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| Greg Alden |
Brendan Sasso at The Hill reports Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.),
chairman of the House Communications and Technology subcommittee, emphasized
that the auction will be voluntary for broadcasters.
"As the FCC moves through the incentive auction
process, I intend to ensure that the Commission properly implements the
provisions of the Act to preserve a vibrant post-auction broadcast
environment," Walden said during a speech at the National Association of
Broadcasters show in Las Vegas .
Last year, Congress authorized the FCC to encourage TV
stations to give up airwave rights, called spectrum, for auction to cellphone
carriers, which are struggling to keep pace with the booming demand for mobile
data.
Walden, a former radio station owner, also said he plans to
renew his push for FCC process reform legislation. The House passed his bill
last year, but the Senate declined to take it up.
The legislation would require the FCC to demonstrate the
necessity of new regulations, restrict the types of conditions the agency could
impose on corporate mergers and require the agency to set binding timelines for
its proceedings.
One area of agreement between many Democrats and Republicans
is that Congress should change the FCC's sunshine rules to allow commissioners
to talk to each other outside of public meetings. But Walden said the FCC needs
more sweeping reform.
"Allowing commissioners to meet in private and doing
nothing else does not sound like process reform and transparency improvement to
me," he said.
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