House Members to FCC Chairman Pai: It’s Oversight Time

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai requesting information and documents related to the FCC’s current workload, the work of its bureaus and offices, and the FCC’s interactions with the public through its handling of consumer complaints and Freedom of Information Act requests. As part of their request, Chairmen Pallone and Doyle wrote that the Committee was reassuming its traditional role of oversight to ensure the agency is acting in the best interest of the public and consistent with its legislative authority.  Since Pai assumed the Chairmanship at the FCC two years ago, the agency has been unresponsive to Committee Democrats’ numerous and reasonable oversight requests. In their letter, the Committee Chairmen requested that Chairman Pai provide information updating the Committee on FCC activities, including consumer complaints the FCC has received on various topics, including: robocalls/spoofing, privacy, open internet/internet service speed, wireless service coverage/availability, access for individuals with disabilities, billing, rural call completion, telemarketing, and unwanted calls. Similar requests were made to Pai’s predecessor.