Congress Can't Use CRA to Undo FCC's Ligado Plan Approval, GAO Says
Lawmakers can’t undo FCC approval of Ligado via a Congressional Review Act resolution, GAO said last week. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., asked for the study. The House and Senate Armed…
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Services committees passed FY 2021 National Defense Authorization acts (HR-6395/S-4049) with anti-Ligado language (see 2007210060). The CRA can only be used to overturn agencies’ actions that constitute a rule. The Administrative Procedure Act definition doesn’t cover this decision because licensing actions are an order, GAO said. “License modifications applicable to all regulated entities may be made through a rulemaking given the policy nature and across-the-board applicability, but individual actions must be evaluated through adjudication, which is what FCC did,” the office said. “The resultant action … falls within the APA definition of order and not rule." The office of Sen. Jim Inhofe, who tied up Commissioner Mike O'Rielly's nomination over the matter, didn’t comment Friday.