Hearing of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee - Opening Statement of Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Hearing on Oversight and Reauthorization of The Federal Communications Commission

Hearing

Welcome to the Communications and Technology Subcommittee's hearing titled
"Oversight and Reauthorization of The Federal Communications Commission". I
appreciate the Commissioners appearing here to offer their testimony.
The FCC has not been reauthorized since 1990 and its current appropriation is over
430 million dollars. It is charged with administration of the Communications Act
and other statutes vital to the functioning of our communications policy. We must
reexamine the core functions of the Commission and restore a culture of humility
that was lacking under the regulatory cloud left by Chairman Wheeler. The FCC
plays a vital role in our increasingly technology dependent society. The
subcommittee has therefore released a discussion draft for consideration.
I would be remiss by not discussing Net Neutrality. The Commission's decision in
2015 to reclassify the Internet as a public utility was a power grab laced with the
irony of suffocating the most innovative part of our economy with a 1930s era law.
This gave new meaning to the term "progressive". Reply comments to the
Commission's NPRM are due August 18 th . Chairman Pai, we hope you're keeping
that "weed whacker" handy because it has a lot of work to do.
Title II reclassification has created a 5.6 percent reduction in ISP network
investment, will lead to rate regulation and has generated tremendous uncertainty.
However, I know there is disagreement. While my colleagues on the other side of
the aisle had nothing to do with this, Internet giants such as Amazon and Google
recently joined with websites like Pornhub, and dark money groups Fight for the
Future -- Demand Progress -- and Free Press for a "Day of Action" to claim
Republicans will "break the Net". Let me be clear, Republicans have always
supported a free and open Internet. We must move past the partisan rhetoric.
Ranking Member Pallone said in 2010 that this is a job for Congress. I agree.
Other issues confronting the Commission include administration of the Lifeline
program, media ownership rules, and process reform. The GAO released another report critical of the Lifeline program on June 29 th . It found that 36 percent of
program participants could not be verified for eligibility, over 6,000 deceased
individuals were enrolled after their death, and numerous carriers approved
eligibility for the program based on fictitious documentation. Lifeline continues to
be plagued by significant deficiencies -- including the need for a hard cap.
Outdated media ownership rules and process reform issues also concern the
subcommittee. Commissioner O'Rielly astutely noted that the FCC's Quadrennial
Review of broadcast ownership rules released last August was "divorced from the
realities of today's media marketplace." Finally, process reform has been an issue
of bi-partisan concern for some time. Bi-partisan bills have passed the House five
of the last six years. Chairman Pai, you have taken positive steps; including the
release of a fact sheet for any proposal to be considered at an open meeting and
releasing the text of documents to the public in advance of a vote at an open
meeting. However, more must be done to promote and sustain a culture of
transparency at the Commission on several other issues noted in the majority
memorandum.
I look forward to today's hearing. Thank you.

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