Dems: FCC Reform Bill Could Hurt, Not Help, FCC Process

House Communications Subcommittee Democrats say the Republicans are off base with their proposed Federal Communications Commission reform bill, arguing that it is "inconsistent" with the reasoning behind the Administrative Procedures Act and could undermine the commission, not help, it by imposing requirements that could reduce regulatory flexibility or merger conditions restrictions that could lead the FCC to deny mergers it might otherwise approve.

Among the bill provisions they take issue with -- which is most of them -- are the bill's requirement that each notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) be preceded by a notice of inquiry (NOI), saying that in the fast-moving communications sector, that could, in some instances, add unnecessary delay to the process. The Dems also say that including specific proposed rule language in each NPRM would be too strict a requirement, and that requiring rules to be a "logical outgrowth" of that specific language might then require a new NPRM whenever comments identified a "better way of tackling the problem" that the FCC had proposed. As for the Republican's proposal that the FCC identify the market failure or actual consumer harm being addressed for every rule it imposes "may be contrary to the FCC's statutory mandate to serve the public interest." For instance, they argue, rules ensuring effective 9-1-1 service might put a burden on networks that was not directly related to a market failure.