House Commerce Republicans Request FCC Documents on Process

so-called ‘delegated authority,’” said the letter from Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy, R-Pa. “It is not appropriate for use with regard to new or novel questions of law or policy.” They cited several instances of the use of this authority, and criticized “a series of actions that call into question the openness and fairness of the Commission’s rulemaking processes,” questioning the timeliness by which the FCC chairman’s office provided copies of commission documents to other commissioners. The lawmakers also criticized the FCC’s delay on a congressional request for management and performance metrics last year. The committee learned in December, “nearly six months after the initial request,” that “such metrics were not available because they ceased being employed in the management of the agency’s largest bureau in 2009.” The FCC, under Wheeler, “is not sufficiently committed to fulfilling its obligation to operate independently, with processes that are open, fair and transparent,” they said. They requested documents on how the chairman’s office circulates documents to other commissioners and how that has changed under Wheeler, as well as documents about the agency’s compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act. They want to know what the Office of General Counsel advised on the use of delegated authority and the discretion of Wheeler to use it. They also asked about document retention policies. Walden is also expected to press the FCC on net neutrality at a Wednesday hearing and during a speech at American Enterprise Institute headquarters March 2.