Proposed FCC 'reform' could temper its bite

The campaign by congressional Republicans for “process reform” at the Federal Communications Commission is as much about lawmakers wanting to handcuff the commission as it is about how the agency operates.

A half-dozen Republicans who sit on the telecommunications subcommittees were quick to point out in recent interviews about the FCC the issues on which they think the commission has abused its mandate — network neutrality, the AT&T/T-Mobile deal, and Universal Service Fund reform, to name just a few. But rarely did the FCC’s processes come up. Only two lawmakers mentioned them, and one, House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.), is the author of legislation to overhaul how the commission operates. While it’s true that Walden’s proposal would make the FCC more transparent — preventing last-minute “data dumps” before controversial votes, for instance — the proposal also would undeniably make it a lot harder for the FCC to regulate the telecom industry. The GOP reforms would have reduced the odds of getting net neutrality rules passed. And the agency would have far less leeway to restrict — or in the case of AT&T/T-Mobile, reject — big telecom mergers. Though process is part of the equation, the debate centers on whether reining in the FCC would be a good thing.