More Sparring Over FCC Broadband Regulation
June 10, 2010
| 9:56 AM
Republicans in both chambers are seeking to block FCC funding from being used to implement controversial regulatory proposals being championed by the agency's Democratic chairman, Julius Genachowski, CongressDaily reported.
During a Wednesday hearing before the House Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee, Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas, vowed to amend the agency's FY11 request of $352.5 million with language barring the commission from regulating the Internet. Culberson insisted the FCC no longer can exert authority over broadband after a federal appeals court in April invalidated its existing framework for regulation.
The measure would torpedo at least two controversial proposals being championed by Genachowski: a restructuring of how broadband is regulated and an expansion of guidelines designed to preserve Internet openness.
CongressDaily reported Wednesday that Senate Commerce ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who also sits on the Appropriations Committee, is quietly contemplating a similar appropriations bill rider. The saber-rattling comes as the FCC has scheduled a June 17 vote on options for restoring the agency's authority over broadband, including Genachowski's preferred approach: treating the technology as a public utility. To read more, click here. (Subscription required)
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