Walden to Probe Incentive Auctions at April Spectrum Hearing
The FCC’s actions on net neutrality have made Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., skeptical of the commission’s proposal to hold voluntary incentive auctions, the House Communications Subcommittee chairman said in a keynote speech for the Media Institute. The subcommittee plans a spectrum hearing in April, he said. Earlier, speaking at a Consumer Federation of America event about a coming House floor vote on net neutrality, Ranking Member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., of the parent Commerce Committee said Democrats hope to send a message that the GOP effort to reverse the FCC rules won’t withstand a presidential veto.
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"What’s voluntary?” Walden asked. “Watching how the FCC functioned with various parties when it came to net neutrality, there’s a new definition of voluntary going on down there. When I hear voluntary, and I hear $27.8 billion, and I hear repacking, and then I hear what the chairman of the FCC said [about spectrum boarding] to a group this week, it didn’t sound very voluntary.” Walden said he believes that the commission has forced companies to make what are called voluntary commitments. “I think it’s an effort to move policy forward through side agreements which they can label voluntary” because companies will make concessions to win merger approvals.
The April hearing will take up matters including spectrum-hoarding, Walden said. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Wednesday that the practice doesn’t take place, but Walden said he wants to see for himself. Genachowski said a spectrum inventory is complete, but Walden told reporters after his speech that he’s still open to spectrum inventory legislation if the subcommittee concludes after the hearing that it’s necessary. Policymakers may know “who’s got” spectrum, but they also need to “who’s using it and who’s using it fully,” he said.
The FCC can auction the 700 MHz D-block if it wants to, Walden told reporters. “We've waited a long time for the FCC to auction the D-block, which is their statutory obligation,” he said. “With the giant deficits we face, there are budget implications if it is auctioned and spent.” The D-block’s estimated value is $3 billion. Walden said he wants to find out how public safety is using its current spectrum allocation.
The NAB thinks that it’s “critically important for Congress to exercise appropriate oversight of the FCC and to investigate claims of spectrum warehousing, the adequacy of the FCC’s inventory, and spectrum efficiencies that could be realized through improved performance of television receiving devices,” said President Gordon Smith.
Waxman said he hopes to tally enough floor votes against the GOP resolution of disapproval on net neutrality to “send a message of reinforcement to the Senate and encouragement to the White House.” He added, “It’s very important that when this legislation comes to the House floor, we clearly demonstrate a vote margin that will easily sustain a presidential veto.” The House is expected to vote on the Congressional Review Act joint resolution of disapproval before the Easter recess (CD March 17 p13).
"We probably won’t win on the floor,” Waxman told Communications Daily after his speech. Republicans need only a simple majority to pass the measure. Although a small number of Democrats have supported the GOP resolution, Waxman believes his party will gather enough votes to show that Republicans can’t muster the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto, he said.
Gaining two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate would be difficult, Walden told reporters. “How are you going to get that in the Senate?” But Congress has an obligation to take on agencies that try to overstep their authority, he said. Walden aide Neil Fried cautioned not to assume that the resolution will be vetoed.
Walden told reporters he expects support in the upcoming House floor vote from the 10 Democrats who voted for his amendment to the seven-month House continuing resolution that would bar the FCC from carrying out its net neutrality rules. The Democrats included Blue Dog Reps. Dan Boren of Oklahoma and Collin Peterson of Minnesota, who recently signed a letter of support for the resolution of disapproval. Even with the Democratic support, Republicans fell short of a two-thirds majority in the vote on the earlier CR amendment.
House Democrats will “want to make a strong showing during the floor vote, though it’s a bit hard to predict how many opposition votes the party can muster in light of the fact that net neutrality has proven to be a political divisive issue -- even among Democrats themselves,” said Medley Global Advisors analyst Jeff Silva. “On the other hand, those House Democrats who previously voiced concern about Title II reclassification may be enough satisfied with compromise open-Internet rules to enable solidarity among caucus members.” And “House Democrats may be reluctant to break ranks at time of pitched disputes with the GOP over the budget and other issues.”
Whether House Republicans can muster a two-thirds majority will be the “minor drama” surrounding the House floor vote, said MF Global analyst Paul Gallant. But even if they do, finding a two-thirds majority in the Senate will be “awfully tough,” he said.