A top House Democrat attacked the way the House...
A top House Democrat attacked the way the House Commerce Committee is conducting its business. The Commerce Committee met Tuesday afternoon for the start of a markup session including the Anti-Spoofing Act of 2013 (HR-3670), the E-LABEL (Enhance Labeling, Accessing…
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and Branding of Electronic Licenses) Act (HR-5161) and the Kelsey Smith Act (HR-1575). Ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., attacked the committee leadership, turning the title of a recent Republican news release on its head. “The title of the release left an impression on me,” Waxman said during his opening statement, referring to the Republican release (http://1.usa.gov/1pc5YXT) ripping into what it judged a broken FCC process and something smelling rotten on the eighth floor of the agency’s headquarters. “Well, by their standards, something is broken in our committee today.” He criticized the way the committee had bypassed a hearing process or subcommittee markup for many of the measures under consideration. Waxman backs the Anti-Spoofing Act and E-LABEL Act, calling those common-sense measures, but the Kelsey Smith Act is complicated and has faced no subcommittee or hearing debate. Waxman pointed to such issues as “consumer privacy regarding call location data.” But Waxman noted “it is not perfect but progress has been made.” In his opening statement, Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., said that all three telecom bills are bipartisan. Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., called the Kelsey Smith Act, which would compel carriers to share call location data with law enforcement when necessary, “the most meaningful” of the three telecom measures. “Versions of this legislation have been passed in 14 states.” Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., said she’s glad the drafters of the Kelsey Smith Act took some of her privacy concerns into consideration with the version for the markup. She aligns herself with Waxman’s committee process concerns, she said. Commerce will resume the markup session Wednesday at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.