Republican Reps on the offensive over timing of FCC fine

Republican Reps are on the offensive over the timing of the announcement of a planned $51 million fine the Federal Communications Commission issued earlier in April. They question why the fine, which the agency plans to issue against a wireless provider for alleged violations committed as part of the Lifeline program of phone service subsidies for the poor, came shortly after a vote to expand the program to cover Internet service. “The timeline of the FCC’s actions and inaction suggest the possibility that something was going on down there at the FCC,” said House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) at an April 19 markup. “That they didn’t want this released but, interestingly enough, it was released the day after the commissioners had to vote on this expansion of the program."

Republican FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai appeared on Fox Business Network April 20 to raise his own alarms about the way the fine was handled. “We were also told we learned about this fraud back in October of 2014, that that investigation had wrapped up pretty much in the middle of 2015, but that we were not going to be able to say anything about it until April 1 at the very earliest, conveniently one day after we voted on that party line vote to expand to program,” he said. “That was wrong." Commissioner Pai has also said that the company, Total Call Mobile, avoided paying higher fines because the FCC didn’t issue its Notice of Apparent Liability before the statute of limitations on some of the alleged violations expired. He said in his statement that he is “disappointed that we do not—and to some extent cannot—sanction Total Call Mobile for all of its wrongful conduct.”