FCC Process Reform Act Expected to Pass in the House, Face Senate Hurdles
The House is expected to take up and easily pass the FCC Process Reform Act Tuesday, with its top sponsor promising broad support on the floor. The chamber is considering HR-3675 (http://1.usa.gov/1nBJst7) under suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority to pass and is typically used on noncontroversial legislation. The House Commerce Committee cleared the bill unanimously in a bipartisan compromise in December (CD Dec 12 p2) and hailed it as a major sign of cooperation. Previous versions of the bill had foundered amid partisan disagreements.
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Industry officials and lobbyists expect no obstacles in the House taking up the bill. It’s uncontroversial, by and large, since it attracted Democratic support in the committee compromise, they told us Monday. No industry or Capitol Hill sources named any House opposition to the bill at its current stage. House Republicans have attracted consensus on other legislation centered on the FCC. The House in the fall unanimously passed the FCC Consolidated Reporting Act, which has since seen no further action.
The 18-page FCC Process Reform Act promises many updates to the agency’s operations in the name of efficiency and transparency. It would compel the agency to kick off a rulemaking to maximize public participation in proceedings within a year of the law’s enactment, such as by setting a minimum public comment period and nailing down policies on how the commission treats ex parte filings and comments after the comment period. Also within a year, the agency would have to conduct an inquiry into how to potentially “establish procedures for allowing a bipartisan majority of Commissioners to place an order, decision, report, or action on the agenda of an open meeting,” among other provisions along those lines. The legislation would also affect how the FCC makes information available on its website and compel the creation of a consumer complaint database.
The FCC Process Reform Act is expected to stall in the Senate, said industry officials and lobbyists. There’s no intention to move the legislation in the Senate, said a lobbyist for a wireless provider. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., has said he prefers the FCC to handle any process revamp rather than get Congress involved (CD Dec 16 p14). Diane Cornell, special counsel to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, has led the agency’s process and is “very smart” and an “experienced, no-nonsense kind of leader who will be implementing organizational efficiency improvements at the FCC with or without legislation,” said Computer & Communications Industry Association Vice President-Government Relations Cathy Sloan, in considering the broader question of process reform ahead. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., the primary author of the bill, has supported the FCC’s efforts at process revamp but said they don’t erase the need for legislation. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., wants the Senate involved and introduced earlier this year companion legislation mirroring the December House compromise bill.
"Our commonsense reform package enjoyed strong bipartisan support in the committee and we expect it will receive broad support on the House floor this week,” Walden said in a statement. “Improving transparency and predictability at the commission is surely a goal we all stand behind, and I look forward to working with Senator Heller and our colleagues in the Senate to get this bill to the president’s desk without any unnecessary delay.”
The bill “will pass the House with a large majority and most likely die in the Senate,” said Free State Foundation President Randolph May. “This is a shame.” The reforms, “as modest as they are, make sense in terms of improving the way the FCC conducts its business,” he said. “With all the talk about congressional gridlock and so forth, this regulatory reform legislation ought to be passed on a bipartisan basis, rather than dying in the Senate graveyard.” (jhendel@warren-news.com)