House Passes FCC-Blocking Finance Bill

The House passed the (FY) 2017 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill (HR 5485) that cuts the Federal Communications Commission budget and would prevent it from enforcing its network neutrality rules, implementing a new set-top box proposal, regulating broadband rates, or adopting new broadband privacy rules. The prohibition on the privacy rules was a last-minute addition to that laundry list thanks to an amendment from Rep Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)—approved by a vote of 232 to 187. The amendment prohibits "the use of funds to implement, administer or enforce any of the rules proposed in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted by the FCC on March 31, 2016 (FCC 16-39), intended to regulate consumer privacy obligations as necessitated by the FCC's net neutrality regime."

The vote on the underlying bill was 239 to 185. The White House has signaled it will almost certainly veto the bill if those provisions remained since President Barack Obama publicly called for the new Open Internet order reclassifying Internet service providers under Title II and backed "unlocking" set-top boxes.