And Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin thought he had only Democrats like House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) to worry about.
Last week, it was Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) who gave the GOP-led FCC an earful at a time when the new Capitol Hill landscape shows promise of producing a refreshingly unpredictable political dynamic.
Sununu, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee and other plum panels, is positioned to be highly influential in the new Democratic-controlled Congress. Sununu, you see, has strongly held opinions about certain issues that could get better play in the 110th session than in previous Congresses where Republicans ruled.
The New Hampshire lawmaker is crafting a bill to free up vacant broadcast spectrum-currently employed to protect TV operations from interference-for unlicensed Wi-Fi. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) last week introduced such a bill. Bipartisan legislation likely will emerge. The FCC’s Martin is pursuing the emancipation of broadcast “white space,” but is undecided whether to make it available on an unlicensed basis. Sununu and others want to help him decide.
“Regardless of recent Federal Communications Commission action on white spaces, this legislation will hold the FCC accountable and firmly address any uncertainty or legal action that may arise concerning authority over the use of white spaces,” Sununu said.
Sununu also is none too happy with FCC efforts to safeguard broadcast content-which has begun to migrate to mobile phones-by way of mandated anti-piracy technology standards.
“The FCC seems to be under the belief that it should occasionally impose technology mandates. These misguided requirements distort the marketplace by forcing industry to adopt agency-blessed solutions rather than allow innovative and competitive approaches to develop,” said Sununu, an M.I.T. grad with a Harvard M.B.A.
On the privacy front, Sununu has joined Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) to reintroduce legislation requiring federal agencies to report to Congress on the use and development of data mining programs.
“Data mining and other technologies can be essential tools in detecting predictive patterns and possible outcomes from anonymous records. However, it is imperative that we understand the impact of such technology on Americans’ personal privacy. In order to do this, Congress must be fully informed of the current data mining technologies, new ones that are being developed, the effectiveness of those technologies, and the privacy protections in place,” said Sununu. So much for the president’s coalition of the willing in Congress.
