Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellFormer Bush assistant: Mueller report makes Obama look 'just plain bad' 20 years after Columbine, Dems bullish on gun reform Dem says marijuana banking bill will get House vote this spring MORE (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that the Senate won't take up a net neutrality bill currently before lawmakers in the House.
The Obama-era rules prohibited internet service providers from blocking or throttling web content or from creating so-called internet fast lanes.
The bill is expected to easily pass the Democrat-controlled House despite a veto threat from the White House. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said the Trump administration “strongly opposes” the bill, dubbed the Save the Internet Act.
Republicans tried, without success, to amend the Democrats' bill in committee, including undercutting the FCC's authority to enforce the rules. They also called for Democrats to come up with a compromise bill that would establish less oversight of the broadband industry.
A majority of the Senate voted last year to reinstate the Obama-era FCC’s net neutrality rules.
Democrats were able to force the 2018 vote under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress, with a majority vote in each chamber and the president's signature, to overturn recent agency moves.
Three Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins Susan Margaret CollinsCollins: Mueller report includes 'an unflattering portrayal' of Trump GOP senator: 'No problem' with Mueller testifying The Hill's Morning Report — Mueller aftermath: What will House Dems do now? MORE (Maine), Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann MurkowskiCain says he 'won't run away from criticism' in push for Fed seat Cain says he won't back down, wants to be nominated to Fed License to discriminate: Religious exemption laws are trampling rights in rural America MORE (Alaska) and John Kennedy John Neely KennedyMORE (La.) — joined the then-49 Senate Democrats to pass the bill, 52-47. The effort later died in the House last year, which was at that time controlled by Republicans.
The new legislation has long odds of passing the GOP-controlled Senate. Democrats now hold 47 seats in the chamber, after Republicans netted two additional seats during the November midterm election. And the 60-day window for forcing a vote on the bill under the Congressional Review Act lapsed last year.