FCC delayed Internet subsidy vote amid talk of deal

The Federal Communications Commission vote to offer Internet subsidies to low-income Americans was delayed by at least three hours after Republicans said an emerging deal fell apart. Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn had come to an agreement with the two Republicans on the commission. But the office of Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai said Commissioner Clyburn backed out after intense pressure from FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in the morning ahead of the vote. Matthew Berry, Commissioner Pai's chief of staff, said that staffers worked through the night to draft the deal. "[Chairman Wheeler] has bullied Commissioner Clyburn into reneging on this deal," Berry said. Commissioner Clyburn said after reevaluating the deal with Republicans, she found it "could not fully achieve my vision." "I applaud the deliberative process and want to thank Commissioners Pai and O’Rielly and their staff for engaging well into the night and morning," Commissioner Clyburn said.

House Commerce Committee Republican leadership was not pleased with the collapse the compromised Lifeline proposal that would have capped the subsidy. Apparently, those leaders plan to consider a bill in April to impose a legislative cap on the spending, as well as what they said was protect ratepayers and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. Those Republican Reps are the same ones who have been critical of FCC process and signaled the compromise's failure was yet another example of that. House Commerce Committee Democratic Reps got wind of the Lifeline compromise that would have created a hard cap on the fund's spending and fired off a letter to Chairman Wheeler urging him to reject a cap."While we have long supported the Lifeline program and the essential assistance that it provides to low-income Americans, we cannot support any action that would severely limit the program."