Industry Associations Endorse FCC Reform Before House Committee Vote

The FCC reform bills “will assure transparency in FCC regulatory procedures and eliminate the need to file costly and burdensome reports that are no longer necessary in light of the broad consumer choice and vigorous competition that characterizes the 21st Century communications marketplace of today,” said USTelecom President Walter McCormick in a letter Thursday to the Commerce Committee. The bills complement FCC reform efforts and support government efficiency goals voiced by President Barack Obama in last month’s State of the Union address, McCormick said: “The bills being scheduled for markup Tuesday will ensure that best practices become a part of statute, that transparency will not depend upon who is serving as Chairman, and that there will be consistency of application and predictability among administrations."

"Given the breakneck speed under which broadcasters and other media companies are reshaping the telecommunications landscape, it is entirely appropriate for Congress to update the rulemaking process and find ways to make it work faster and better,” NAB President Gordon Smith said in a statement. NCTA supports HR-3309 because it “will help ensure that the regulatory framework better reflects this dynamic marketplace by focusing regulatory activity in areas of market failure and providing greater transparency, predictability, and procedural certainty,” NCTA President Michael Powell said in a letter Thursday. HR-3310 will help “to eliminate a siloed approach to congressional reporting,” Powell said. CTIA gave guarded support for consolidating FCC reports. “With respect to HR 3310, we support efforts to reduce the regulatory burden imposed on the industry, and to the extent it helps to achieve this goal, it is consistent with our views,” a CTIA spokeswoman said. AT&T praised both bills in a letter Tuesday (CD Feb 2 p11).

Democrats’ views on HR-3309 have not much brightened since the House Communications Subcommittee’s November markup, Democratic House aides said. At the markup, Democrats cast nine of their 12 votes against the bill. Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., supported one part based on her FCC Collaboration Act, but little else. However, the subcommittee approved HR-3310 by voice vote, with Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., pledging to support the bill in full committee, with some edits. GOP and Democratic aides said an amendment expected at Tuesday’s markup could relieve Democratic concerns. If certain changes are accepted to HR-3310, Democrats will likely support the bill, a Democratic aide said. The expected amendment “would ensure the commission looks at all forms of competition when assessing the communications marketplace,” a committee staffer said.

The Senate Commerce Committee has nothing planned on FCC reform at this time, a spokeswoman said. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., sponsor of Senate companion legislation (S-1784, S-1780), has requested a hearing on his FCC process reform bill, a Heller spokesman said: “However, he also believes at a minimum the Commerce Committee should discuss the authority Congress provides the FCC and if the FCC is staying within those expectations."

Industry may see the House bills as safe to support because they're unlikely to move in the Senate, Public Knowledge Legal Director Harold Feld said in an interview. It wasn’t surprising to see USTelecom follow its member AT&T with a letter of support, he said. Also, Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., may be reaching out to collect support in advance of the markup, Feld said. Feld opposes HR-3309, but seemed open to HR-3310. The House could pass both bills this year, but only HR-3310 is likely to get any Senate support, he said. That’s because there is a sense shared by both parties that the vast number of FCC reports, some overlapping, has become a “major drain” on commission resources, he said. However, lack of time in the Senate may keep the chamber from voting on either FCC reform bill this year, Feld said.

"I would certainly expect many entities regulated by the FCC to get behind these bills, even if the expectation is they won’t pass the Senate this year,” said Free State Foundation President Randolph May. “Sometimes you just have to set forth a vision of where you want policy to go, even if you can’t get there right away.” May said the bills “do not go as far as I would go in substantively reforming communications policy,” but “nevertheless would accomplish some very worthwhile process reforms.”