Sen Grassley lifts holds on two FCC nominees

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released holds he had placed on two nominees to the Federal Communications Commission.

Sen Grassley had placed the holds on Republican Ajit Pai and Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel months ago and had demanded FCC documents on the agency's decision to grant a waiver to LightSquared, the politically connected telecommunications firm that wanted to set up a new 4G wireless network. Though he agreed to release the holds, Sen Grassley issued a statement lambasting the FCC for a lack of transparency. The statement accused the agency of stonewalling Grassley for months, though the senator said documents eventually became more useful. Sen Grassley said the documents he's seen so far raise more questions, but he expressed satisfaction with the process now in place to obtain relevant FCC documents. As a result, he said, he intended to lift his holds on the two nominees. "But my inquiry is not over. I'm told there are 11,000 more pages of documents from the FCC on LightSquared that will be forthcoming to the House Commerce Committee," he said. "I look forward to receiving access to those documents."