Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is “doubtful” he will remove his holds on FCC nominees this week but suggested to us that he may reconsider after the Senate returns from its upcoming recess May 7. He had complained that the commission didn’t provide all the documents about LightSquared he requested in the agency’s initial delivery to the House Commerce Committee. Grassley is blocking votes on FCC nominees Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel until he gets those documents.
FCC nominees may have moved one step closer to Senate confirmation after the House Commerce Committee on Friday shared the FCC’s LightSquared documents with Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. Grassley was blocking votes on Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai until he got the documents, but the senator’s hold “stands pending document review,” a Grassley spokeswoman said: The senator “appreciates receiving the documents, and he and his staff look forward to reviewing them.” Grassley and the committee “are continuing to work together, and we will have additional updates to share as we assess the information that has been delivered and what additional documents are needed for our investigations,” a House Commerce spokeswoman said. The committee isn’t yet publicly releasing the LightSquared documents, which amount to more than 13,000 pages (CD March 29 p1), she said. It’s up to House Commerce when to release the documents, the Grassley spokeswoman said. The documents comprise communications among the FCC, White House and LightSquared investor Harbinger.
FCC nominees’ chances of Senate confirmation remain uncertain even if Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, lifts his hold on confirmation of Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel, communications industry lobbyists said. A House Commerce Committee request for LightSquared documents from the FCC could appease Grassley, but political dynamics in the Senate may still stand in the way of confirming new commissioners, they said. Top House Commerce members indicated last week that the committee would share with Grassley.
NTIA plans to cooperate with the House Commerce Committee’s request for documents related to the LightSquared network, the agency’s spokeswoman said Thursday. The FCC pledged Tuesday that it would respond (CD Feb 29 p1). It’s still unclear whether the FCC divulging documents to House Commerce will satisfy Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who has placed a hold on commissioner nominees Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai until he receives the LightSquared documents himself. The request and the agency’s public intention to cooperate initiate what could be prolonged negotiations, said a congressional aide. Generally, congressional committees are willing to share the results of document request with other offices without any additional procedural steps, the aide said. Still, the FCC could seek to prevent other offices from gaining access to the documents as part of informal negotiations with the Commerce Committee, though that may be difficult, the aide said. Another question mark is the content of the FCC’s response. “They have to be the right documents,” a government official said. “It has to be what Grassley wants. The House seems to be asking for similar things, but if [Grassley] thinks that the FCC still hasn’t produced documents that he thinks exist … he'd be less inclined to lift the hold.”
The FCC International Bureau proposed to block LightSquared from beginning terrestrial service (CD Feb 15 p1), severely dampening the company’s prospects and possibly increasing the likelihood of a bankruptcy filing in the near future. While the agency initiated Wednesday a proceeding on the proposals, many consider that process largely perfunctory, said industry observers.
The FCC approved AT&T’s buy of Qualcomm spectrum 3-1 over a dissent by Commissioner Michael Copps. The vote was a positive development for AT&T, which last week dropped its move to buy T-Mobile after the FCC and Department of Justice both lambasted that deal as bad for competition. The buy gives AT&T six MHz of unpaired 700 MHz spectrum nationwide and another six MHz in five major metropolitan markets. The order imposes two sets of conditions, addressing data roaming and interference.
Meredith Baker’s departure will leave the FCC with a single GOP member starting June 3, her last day on the job, she confirmed Wednesday afternoon. That could push Senate Republicans to quickly seek a replacement and also back a Democratic nominee whose appointment would be on the same track as Baker’s successor, industry officials said. The FCC will be split 3-1 when Baker leaves, making Robert McDowell the only Republican commissioner. A 2-1 commission is possible next year if the Senate doesn’t act.
Meredith Baker will leave the FCC with a single GOP member starting June 3, her last day on the job, she confirmed Wednesday afternoon. That may induce Senate Republicans to quickly seek a replacement and also back a Democratic nominee whose appointment would be on the same track as Baker’s successor, industry officials said.
Meredith Baker will leave the FCC with a single GOP member starting June 3, her last day on the job, she confirmed Wednesday afternoon. That may induce Senate Republicans to quickly seek a replacement and also back a Democratic nominee whose appointment would be on the same track as Baker’s successor, industry officials said. The FCC will be split 3-1 when Baker leaves, making Robert McDowell the only Republican commissioner. A 2-1 split would occur if Commissioner Michael Copps’ replacement doesn’t get Senate approval by the end of this session of Congress, when he must leave the commission. His term expired June 30, 2010, but the law allows him to serve until the end of the subsequent session of Congress.
Broadcasters should seek a deal with the recording industry on performance royalties due to current “political realities,” said House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher in a keynote at an NAB conference Tuesday. Broadcasters in the audience objected strongly to the concept. Boucher also praised the FCC’s proposed voluntary approach for taking broadcast spectrum, and said spectrum inventory legislation is nearing a full committee vote.