Radio and Television Business Report

The House Commerce Committee convened an oversight hearing focused on the Federal Communications Commission. “There’s a lot on the agenda today,” said Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) since the last time the FCC's commissioners testified before the committee. A chief issue was the FCC's authority to conduct spectrum license auctions. “The agency’s lapsed spectrum authority not only deprives the Commission of a core agency function, but it impacts a massive sector of our economy and jeopardizes our global wireless leadership,” said Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ).

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai swore in Nathan Simington as the commission's newest commissioner. Simington’s term is back-dated to July 1, 2019, when the previous term of former Commissioner Michael O’Rielly was scheduled to end. The swearing in ceremony took place virtually as the FCC continues to work remotely amid the COVID-19 pandemic.