House Republicans Seek to Examine FCC Transaction Review Process

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House Republicans Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Greg Walden and Terry Lee said Tuesday that they will be "examining" the FCC's transaction review process in the wake of the conditioned approval of the Comcast/NBCU joint venture.

Upton is chair of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, while Walden chairs the Communications subcommitee and Lee is vice chair.

They supported the approval, but are concerned about the network neutrality conditions in particular, since they strongly oppose the FCC's vote last month to implement new regulations.

"We are glad Comcast can now get back to doing business and creating jobs," the three said in a statement, "but the price of doing so should not be coerced compliance with the heavy-handed tactics of an overreaching FCC.

"The FCC's efforts to circumvent both the free market and courts by railroading job- and investment-harming net neutrality provisions, as well as regulation of nascent Internet-distributed video, represent more of a Chicago-style shakedown than the thoughtful deliberation this transaction deserved," they said. We will be examining whether changes in the FCC's transaction review process are needed as we exercise congressional oversight in the weeks to come."

The trio have pledged to try and block the FCC rules legislatively. 


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.