Stupak Bill Would Let FCC Commissioners Meet Privately

Rep Bart Stupak (D-MI) has introduced a bill to allow more than two Federal Communications Commission commissioners to meet privately, so long as there is at least one commissioner from each party in the room and the meeting's content is disclosed to the public. A number of commissioners have argued for letting commissioners get together to discuss issues. Currently, sunshine rules prevent more than two commissioners meeting in person outside of public meetings. That is because all meetings of federal agencies must be open if there is a quorum present, and since the FCC has five members, three represents a quorum. FCC Commissioner Michael Copps announced he was thrilled by the bill's introduction, saying "If there was only one action we could take to reform the FCC, this would be my choice. The inability of Commissioners to get together and talk as a group makes zero sense. The statutory bar on more than two Commissioners talking together outside a public meeting has had pernicious and unintended consequences-stifling collaborative discussions among colleagues, delaying timely decision-making, discouraging collegiality and short-changing consumers and the public interest."