Momentum was gaining Friday for at least one piece of FCC
process reform, the Federal Communications Commission Consolidated Reporting
Act of 2013.
It would consolidate eight FCC annual reports on Congress,
including its cable price and video competition reviews, into a single biennial
report.
The
bill has bipartisan support -- and appears to be on a fast track.
House and Senate versions of the bill, which was approved
earlier in the week by the House Communications Subcommittee, are teed up for
action. The House bill is scheduled for full Energy and Commerce Committee
markup next week, while the Senate version Friday was scheduled to be
introduced by Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) on Monday, July 29.
The reports being consolidated into one super report include
the satellite competition report, the international broadband data report, the
video competition report and the cable industry price report.
The other primarily Republican-backed bill, the FCC Process
Reform Act, is less likely to be approved without major compromises. It also
passed out of subcommittee this week and is being marked up next week in the
full committee.
