House advances FCC bill; debate, amendments later Tuesday

The House on Tuesday afternoon approved a rule allowing members to debate and consider amendments to H.R. 3309, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Process Reform Act.

Members approved the rule in a 242-177 vote, and later in the afternoon were expected to start general debate on the bill and up to 10 amendments that could get a vote.

During rule debate, Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) said the bill is needed to ensure that the FCC does a better job justifying rules on information technology companies that are among the top performers when it comes to job creation.

"By requiring the FCC to be more transparent, to find a market failure before proposing regulations and to conduct cost-benefit analyses before adopting rules, H.R. 3309 helps promote jobs investment and innovation in one of the few sectors still firing on all cylinders in this economy," he said.

"The FCC should strive to be the most open and transparent agency in federal government and any intervention into the marketplace should be the result of rigorous analysis demonstrating the need for government regulation."

Democrats had little to say about the bill itself, although Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) urged his colleagues to support an amendment from Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) that would require political advertisers to disclose major contributors.

More generally, Democrats called on Republicans to take up the Senate-passed transportation bill. House Republicans leaders are still thought to be working on a compromise, and Monday were pushing for a three-month extension of federal highway authority.

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