The Senate passed S.J. Res. 34 on March 23, 2017, according to its official roll-call record. The joint resolution concerned congressional disapproval of a Federal Communications Commission privacy rule. Vote 94 recorded 50 senators in favor, 48 against and two not voting. That settled the question before the Senate: the chamber had approved the resolution. [S1]
What was the proposal designed to do? An earlier version, placed on the Senate calendar on March 15, supplies the operative language. It identified the FCC rule titled “Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and Other Telecommunications Services,” with a reference to its December 2, 2016, Federal Register entry. The target was a specifically identified agency rule. [S4]
The calendar-stage text paired a declaration of congressional disapproval with a proposed legal consequence: the identified rule would have “no force or effect.” In plain terms, the proposal sought to remove that rule’s legal effect. This wording explains the intended result of the measure, rather than documenting that the result had already taken effect on March 23. [S4][S1]
The distinction turns on what each document records. The roll call establishes Senate passage; the earlier calendar text explains the proposal’s intended effect but is not a certified Senate-passed version. Chamber passage is not enactment. To establish the exact approved wording or a completed legal change would require evidence beyond these two records. [S1][S4]
Source documents
- U.S. Senate Roll Call Vote 115th Congress, 1st Session, Vote 94https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1151/vote_115_1_00094.htm
- S.J. Res. 34 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-115sjres34pcs/html/BILLS-115sjres34pcs.htm