Congress Nudges an FCC on Hold

[cal04]

Source: Washington Post Staff Writer

Agency Tackles Backlog of Pending Matters After Democrats Complain
Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) scolded the five members of the Federal Communications Commission when he finally got them before a powerful subcommittee last month.

The FCC botched handling of cable television franchising, racked up a backlog of unanswered consumer complaints, and dallied on various disputes between industry rivals with little oversight from the previous Republican-controlled Congress in recent years, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee said in the March 14 hearing.

Within days, word spread that the FCC was accelerating efforts to complete action on about 150 pending matters -- from regulating cable television service in apartment buildings to settling quarrels over the distribution of telecommunications funds in rural areas. Some analysts saw the move as a direct response to lawmakers' complaints.

With Democrats running Congress, FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin is "responding to the sense that Dingell doesn't like backlogs," said Andrew Jay Schwartzman, president of the nonprofit Media Access Project. "He doesn't want to be on the wrong side of Dingell."

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/03/AR2007040301652.html?hpid=topnews

[Miss Chybil]

1. Ah, the grown-ups are in charge now...

The real ones. Thank goodness.