Leading Commerce Committee Democrats Clarify Congressional Intent of Spectrum Provisions, Urge Serious Consideration of DOJ Views

Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Mike Doyle (D-CA), and Doris Matsui (D-CA) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski regarding the spectrum provisions in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. The letter from the Democratic members was sent in response to a recent letter from Reps. Fred Upton (R-MI), Greg Walden (R-OR) and other Republican members of the House Commerce Committee.

The Republicans urged the FCC to "implement the Spectrum Act as Congress intended" and not to "pick winners and losers before the auction even commences." In the new letter the Democrats write: “The Republican letter included a number of inaccuracies and omissions concerning the spectrum provisions in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. As members directly involved in the passage of that legislation, we write to clarify details about the legislative history, especially with regard to Congressional intent.” The members also noted that the views of the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice should be entitled to “serious consideration on such core antitrust principles as market foreclosure and the relative competitive value of various spectrum bands.” The Justice Department's Antitrust Division has recommended that the FCC use "rules, weights, or caps" to prevent industry giants Verizon and AT&T from buying up the most valuable spectrum at auction. The agency argued that ensuring that Sprint and T-Mobile have access to the critical resource will boost competition and lower prices for consumers.