Commissioner O'Rielly: FCC Should Expect Tougher Oversight From GOP

Speaking to the US Chamber of Commerce's Telecom and E-Commerce Committee meeting, Federal Communications Commission member Michael O’Rielly said the "deep deference" he suggested the Democrat-controlled Senate has accorded the Obama Administration is a "thing of the past," which means there will be tougher scrutiny of federal agencies, including the FCC.

"I expect that the new Congress will be very active on communications-related issues. My experiences from the last time Republicans controlled both institutions," he said referring to his time as a former Hill staffer, "suggest that considerable time will be spent by the committees of jurisdiction considering how best to modify current law to reflect modern technology and the competitive marketplace or marketplace realities. Call it a rewrite, an update, or just a modernization effort; everything is on the table right now. And, as many of you may recall, the 1996 Telecom Act was passed by a Republican Congress and signed by a democratic president."

He added: “"I also expect that the new Congress will focus significant time conducting oversight of federal departments and agencies. The deep deference provided to this administration is probably a thing of the past. That means greater review of the Commission's internal workings and scrutiny of its decisions."