Not all Democrats on Capitol Hill are fully satisfied with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. The lead Democrat on the House Commerce Committee and four other members criticized Wheeler for his behavior during a three-hour Nov. 17 Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing (see 1511170060), according to a letter obtained by Communications Daily. This gesture shows an uncommon split for senior Hill lawmakers and an FCC chief of the same party.
Chairman Tom Wheeler laid out FCC priorities and timetables for members of the House Communications Subcommittee during a wide-ranging oversight hearing Tuesday. He predicted the agency would take a stab at ISP privacy rules early next year, committed to a focus on special access and set-top box concerns and timely attention to the upper reaches of spectrum. He addressed concerns about how the Enforcement Bureau and his office handle communications with other commissioners and also what the agency’s role should be after terrorist attacks in Paris.
The Obama administration may have provided the muscle ensuring inclusion of a spectrum title in the two-year Bipartisan Budget Act deal, released to the public minutes before midnight Monday (see Communications Daily Bulletin Oct. 27). Lawmakers told us the administration exerted its will in the negotiations, which yielded provisions setting up future FCC spectrum auctions with new agency authority and administration-desired flexibility for the Office of Management and Budget Spectrum Relocation Fund.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers are assembling spectrum legislation to overhaul parts of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Spectrum Relocation Fund (SRF), in accordance with pressure from the administration, several staffers on Capitol Hill told us. Bipartisan activity fills both chambers on this front, and Hill staffers say they hope to hitch such an overhaul measure to larger spectrum initiatives coming together.
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., immediately drilled down on what specific bands of spectrum Congress could target in legislation, pressing witnesses during a Wednesday subcommittee hearing on the topic. ”We have limited time and resource, too,” Walden told them. “Can you give us some suggestions?”
The Senate Commerce Committee may hammer together a spectrum legislation package “probably end of the year, early next year, I’d say,” Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., told us Tuesday. “There is” talk of specific spectrum bands to legislatively target for auction, Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, confirmed in an interview, declining to give numbers.
House Communications Subcommittee members focused on the TV incentive auction Tuesday during FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s eighth hearing on Capitol Hill this year. That number of appearances “marks a new record,” said Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., saying no FCC chief has testified that much in a calendar year in at least 14 years. The auction is scheduled to happen by the end of 2016’s first quarter, with March 29 the inadvertently released expected date (see 1507200065).
Lawmakers were divided along partisan lines about Thursday's denial of industry’s request for a stay of the FCC net neutrality order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (see 1506110048), with Democrats especially pleased. Several lawmakers used the occasion to underscore their desire for bipartisan legislation. “This decision underscores the need for Congress to find a bipartisan legislative solution to protect, preserve, and promote the free and open Internet,” said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D. “Edge companies, broadband providers, and Internet users alike all need clear rules of the digital road so they can continue to innovate, invest, and use the Internet with confidence. Only Congress, on a bipartisan basis, can provide that legal certainty.” During court review, “I remain committed to finding true bipartisan consensus to take the important protections the FCC put into place and provide the certainty that only legislation can provide,” agreed Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla. “That legislation, though, must fully protect consumers, preserve the FCC’s role, and leave the agency with flexible, forward-looking authority.” The two primary lawmakers who tell us they're negotiating a compromise are Thune and Nelson (see 1506040046), with negotiations stalled in the House. Due to the ongoing litigation, “I remain open to trying to reach common ground in Congress on a way to enshrine the critical net neutrality protections adopted by the FCC in statute,” said Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, who said he’s privy to the Thune/Nelson negotiations. House Republicans called legislation “not only possible, but preferable.” The FCC rules implementation puts “our online future at risk," said House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Subcommittee Vice Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, in a joint statement. “Unfortunately, we are now in for a long, unnecessary wait while the courts determine if the commission was out of bounds.” House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., is “pleased” with the decision and lauded the importance of protections. Pallone didn't mention legislation, as he occasionally has in the past. The decision is “a critical validation that the new rules to protect an open Internet are grounded in strong legal footing and can endure future challenges by broadband providers,” said House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., declared “the Internet is open for business for everyone”; Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., called the decision “a significant step forward” in defending strong, permanent rules; Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., said the ruling is “a victory for the Internet”; and Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., tweeted that the ruling is “another victory” for net neutrality. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., lamented the rules taking effect: “R.I.P. internet as we knew you,” Issa tweeted Friday. “You'll be missed.”
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler juggles a contentious, complicated and not always visible relationship with GOP-controlled Capitol Hill in executing his agenda, said lawmakers and former FCC chairmen in interviews. More than 20 months into the Wheeler chairmanship, lawmakers from both parties praised Wheeler’s ability to face intense congressional oversight and cultivate relationships outside of the hearing room. Partisan undercurrents affected how some Republicans and Democrats perceive the 69-year-old Wheeler, an Obama administration appointee and former Obama campaign fundraiser, following explosively political debate on net neutrality.
Lifeline legislation is on deck for discussion Tuesday in a Senate Communications Subcommittee hearing. Lawmakers have offered conflicting reactions on whether to expand the program. The FCC is planning a June vote on a proposal to expand the Lifeline program to address broadband service (see 1505280037).