The activity on the House telecom bill (HR 5252) and Net Neutrality is picking up. Here's how it works. It looks like the bill will go to the House floor tomorrow. In the House, there is a special committee, called the Rules Committee, which decides which amendments will be considered by the full House.
This morning, Rep. Ed Markey and friends filed a Net Neutrality amendment that looks a lot like the amendment that was proposed in the Energy and Commerce Committee, with a couple of tweaks. We should also acknowledge the amendment's cosponsors, Reps. Rick Boucher, Anna Eshoo and Jay Inslee.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. also filed as a potential amendment his bill on making Net Neutrality violations subject to antitrust law. Chances are the Rules Committee won't let that one go to the floor.
The chances are the Rules Committee, which meets this afternoon, will let the Markey amendment go to the floor, knowing full well it lost twice before — in the committee and in the Telecom Subcommittee.
Bottom line: Now is the time to let your members of Congress know you want them to vote FOR the Markey Net Neutrality amendment. Every member of Congress has a web site you can find at www.house.gov, which gives office phone numbers and emails addresses.
The amendment will be sent to the floor with the belief on the part of the House leadership that it hasn't got a chance for even a close vote. It would be nice to prove them wrong.