House Schedule Excludes Barton Bill

HOUSE SCHEDULE EXCLUDES BARTON BILL
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
The House floor schedule this week excludes a telecommunications bill that would overhaul cable-franchising rules to allow new providers to initiate service within 30 days under a national authorization scheme. Key sponsors of the bill were hoping that the House would debate the bill Wednesday or Thursday, but the floor schedule released by Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) listed 11 bills, not including H.R. 5252, the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act (COPE Act), sponsored by Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas). The House schedule could change if House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) refuses to refer the COPE Act to the Judiciary Committee, deciding a power struggle in Barton’s favor over Judiciary chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI).
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6332676.html?display=Breaking+News