Democrats Holding Firm on Rosenworcel Reconfirmation
Senate Democrats show no signs of letting up on an aggressive push to secure a floor reconfirmation vote for FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. Last week, Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., told us he has heard “there will be” Democratic holds on the hotline efforts to pass the Mobile Now spectrum bill (S-2555), which underwent the start of a hotline process Wednesday, and later the FCC Reauthorization Act (S-2644), which may undergo a hotline attempt in the coming weeks (see 1605100058). Nelson, who said he wouldn't place a hold himself, cited “concern among a whole bunch of people” that would prompt Democratic holds until Rosenworcel receives her vote.
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Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, didn’t directly say whether he may place a hold, when asked about this possibility. “Let me say it this way,” Schatz said in an interview. “There was an agreement, and we expected that agreement to be upheld. It’s already late. But a deal is a deal. And Commissioner Rosenworcel should be confirmed as soon as possible.” When asked whether the issue came up at Democratic policy lunches, Schatz said: “It comes up everywhere.”
The agreement Schatz cited was last Congress among Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D. They advanced the reconfirmation of Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, a Republican, in December 2014 in exchange for, Democrats say, timely advance this Congress of Rosenworcel, a Democrat. Reid blasted the agreement as broken, speaking last month on the Senate floor. He said McConnell told him Rosenworcel’s vote could wait until next year. She can't act as a commissioner beyond this year without a vote. McConnell spokespeople declined comment Friday.
Thune said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s lack of a commitment to step down at the end of the Obama administration is a major factor in GOP holds preventing Rosenworcel’s reconfirmation. “Like I said, I think it’d make it easier for everybody if Wheeler made clear his plans at the end of the year,” Thune said in an interview. “I don’t know that’s the only issue but I think it would certainly help in terms of some of the concerns that people have raised. But there may be others as well. I think right now there are multiple objections to her going forward.”
“A deal is a deal, and you don’t add new conditions a year later,” Schatz countered. “That was not the deal.”
“We’ll find out how serious they are about holding it up,” Thune told us about possible Democratic opposition to Mobile Now due to the Rosenworcel confirmation concerns. “We hope they wouldn’t do that. It had broad, bipartisan support coming out of committee. We hope that it enjoys broad, bipartisan support here.” Thune is “still waiting on some [Congressional Budget Office] scoring stuff” before the hotline of the FCC Reauthorization Act, he said. Both measures cleared the Commerce Committee by unanimous voice vote, with Nelson as co-sponsor.
“All I can tell you is I’m fully committed to her candidacy and redoubling my efforts to make sure that she receives a vote,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told us when asked about possible Democratic holds. Blumenthal urged the reconfirmation of Rosenworcel, a Connecticut native, speaking on the floor.
Other Senate Democrats including Sens. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Tom Udall of New Mexico urged McConnell to advance Rosenworcel's nomination for a vote. “I want Commissioner Rosenworcel to be reconfirmed,” Markey told us last week, expressing a sense of urgency. Rosenworcel recently joined Udall in New Mexico for a telecom policy event. Rosenworcel joined Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., in North Dakota Friday to meet with the North Dakota Broadcasters Association in addition to the North Dakota Association of Telecommunications Cooperatives.
"How she gets processed on the floor is really a McConnell-Reid discussion, decision," Thune said of any next steps for the Rosenworcel renomination. "Any way of expediting that is something you’d have to ask them about. In terms of our part in this, we’ve done what we can do. We have no objection to her moving forward."
The reconfirmation fight threatens to paralyze the Senate on telecom policy for the rest of the year, a wireless industry lobbyist told us Friday. Capitol Hill observers see a path forward for Mobile Now outside of this possible factor interfering. “The legislative window is very narrow this year, but Mobile Now has some momentum,” said New America Open Technology Institute policy counsel Josh Stager, who earlier this month expressed support for Democrats upping the pressure for a Rosenworcel floor vote by using these other telecom measures as leverage. “The lame duck could also be a productive time for legislation depending on election results.”
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough,” Thune said Wednesday about learning of any possible Democratic objections. Hotline efforts are never publicized until they successfully clear the full Senate.