Pallone & Doyle Request Immediate Scheduling of FCC Oversight Hearing

Washington, D.C. – Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications and Technology Ranking Member Mike Doyle (D-PA) sent a letter to full committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn requesting they fulfill their commitment to hold oversight hearings of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by immediately rescheduling a hearing that was postponed on February 16.

At the beginning of this Congress, the Committee's Republican leadership committed to holding quarterly oversight hearings with the Commission but, six quarters later, only two hearings have been held.

Pallone and Doyle also believe the hearing must be held because Chairman Pai has consistently failed to answer questions from Committee Democrats despite early commitments to be responsive to both Republicans and Democrats. The current FCC has refused to fully answer the letters of Committee Democrats 26 times, as highlighted in a recent letter to FCC from the Democratic members of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee. The letters seek important answers to questions related to issues of public concern like net neutrality, privacy, universal broadband access, and media concentration.

"We believe it is long past time to reschedule this important oversight hearing to follow through on a commitment from the Republican leadership of this Committee that it would hold quarterly Federal Communications Commission oversight hearings," Pallone and Doyle wrote to Walden and Blackburn. "Unfortunately, over the past few months, the Commission has become less transparent with the legislative branch, altogether frustrating any attempt at our Constitutional responsibility to oversee the agency on behalf of the American people. The Commission must be brought before the Committee to account for its repeated and willful evasiveness."

The letter is available HERE.

###