Senate Commerce Committee Prepares to Vote on Wheeler Nomination
Tom Wheeler’s nomination as FCC chairman is expected to be OK'ed by the Senate Commerce Committee at its planned vote at Tuesday’s markup, industry officials predicted Monday. They told us they expect Wheeler won’t face opposition from lawmakers on the panel and his nomination will pass by a voice vote. The markup, scheduled for 2:30 p.m. in 253 Russell, will consider nearly two dozen bills along with the nomination of Wheeler, whose past leadership of CTIA and NCTA had previously drawn the scrutiny of public interest groups and some senators, including two who expect to vote for him.
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Committee Democrats who will vote to approve the nomination are Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia, Mark Begich of Alaska and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, their spokesmen told us Monday. Both Warner and Begich had previously joined thirty-seven senators, led by committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., in asking President Barack Obama to name Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel as chairman (CD March 28 p1). Spokesmen for the other members on the panel didn’t comment by our deadline.
It was unclear Monday whether Republican members of the committee planned to support Wheeler’s nomination. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warned Wheeler that his views on political advertising could be the “one issue that has the potential to derail your nomination,” during Wheeler’s nomination hearing last month (http://youtu.be/v9M5u__BHr0). Cruz asked Wheeler whether he thought the FCC has the authority to “implement the Disclose Act or has the authority to regulate political speech.” During a closed-door meeting prior to that nomination hearing, Wheeler told Cruz he needed to study the issue more.
Still pending is Obama’s nomination for the open Republican FCC seat which Capitol Hill and industry officials had said will be Michael O'Rielly, a top staffer with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Commerce Committee Ranking Member John Thune, R-S.D., recently told us Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., sent the White House a letter formally recommending his candidate for the FCC weeks ago (CD July 17 p1). Traditionally, the Senate minority leader makes his recommendation to the president, who ultimately decides on a nominee. A McConnell spokesman declined to comment, and the White House had no response.
If announced by the president, O'Rielly’s nomination is expected to be paired with Wheeler’s nomination for eventual approval in the Senate. However, Rockefeller previously told us he doesn’t think a full-Senate vote on Wheeler needs to wait for a Republican nominee (CD June 19 p1). Reid is unlikely to schedule a full Senate vote on Wheeler’s nomination until after lawmakers return from the August congressional recess, industry officials had said.
The committee also will mark up 22 bills on Tuesday. They include the Violent Content Research Act (S-134), NASA Authorization Act of 2013 (S-1317), Cybersecurity Act of 2013 (S-1353) and S-RES-157, a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that phone service must be improved in rural areas and that no entity may unreasonably discriminate against telephone users in those areas.