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| Issa to FCC head: Explain W.H. visits By: Brooks Boliek March 24, 2011 12:08 PM EDT |
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| FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski still has a lot of explaining to do concerning his frequent visits to the White House during the time the commission was developing its net neutrality rules.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) told the chairman that his response to earlier inquiries into the role the Obama administration played in the controversial policy is inadequate. “In the fourteen months since my initial request, the FCC has done little to demonstrate its independence from the White House,” wrote Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, in a letter dated today. The letter cites White House records that show that on Sept. 17, 2009 — “just four days prior to the near simultaneous announcement by the White House and FCC on proposed regulations for the open Internet” — Genachowski and his chief of staff Edward Lazarus met with Larry Summers, then the director of the National Economic Council. “In addition,” the letter continued, “in the month following the April 7, 2010, decision by the United States Court of Appeals … that the FCC lacked the authority to regulate network management practices, you and Mr. Lazarus had over a dozen meetings at the White House.” In total, Genachowski visited the White House 81 times between January 2009 and November 2010, which Issa said was more than the secretaries of Energy, Homeland Security, Defense, Treasury and State combined. “The large volume and timing of these meetings gives the appearance that they are more than coincidental,” Issa wrote. |
for full article: http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=55DD7ECE-0206-4BCE-88E4-D0CCB4A5A967
NancyPelosi
- My GOP friends seem to have misplaced their facts-under Ds, 1.1M private jobs created in 2010 http://twitpic.com/40txh1 about 2 hours ago via Twitpic
- Dems are standing up for a free & open internet, GOP trying to block #NetNeutrality – watch at: http://cs.pn/CSPANLIVE about 5 hours ago via web
WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission lacks the authority to require broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their networks.
The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is a big victory for Comcast Corp., the nation’s largest cable company. It had challenged the FCC’s authority to impose so-called “net neutrality” obligations on broadband providers.
The ruling also marks a serious setback for the FCC, which is trying to officially set net neutrality regulations. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski argues that such rules are needed to prevent phone and cable companies from using their control over Internet access to favor some online content and services over others.
The decision also has serious implications for the massive national broadband plan released by the FCC last month. The FCC needs clear authority to regulate broadband in order to push ahead with some its key recommendations, including a proposal to expand broadband by tapping the federal fund that subsidizes telephone service in poor and rural communities.
