It seems the Federal Communications Commission has a communications problem.
During a hearing before a congressional panel Tuesday, four members acknowledged that they were never made aware of an interagency memorandum their chairman spent 18 months working on, leading one lawmaker to charge that the agency is “plagued at times by process failures.”
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When asked about the memo, Republican FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly told the House Energy and Commerce Committee that he spoke with members of the Federal Trade Commission about the memo.
“They were notified of it last Thursday. I learned of it yesterday morning.”
The joint FCC-FTC memorandum issued on Monday seeks to delineate lines of authority between the two agencies with regard to consumer protection, in order to avoid “duplicative, redundant, or inconsistent oversight.” The memo establishes regular meetings, consultations and data-sharing practices between the agencies. It comes in response to concerns that the FCC has slowly been usurping consumer protection powers that belong to the FTC.
Dumbfounded, Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., asked the other members of the commission when they were made aware of the memo. “I saw it on the website yesterday,” Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai responded.
Democratic members were quick to say they had no more idea of what was going on than their Republican colleagues. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tersely said “yesterday,” and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn chimed in, “the same.”
The commission’s Democratic chairman, Tom Wheeler, said he had been looking at it for 18 months. But he added in his defense, “The reality here is that it was signed yesterday, it became effective yesterday.”
Shimkus said he still viewed the situation as troubling. “You understand the problem. This is illustrative of this debate about communication. I know we’ve got 3-2, and I know Democrats have the majority, but I would hope the commissioners are one big happy family and work together to move telecommunication processes,” Shimkus said.
The revelation that the four members had no awareness of the memo came as lawmakers scolded the agency for failing to working collaboratively. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said that lack of cohesion undermined the credibility of the agency’s votes.
“Many stakeholders have expressed overarching concern that the FCC is adopting and applying its rules in an arbitrary fashion, singling out certain companies or industries for asymmetric regulation. This concern is buttressed by so many 3-2 votes,” Walden said.
Energy and Commerce Chairman Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., joined his colleagues in criticizing the lack of transparency. “In executing its functions, the agency must operate with openness and transparency for the benefit of American consumers and job creators,” he said. “Unfortunately, notwithstanding our clear and numerous concerns, the FCC has been plagued at times by process failures and a lack of healthy and honest policy debate.”
Upton added that the deleterious effects of the commission’s practices extended far beyond Washington, concluding that the status quo “produced uncertainty in the market harming our economy and the robust communications sectors’ ability to create the jobs Americans need.”
Broadly speaking, lawmakers’ concerns stem from “net neutrality” regulations the agency passed in February. The rules are being challenged in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, in part on the basis that the FCC failed to provide proper notice before their passage.
