House panel approves FCC transparency bill

A House panel passed a bill aimed at making the Federal Communications Commission more transparent over the objections of Democratic Representatives who opposed a trio of Republican Representative amendments on what was originally a bipartisan measure. The FCC Process Reform Act was approved by the House Commerce committee through a voice vote.

The bill institutes reforms to the way the FCC goes about its business and comes after the FCC handed down its controversial network neutrality rules. Republican Representatives added three amendments based on bills they proposed when the reform bill was first considered by the Communications Subcommittee. One, from Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), requires that the FCC publish the text of any rule or other action no later than 24 hours after the Chairman circulates them to the Commissioners. Another requires the FCC to publish a description of any order completed at the bureau level. Rep Renee Ellmers (R-NC) proposed an amendment that would require the Commission to publish changes to its rules.