Chairman Walden: FCC Process Answers Raise 'Serious Concerns'

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) is not happy with the Federal Communications Commission’s responses to the subcommittee's ongoing look into commission processes and plans to make that clear at a hearing Sept. 17.

"Since our last hearing with Chairman [Tom] Wheeler, the subcommittee has examined additional aspects of the FCC’s operation including, management of backlog and current workload, staffing, its budget and operating expenses, as well as other related issues through inquires and information requests to the agency. The FCC’s responses to our questions, reports submitted by the Inspector General and reports in the media raise serious concerns as to whether the FCC’s house is in order," he plans to say in his opening statement for the hearing. He also takes aim at the FCC argument that it is trying to do more with less money. "[C]ontrary to Chairman Wheeler’s oft-touted remedy, the solution to the commission’s woes is not simply to throw more money at the problem, but to use the money available to the commission more effectively. Nowhere is this more evident than in the FCC’s IT expenditures."