FCC Rebuffs Grassley On LightSquared

The Federal Communications Commission says it doesn't have to provide Sen Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) with information on LightSquared's contentious bid to build a nationwide wireless network.

In the latest letter from FCC, Chairman Julius Genachowski argues that the agency only has to comply with information requests from the leaders of congressional committees that have oversight authority for the FCC. "I regret that some misunderstandings seem to have arisen as a result of several staff-level conversations, and thus welcome the opportunity to clarify the points that the FCC staff sought to convey and to make clear that, far from seeking to stifle congressional oversight, the agency is simply following long-standing practice consistent with Congress's own guidance..." the letter states. But Sen Grassley says it isn't a matter of misunderstanding so much as the FCC trying to hide something.