Lawmaker Warns FCC Not to Exceed Its Authority

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

If the Republicans win control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections next month, Rep. Kathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), now the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, could be Chair. She wrote to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel recently, signaling the agency should stick to its marching orders from lawmakers, and not stray from that, even if the Commission seats a third Democrat during the lame-duck session of Congress.   “As the committee of jurisdiction overseeing the FCC, I assure you the committee and its members will exercise our robust investigative and legislative powers to not only forcefully reassert our Article I responsibilities, but to ensure the FCC under Democrat leadership does not continue to exceed Congressional authorizations,” Rodgers warned. She noted that “in recent years the FCC has taken it upon itself to misinterpret its authority to initiate rulemakings with ‘economic and political significance’ that fit the chair’s political leanings.”  Continue Reading