FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gómez, the lone Democrat on the commission, has strongly condemned a Republican-backed proposal to raise the national television ownership cap, calling it unlawful and harmful to local media.
The proposed Order, released early Wednesday by Chairman Brendan Carr, is scheduled for a vote at the FCC’s August Open Meeting on August 6. It is expected to pass on a 2-1 party-line vote over Gómez’s objections.
In a prepared statement, Gómez said the measure represents “an unlawful effort to hand control of the public airwaves to billionaire buddies of this administration.” She warned that its approval “will destroy local newsrooms, silence community reporting, and drive up costs for the American families who depend on local stations for news and emergency alerts.”
Her position aligns with cable operators, DirecTV, Dish, and groups like the American Television Alliance, which claim that larger broadcast groups would gain leverage to demand higher retransmission fees — though they have not presented definitive evidence.
Gómez maintains that Congress, which originally set the 39% national ownership cap, is the proper authority to raise or eliminate it.