Barton Open to Bipartisan Telecom Act Rewrite
"Telco issues will have a higher profile” next Congress than they have in the current one, Ranking Member Joe Barton, R-Texas, of the House Commerce Committee said after a speech Wednesday at the Heritage Foundation. He told us he’s open to hearings to find bipartisan consensus for rewriting the Telecom Act. But if the GOP allows Barton to be committee chairman, repealing the healthcare reform law would be his immediate priority, he said.
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It’s “just wrong” to apply Title II telephone regulations from the 1930s to the Internet, said Barton. “I have told” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski “on the telephone, I have told him in a hearing, and if I am chairman and it’s necessary, we will tell him by passing a bill out of committee that the FCC doesn’t have that authority.” Many House Democrats share that view, Barton said. He plans to call Genachowski and the rest of the commission in for a hearing “very quickly in the next Congress, and if necessary we'll move a bill."
The FCC’s Internet principles are working to prevent discrimination online, Barton said: “If you see a violation, then you go through the regulatory approach and file a complaint, and they look at it on a case-by-case basis.” Barton doesn’t see a “need to put any new legislation or new regulation by the FCC in that’s generic, because I don’t think there’s a problem."
Barton has been on a promotional tour lately, making his case to chair the Commerce Committee next year. In a recent C-SPAN interview (CD Nov 10 p1), Barton claimed he was more conservative than Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., who many say is the favorite for the position. Asked about this Wednesday, Barton denied he said Upton has a more moderate record. But Barton added, “I think his record shows that he is” more moderate. “You look at my voting record, and I am a committed, consistent conservative.” Voters in this month’s elections signaled that they want the most consistent conservatives running the show, “and in the case of the Energy and Commerce Committee, I do think I'm that guy."
Competition for the chair is a “good thing” that won’t harm progress next year, said Barton. “Congressmen are people, too, and feelings get pretty intense,” he said. But the Commerce Committee Republicans fighting for the chair are all friends, he said. Barton said he’s “getting a great response from the Steering Committee” on his bid to be the Commerce Committee chairman next year. But the committee’s composition is still hazy, he said. Once it’s put together, chairmanship nominations will be one of the “quickest items,” he said. Barton thinks he won’t need a waiver of Republican rules, since in 1994 many multiterm ranking members became chairmen and stayed on for multiple terms, he said. Barton is seeking a rule clarification but will ask for a waiver if necessary.