Senate Commerce Likely to Easily Advance Rosenworcel; Wicker Voting Yes
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is expected to easily advance out of the Senate Commerce Committee during a Wednesday meeting (see 2111230066) with unanimous support from panel Democrats and potentially most Republicans too, lawmakers and lobbyists said in interviews. Democratic FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya is expected to get far less Republican support, amid some members’ threats to place holds on his confirmation (see 2111170059). The panel’s reception for Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn is expected to divide sharply along party lines, while NTIA administrator nominee Alan Davidson could draw significantly less attention (see 2111300068). The meeting will begin at 10:15 a.m. in 253 Russell.
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Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., was confident Tuesday the committee will advance Rosenworcel, but hasn’t finalized a plan for ensuring the full chamber confirms her by the end of this month. Rosenworcel will have to leave the FCC at the beginning of January absent reconfirmation, which would shift the commission to a 2-1 GOP majority (see 2110080043). Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., “is working on a whole bunch” of nominees he wants to confirm by year’s end and “just said” he’s eyeing the possibility of keeping the chamber in session through the weekends during at least part of December to accomplish that, Cantwell said.
Two Senate Commerce GOP leaders -- full panel ranking member Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune of South Dakota -- are expected to diverge on Rosenworcel. Wicker told us Tuesday he intends to vote for Rosenworcel, despite his earlier misgivings about her explanation during her Nov. 17 confirmation of why she believes the FCC should bring back some form of its rescinded 2015 net neutrality rules (see 2111170071). “She’s qualified and a known quantity” to lead the FCC, unlike Sohn and others previously floated as Democratic chair contenders, he said. Three other Republicans also confirmed they will vote for Rosenworcel -- Roy Blunt of Missouri, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Dan Sullivan of Alaska.
Thune said Monday he’s “leaning no” on Rosenworcel but predicted at least “some” Commerce Republicans will vote to advance her to the floor. Rosenworcel is “going to be carrying water for” the Biden administration and is therefore going to be “very hostile to the free-market principles that I believe ought to apply to the FCC,” Thune told us. But “compared to the alternatives, she’s a really good pick for the Democrats” to choose for permanent chair.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told us he will vote against Rosenworcel because of her net neutrality views, which he considers “the big issue” the FCC would likely tackle if Democrats get a 3-2 majority. A trio of Republicans -- Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Jerry Moran of Kansas -- wouldn’t say whether they will back Rosenworcel.
“There wasn’t really anything” in Rosenworcel’s responses to Republicans’ follow-up questions after her Nov. 17 confirmation hearing that would have swayed those previously on the fence about advancing her, Thune said. “She’s playing it safe” and it’s clear “there’s not going to be much we agree on” for telecom policy.
Rosenworcel in her answers continued to support reclassifying broadband as a Communications Act Title II service, saying that remains “the foundation of legally sustainable net neutrality rules.” Any “effort to reinstate the Title II classification of broadband … would require a new rulemaking under” the Administrative Procedure Act, she said. “Such a rulemaking would provide the basis to develop an updated public record on open internet policies, which must inform the agency as it proceeds. I believe this is especially important in light of changes since the initial 2015 decision in technology, state law, and consumer usage.” Rosenworcel “supported” the FCC’s decision in its 2015 rules not to directly or indirectly regulate broadband rates “and would do so again in the future.”
Rosenworcel continues to back FCC action to be “more forward-looking with its broadband speed standard” than the current 25/3 Mbps threshold for high-speed service. “With the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act generally requiring projects to meet a 100/20 Mbps threshold for funding and providers rolling out higher speeds across the country, I believe we need to think bigger,” Rosenworcel said. She noted her support for updating the FCC-NTIA spectrum policy memorandum of understanding and believes a proposal from Commissioner Brendan Carr to make edge providers pay into USF (see 2105240037) is “intriguing, though it would likely require a statutory change.”