House panel approves bill restoring net neutrality

House Democrats advanced their flagship net neutrality bill on Wednesday, clearing the final hurdle before a floor vote next week.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee in a 30-22 party-line vote approved the Save the Internet Act, which would reinstate the Federal Communications Commission’s Obama-era regulations requiring internet service providers to treat all web traffic equally.

A marathon markup: The Democrats beat back more than a dozen attempts from Republicans to gut the bill with amendments throughout the markup that lasted nine and a half hours.

GOP pushback: Republican members pushed bills that would undercut the FCC’s authority to enforce the rules and called for Democrats to come up with a compromise bill that would establish less oversight of the broadband industry.

“This, my friends, is not the net neutrality that people want,” said Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.). “It’s actually more government socialism and frankly it’s worse.”

Why it’s a big deal for Dems: The party has rallied around the bill as an answer to the Trump FCC’s repeal of the rules in 2017. Democratic leaders have scheduled a floor vote on the bill next week, and it is widely expected to pass.

What’s next: The bill, though, faces long odds in the Republican-controlled Senate. The GOP has argued that the 2015 rules were too burdensome and largely resisted efforts to overturn the repeal.