A day after announcing their new roles, the GOP's telecom leaders got straight to business, coming out in force against the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) net-neutrality proceeding.
Incoming House Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Communications Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and Vice Communications Chairman Lee Terry (R-Neb.) wrote to the FCC with concerns that the agency has not been transparent about its effort to regulate Internet lines.
They demanded that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski release the text of his net-neutrality proposal, which the commission will vote on next week.
They said the draft should be subject to public comment, or at least revealed so that stakeholders can meet with the commission about the proposal.
"Your proposal to adopt network neutrality rules is likely the most controversial item the FCC has had before it in at least a decade. It holds huge implications for the future of the Internet, investment, innovation, and jobs," they said, arguing that the process has been cloaked in "secrecy."
The Republicans also noted that when current Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) drafted a net neutrality proposal, he made the language public; Genachowski should do the same, they said.
An FCC spokeswoman declined to comment, but has previously noted that the agency made its original regulatory proposal public last year despite that this step was not required.
