FCC chairman to defend budget at hearing

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski will defend his agency's budget at a hearing on Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's telecom subcommittee.

As part of the president's 2013 budget request, the FCC is slotted to receive $346.78 million, a 2 percent increase over last year's funding.

The funding includes money for broadband deployment, implementing an overhaul of the agency's Universal Service Fund, improving the agency's computer systems and investing in technical tools to examine interference issues.

A committee aide said lawmakers have a "duty to ensure independent agencies are using taxpayer dollars wisely."

Republicans on the committee have clashed with the FCC in recent weeks over the agency's authority to structure proposed auctions of broadcast spectrum licenses. Republicans have also criticized the FCC for its net-neutrality rules and its role in killing the AT&T/T-Mobile merger.

The full committee is expected to take up legislation that would overhaul how the FCC operates in the coming weeks. Republicans say the legislation would increase transparency and openness, but Democrats say it is a thinly veiled attempt to hamstring the agency.

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