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from: Technology Daily

Stevens 'Very Close' To Votes Needed For Senate Telecom Bill

By David Hatch

(Thursday, July 27) Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, expressed confidence that he would reach the 60-vote threshold of support necessary to stave off delaying tactics and move his sweeping telecommunications overhaul measure to the Senate floor.

But while Stevens said he is close to the 60-vote mark, he acknowledged during an impromptu interview that he has not reached it. "We're very close to that right now," he said, adding, "I'm going to visit with a series of senators to make sure they will be with us."

Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., has insisted that Stevens round up 60 votes before Frist will consider scheduling floor time for the telecom bill.

While Stevens previously had indicated the telecom bill would reach the floor when the Senate reconvenes in September following the summer recess, he acknowledged Thursday for the first time that floor action could be delayed until an anticipated lameduck session following the November election.

"I would prefer to do it before the elections," Stevens said -- while conceding that, given other pending legislative priorities, it would be difficult to get the floor time he needs prior to November.

Stevens said his broad telecom measure might be slimmed down, but only during House-Senate conference negotiations on the legislation -- and not on the Senate floor.

The House in early June passed telecom overhaul legislation that is narrower in scope than Stevens' bill; the House bill focuses heavily on the issue of creating national franchises for pay video service providers.

When asked whether he would break apart his bill -- which cleared the Senate Commerce panel late last month -- and attach portions to annual appropriations measures if he runs into a filibuster, Stevens responded, "I haven't crossed that bridge yet."

Stevens did express confidence that amendments requiring the addition of so-called network neutrality provisions -- the most controversial issue in this year's telecom overhaul debate -- would be defeated on the Senate floor. Such provisions would bar cable and phone broadband providers from blocking or degrading competing Internet content.

"If we can get [the bill] up, we can defeat net neutrality," he said.

Stevens' legislation requires the FCC to monitor potential anti-competitive behavior on the Internet, but does not mandate any neutrality regulations. A strong net neutrality amendment, sponsored by Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, failed in the Commerce Committee on an 11-11 tie.

However, Stevens is working with Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., on provisions addressing net neutrality from an antitrust perspective.

The Judiciary Committee language would detail the judicial system's role in resolving net neutrality disputes, Stevens said, adding that "the antitrust laws would take care of this [concern]."