Well how is the GOP supposed to stop the FCC from voting for these rules?
There is no question, under law, which of the two "bodies" is preeminent. The FCC is "a creature of Congress" with zero statutory authority not previously deferred to it by Congress. What one Congress has given the 114th Congress can take away.
I'm prepared to believe this story for a number of reasons, including the uncertainty on the part of Congress concerning the political will of the People, the loathsome noise of those well-represented special interests pushing this profanity on the rest of us, the general noise level of the moment both real and drummed up.
At the same time, and for some of the same reasons, I am not prepared to give up on this. The sequestering of the proposed rules to be voted on by the commission on Thursday, a clear violation of the commission's tradition and history going back to 1933, is highly suspect. Once published, even after voted on, these rules are almost certain to create a firestorm on a grassroots level. It is possible our timid congressional leadership prefers to wait until the commission actually makes public the letter of these proposed rules before finalizing legislation.
Regarding the commission's statutory mandate, I don't know but that Congress has the simple authority to defer the former's actions with a simple majority, as it does (and often ignores) with nearly all regulatory authority promulgated by federal "rules making" agencies, again, in accord with Article I. There may be other checks directly on the FCC in the Act that created it, as amended, and I know there are virtually an unlimited number of ways Congress can put the screws on the commission -- all of which heavily depend on political will.
If we depend on the late NY Times either for information or satisfaction concerning this Congress we're lost, from the start. If, however, should the commission act in the manner we've been led to believe they will on Thursday, that will not be the end of the story, even if this present leadership, or some among them, claim the matter is "settled" or "out of their hands." It will totally depend on the reaction of the people, I think after the commission acts, or at least publishes these hellish anti-American rules, in concert with the FEC.
So keep those cards, letters, Emails and phone calls pressing on the quality time of congressional staffers. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.