House Commerce GOP Leaders Call for an FCC Oversight Hearing to Assess New FCC Programs and Commitment to Free Speech

House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Bob Latta (R-OH) urged Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) to schedule an oversight hearing to review the Federal Communication Commission’s implementation plans regarding key connectivity programs and their commitment to free speech.

“Together, the [Emergency Broadband Benefit] and [Emergency Connectivity Fund] programs total over $10 billion dollars and without proper implementation, these programs could be subject to waste, fraud, and abuse," they wrote. "At a time when the FCC is implementing these important, unprecedented programs, the Commission still is without a permanent Chair and short-handed with only four commissioners. Now that rules have been adopted for both programs, the Committee should invite the FCC to testify publicly about their plans to implement these programs. Oversight of these programs should be a bipartisan interest, given our mutual desire to see them implemented successfully."“In addition, we have significant concerns with the lack of the acting-Chair’s commitment to free speech."