Does Political “Kabuki Theater” Help or Hurt the Regulatory Review Process?

[Commentary] Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) -- the ranking members of the House Commerce Committee and its Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, respectively -- wrote a letter to Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) calling for a hearing to examine the proposed sale of wireless spectrum to Verizon by a consortium of cable companies. Without question, Congress has the authority to hold a hearing on anything they deem relevant at any time they want. That said, and with all due respect to the powers of the legislative branch, it is unclear what a politically-charged hearing would contribute at this late stage of the review process. Indeed, the analyses by the reviewing agencies are well underway, and there is no evidence to indicate that either the Federal Communications Commission or the Department of Justice is conducting their review of the transaction in an incompetent or otherwise improper fashion. In fact, holding a hearing at this stage of the review process may actually do more harm than good.