Chairman Waxman may move without full consensus on network neutrality bill

Full consensus may not be the end game of an effort by House Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) as he crafts a bill on network neutrality, according to House aides involved in the process.

Chairman Waxman may move forward with a bill that does not get full agreement from all sides in the debate but that seems to have enough support to pass the House, three aides said. As Congressional staffers weigh input from public interest groups and cable, phone, and Internet companies, their consideration has in part turned to whether moving without the approval of certain major stakeholders would sink the bill, the aides said. Chairman Waxman "is a master legislator. He prevents the perfect from becoming the enemy of the good," one aide said. "That's not always easy -- when you're talking to everyone -- for everyone to swallow."

Two of the aides said they do not anticipate support from public interest groups no matter how the draft is written.