Dem Lawmakers Demand FCC Oversight Hearing

Two of the top Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are calling on the panel’s GOP leadership to hold oversight hearings on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

According to The Hill, Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) and Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) sent a letter to their Republican counterparts reminding them that a hearing previously set for February still has not been rescheduled.

"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," they wrote to Reps. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).

A spokeswoman for the committee said leadership has “already expressed our interest in rescheduling the hearing and continuing our tradition of oversight of the FCC.”

Congressional Democrats have been vocal in their opposition to many of the FCC’s deregulatory efforts, including its repeal of the net neutrality rules. And they argue that the Energy and Commerce Committee has not been exercising enough oversight of the agency as it deregulates the media and broadband industries.