Chairman Walden: FCC Independence a Fiction

In a Q&A session hosted by the American Cable Association, House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) said he had off-the-record conversations with companies that had told him Title II reclassification would translate into a 20 percent-30 percent cut in their broadband investments. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has downplayed warnings that investment cuts could be a byproduct of reclassification, pointing to statements by some executives that they would continue to invest.

Chairman Walden, continuing his recent criticisms of the White House’s push for Title II, said it is a “fiction” that the FCC is an independent agency and that the White House directive was a “tragedy” for professionals at the agency. Asked how he would define a successful new session of Congress, Chairman Walden said that would include "getting the FCC back in its box to do the things it is supposed to do.”