Senators Criticize FCC Chairman Wheeler Over Unwinding JSAs

In a sharply worded letter accusing him of ignoring their concerns and skirting the law, unhappy Senators from both parties told Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler they were concerned with the FCC's unwinding of grandfathered Joint Sales Agreements (JSAs) as part of license transfers. Those Sens, including Sens Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), said they want the FCC to reverse that policy and want an answer by April 1. They want the FCC to 1) eliminate any conditions imposed on previously approved license transfers that require the termination of JSAs in existence before March 31, 2014; and (2) respect the statutory grandfather of JSAs when evaluating any assignments and license transfers in the future."