Rep. Walden: FCC's O'Rielly Is Spot On

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) Monday praised Republican Commissioner Michael O'Rielly's call last week for publishing the text of FCC proposals before they are voted

Currently the chairman circulates the item among the commissioners, but they are not supposed to share them with anyone outside the commission, including the stakeholders who are talking to them about what should be in the items.

“Commissioner O’Rielly’s call for increased transparency and better process at the commission could not be more timely,” said Walden in a statement. The congressman has spearheaded an FCC process reform bill, the FCC Process Reform Act, which passed the House last March 

He has also recently joined O'Rielly and Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai in criticizing the way in which items have been shared, or not shared, with commissioners and the treatment of proposed edits.

“The commission’s last few open meetings have been marred by bad process and insufficient sharing of information among the commissioners – underscoring the need for reform. With bipartisan support, the House approved FCC process reform legislation in March. But despite its unanimous passage through the House, this commonsense legislation has hit a roadblock in the Senate," he said.

The Senate is out until September, so there won't be much time to act on that bill before the legislators turn their focus on trying to keep their jobs in the midterm elections.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.