Rosenworcel Tackles Questions on Lifeline, USF, Spectrum During Renomination Hearing

Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., asked Rosenworcel why the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, which she chairs, hasn’t made recommendations on universal service overhaul. Rosenworcel said the FCC wanted to defer those recommendations due to the ongoing litigation on the net neutrality order, which touches on “the underlying terminology” due to its Communications Act Title II reclassification of broadband.

Thune pressed on what seemed to him to be her lack of confidence in the order’s ability to withstand litigation. “I have some confidence in our decision as it was made,” Rosenworcel said. But the agency is “resource-constrained,” so it’s not “prudent” to make those recommendations until there is more legal certainty, she said. Thune suggested a certain irony existed in her position and disagreed with the results: “It doesn’t seem like the litigation should be used to delay important universal service reforms.”

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., told Rosenworcel she was pleased the FCC issued more than $90 million in fines for Lifeline program violations but is “beyond confused about why not one dime of that is collected.” She explicitly mentioned TracFone as one provider that hasn’t paid and asked why the providers aren't cut off from participating in Lifeline until they pay. “We might as well have some big flashing sign that says ‘Doesn’t matter,’” said McCaskill, who has viciously slammed Lifeline for waste, fraud and abuse.

Rosenworcel agreed that sounds “problematic” but had no immediate answer on the fine payments. She worried about cutting the providers out of Lifeline due to the possible effect on consumers. “It is not hard to get a Lifeline phone,” McCaskill countered. “I am not as worried about that, about them getting cut off.”

“The TracFone ‘fine’ hasn’t been paid because it hasn’t been imposed,” a company spokesman told us. “In September 2013, TracFone received a notice of apparent liability that proposed a fine. Per FCC rules, TracFone filed a response in December 2013 in which it vigorously denied liability and asserted that the proposed fine was disproportionate and inappropriate based on decades of FCC forfeiture jurisprudence. The matter has remained pending and unacted on since. Unless and until the FCC issues an order imposing the fine, which was proposed in the notice of apparent liability, no fine has been imposed.” FCC spokespeople declined to comment on the issue.

The FCC also isn't responding to some letters from Capitol Hill, Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., told Rosenworcel. He cited two letters to the FCC that he signed with other senators -- one on joint sales agreements and one on broadband reclassification -- that he said never received a response. “Not even a response that we got your letter and we won’t respond,” said Blunt, who had praised Rosenworcel for knowing the committee so well and her relationships there. Rosenworcel apologized and said letters typically pass through the FCC chairman’s office. But she’s happy to respond, too, she said. The agency typically posts congressional correspondence on its website, and Chairman Tom Wheeler typically does respond, if not always quickly. This summer, Wheeler apologized to Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., for “tardiness” in replying to a letter (see 1506260035). FCC records show Wheeler responded to many of Blunt’s letters, including to one on joint sales agreements.

Rosenworcel will “press her colleagues” to resolve the stand-alone broadband concern by year’s end, she affirmed. She told Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, that the committee should do more to free up spectrum beyond the provisions included in the budget deal unveiled this week. “By some accounts, that’s about one-tenth of what the private sector will need,” Schatz said of the budget deal’s spectrum provisions. Rosenworcel on multiple occasions lauded the backers of the Rural Spectrum Accessibility Act (S-417) and suggested legislation could make a difference for consumers. Rosenworcel also advocated that lawmakers pair measures on licensed spectrum with a cut for unlicensed, as she has said before, due to the Congressional Budget Office scoring challenges. Blunt pressed her on the size of the funds for relocating broadcasters after next year’s broadcast TV incentive auction. The money now “is adequate but I think we should stay on guard because if not, we’ll have to come back to Congress and ask for your assistance,” Rosenworcel told Blunt, who feared the amount broadcasters would have to pay is higher than estimated. Broadcasters shouldn't be “unduly” charged for relocating, Rosenworcel said. “I don’t think we should be overly aggressive at this point,” she told Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., on IoT regulation.

“This committee should advance your nomination expeditiously, and I hope for and expect speedy action on the Senate floor in favor of your nomination,” said Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., in his opening statement.

“I don’t foresee any reasons why she wouldn’t move,” Thune told reporters after the hearing, saying the questions for the record process will take at least a couple of weeks. “Typically, those [renominees] have been paired,” he said, citing the possibility of pairing Rosenworcel with whoever is nominated to take the Republican FTC commissioner spot opening after Joshua Wright’s departure. Thune doesn’t anticipate any delays beyond “the normal course of business” on Capitol Hill, he said.