Tally of Dems Opposing Genachowski Proposal Rises to 77
June 11, 2010
| 2:13 PM
Seventy-seven. That's the latest tally of Democrats in both chambers on record opposing FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's controversial proposal to subject broadband to stricter regulation. On Thursday, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., became the first Democrat in the upper chamber to ask the chairman to drop his initiative. "I urge the commission . . . to work with the chairs of the appropriate congressional committees to develop [a] suitable and clear statute that will help us achieve our national broadband goals," she wrote in a missive to Genachowski. Also this week, a May 28 letter surfaced from Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., to the FCC chief expressing the same sentiment. Late last month, 74 House Democrats, and separately former House Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., informed Genachowski they reject his approach.
Despite the developments, the chairman has his party's support where he most needs it: from his two Democratic colleagues on the five-member commission, Democratic leaders in both chambers and the heads of the powerful House and Senate Commerce committees. Amid widespread GOP and telecom industry opposition, Genachowski has scheduled a Thursday vote on a proceeding to gather feedback about his proposal and other options for regulating broadband in the wake of a court decision that gutted the FCC's authority over the technology.
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