The House Communications Subcommittee has already approved a pair of bills designed to make the operations of the FCC more transparent and efficient, and now they will be going to the full committee for markup. One measure all agree on is making it easier for commissioners to interact; otherwise the Republican bill is not popular across the aisle.
The bills are H.R. 3309, the “Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act”; and, H.R. 3310, the “Federal Communications Commission Consolidated Reporting Act.”
A third unrelated bill, H.R. 452, “Medicare Decisions Accountability Act of 2011”; is also on the agenda.
The committee will convene at 4PM Monday 3/5/12 and reconvene the following morning at 10AM.
The proponents of the two measures believe that the FCC needs to better illuminate what it is working on and allow more input by interested parties. They also want to eliminate lengthy delays in getting a decision when the FCC has oversight over a merger of companies operating within the Commission’s regulatory sphere.
Opponents believe that the bill is simply a vehicle in which to make it harder for the FCC to regulate the industries of which it has oversight.
It is likely to pass through the committee on a largely partisan basis and proceed to the House floor.
NAB’s Gordon Smith earlier issued a statement supporting the bills.
