equal bargaining leverage, he said. If the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit imposes a stay, "that might motivate the Democrats" to negotiate, he said, but it could have "an equal and opposite effect" on Republicans not to act. "Republicans could say, 'Well, we're winning, so why would we want to give up anything?'" he said. Boucher said Republicans are willing to codify net neutrality protections in the law if Democrats are willing to shift broadband Internet access to Title I. He said new legislation was preferable to the status quo because the FCC order was both legally vulnerable to court challenges and politically vulnerable if the Republicans take over the White House, and thus the FCC, in 2017.