Congress and the FCC: A Failure to Communicate

CONGRESS AND THE FCC: A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE
[SOURCE: Congressional Quarterly Weekly, AUTHOR: Adrianne Kroepsch]
Dustups with Congress are nothing new for the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates what is arguably the hottest and one of the most competitive areas of the U.S. economy, and regulates with significant statutory latitude. As a result, almost every FCC chairman in recent history has been subject to pointed criticism on Capitol Hill. But a recent investigation into FCC practices launched by House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) is different, industry experts say, because it could evolve into a wholesale re-examination of how the government regulates the communications industry. Some lawmakers, such as Democratic Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia, are even talking about rewriting the 1934 law governing the FCC and its procedures. Chairman Dingell's central aim, according to House committee aides close to the investigation, is to ascertain whether the problems that he and others on his panel perceive are due to the commission's structure or the personality of its current chairman. The cause could be uncertainty about the agency's mission, its degree of openness and cooperation in its operations, the breadth of its regulatory discretion, its accountability in making policy decisions, or its partisanship. Or the problem could just be Martin, who has developed a reputation as unapologetically strong-willed during his three years as chairman -- just like most of his predecessors in the job. What strikes those who follow the agency, both in and out of government, is the potential breadth of this investigation. This investigation is also different because it is bipartisan.
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