Recap: FCC Oversight Hearing

Author: 
Coverage Type: 

The House Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing on July 28, 2015. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and fellow Commissioner Ajit Pai testified. The issues on the agenda were the Broadcast Incentive Auction, the FCC’s revision of competitive bidding rules governing the Designated Entity (DE) program, Privacy, and FCC Process Reform. Generally, the Republicans at the hearing talked about their concerns with FCC policies, while Democrats generally defended the commission under Chairman Wheeler as furthering competition and protecting consumers.

On a happy note, Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) began by saying, “At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I continue to be concerned with the Commission’s failure to adhere to sound regulatory process. For the nearly five years that I have chaired this subcommittee, I have consistently pushed to make the FCC a better, more transparent agency, only to see the chasm between the Commissioners deepen over that time. When this Committee considered process reform legislation a few months ago, I had hoped that we had reached the bottom of the well. That the Commission would begin to find its way back to the collegiality and honest policy debates and compromises that have characterized the FCC since 1934. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case. And if Commissioner Pai’s testimony is any indication, things might actually be getting worse. This is disappointing, to say the least.”

On FCC process reform, full Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) said, “As we continue our oversight of the Federal Communications Commission, I remain concerned that little has improved since our last oversight hearing in March. Our work to institute real process reforms has traversed multiple chairmen and comes from our desire to guide the agency in a direction that works for the American people and enhances innovation, investment and jobs creation."

Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo (D-CA) said Republican appropriators "really screwed" the Federal Communications Commission in the appropriations process. She lamented the proposed $25 million cuts to the FCC's budget in the House Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill, as well as the policy riders that would temporarily block enforcement of net neutrality rules. The House proposal contains funding levels of $315 million for the FCC in 2016, while the Senate version contains $5 million more. The FCC is requesting $388 million, as the agency plans to move its physical workspace. Noting President Barack Obama is "not going to sign something like that," Eshoo predicted Congress would eventually have to approve another omnibus bill to fund government agencies to avoid a shutdown. Rep Eshoo asked Chairman Wheeler to have his staff draft a memo describing what the FCC would be able to do with the proposed budget cuts or if an omnibus is passed.


Background Memo (Majority Staff) Remarks (Subcommittee Chairman Walden) House Republicans: FCC Process, Policy Concerns Intensify (B&C) Testimony (FCC Chairman Wheeler) Testimony (Commissioner Pai) Marathon Men: Wheeler, Pai Face Hill (B&C) Wheeler: FCC Will Try to Preserve LPTV Voices (B&C – LPTV)) FCC 'really screwed' by GOP appropriators (The Hill)