WASHINGTON-Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Larry Pressler (R-S.D.) slammed the Federal Communications Commission last week for saying it cannot implement the telecommunications bill without adequate funding and accused the agency of attempting to regulate wireless long-distance access.
“The suggestion that the FCC will not be able to implement the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is troubling,” said Pressler in a Feb. 21 letter to the FCC. “Indeed,” he added, “the legislation contains a number of provisions that will reduce spending by the FCC.”
The commission said in a Jan. 19 letter to Pressler that “[at] current funding levels, we would find it problematic to implement the bill in the manner Congress intends while at the same time responsibly discharging our existing responsibilities.”
The FCC is funded through mid-March at $175.7 million, a level the House and Senate agreed to for fiscal 1996. But the Commerce appropriations bill, which includes FCC spending, and several others that fund the federal government have not been enacted.
As a result, the FCC funding level could change month to month for the remainder of the year as the GOP-led Congress and the Clinton administration jostle over annual spending and a broader, seven-year balanced budget. The FCC requested $225 million for fiscal 1996.
In addition to asking for more money to translate the new telecommunications law into regulations, the agency said it needs $25 million to $30 million to move FCC headquarters across town to The Portals.
Pressler, though, appears to have little sympathy for the commission’s fiscal situation and fails to be impressed with the FCC Chairman Reed Hundt’s vow to “meet or beat” statutory deadlines for implementing the bill. The FCC said it will tackle 80 new rulemakings, 18 of which are under the jurisdiction of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
One “glaring example of unnecessary FCC involvement” cited by Pressler is the mobile services access rulemaking the agency intends to pursue. “Congress was very clear in making its policy determination that commercial mobile [radio] services are not required to provide equal access to common carriers for telephone toll service,” said Pressler.
“While the FCC is granted residual authority to apply unblocking requirements,” he continued, “this authority is granted only if a problem is found and if the FCC finds that the problem is contrary to the public interest. I am mystified by the FCC’s decision to undertake this proceeding at this time given the importance of the proceedings and timetables that are required by the Act. The FCC’s rush to regulation seems excessive and this proceeding would appear to be a solution in search of a problem.”
The FCC is said to be scrambling for a response to Pressler, yet the Pressler missive may actually benefit the agency by giving it concrete suggestions on how to streamline itself.
The Commerce Committee chairman recommended the FCC avoid duplicating regulatory activities performed elsewhere in government and take steps to privatize, or contract out, various functions.
Congress is expected to hold oversight hearings this year on reorganizing the FCC.
