From the the National Journal's "Insider Update":
House Telecom Bill Delayed Over 'Net Neutrality' Issue(When you click through to the article be sure to check out the banner ad at the top of the page from "Broadband Everywhere", the cable industry lobby.)
By Drew Clark
(Monday, May 1) After initially being scheduled for consideration by the full House later this week, legislation to grant the former regional Bell operating companies quick entry into the pay television market was pulled from the the week's floor schedule Monday by the Republican leadership.
The House Judiciary Committee has sought a referral of the telecom bill that cleared the Energy and Commerce panel last week, particularly for its "network neutrality" language -- and the delay is likely to work to the Judiciary panel's advantage. Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich., have drafted their own version of net neutrality legislation, which they are expected to release this week...
Congressional and industry sources said Republican leaders are worried that voting against a network neutrality amendment -- designed to keep dominant Bell and cable companies from charging competitors more to transmit high-speed Internet content -- could be a political liability. Some technology companies and public interest groups want FCC-enforceable regulations barring Bell and cable companies from undermining net neutrality...
"We are trying to explain that a vote for a telecom bill that does not address the issue of network neutrality in any way is a very difficult vote politically, closer to the election, for Republicans," said former Rep. Vin Weber, R-Minn., who was hired by technology companies to lobby his former colleagues on the subject.
"There is huge grassroots constituency for the net neutrality position: all sorts of Internet users," said Weber. "It is a big and powerful constituency, but it is not necessarily an organized constituency. I would not like to cast a vote that can be portrayed by bloggers and others as a vote against the Internet."
And... Jeff Chester explains why you're not seeing coverage of this fight on television.