Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), joined by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), both members of the House communications Subcommittee (Eshoo is ranking member), have asked the FCC not to wait for legislation before making changes to its Web site.
The Subcommittee Wednesday passed and FCC reform bill that included a Stearns amendment requiring the FCC to provide direct access on its Web page to its annual budget, performance and accountability reports, appropriations and the number of employees.
In a letter to the FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski the day after that vote, the pair said that they understood that the FCC already had that info on the Web site, by that it was difficult to locate. The FCC's redesigned Web site has drawn criticisms for being difficult to navigate by users inside and outside the commission. The FCC continues to feature a prominent link to the old site, which continues to be used by a number of FCC staffers.
Saying that the Federal Trade Commission has a tab on its homepage leading to some of the same info, they suggested the FCC follow suit. "[W]e ask that the FCC move forward on this change absent a statutory obligation," they said.
The FCC reform bill, which was passed on a straight party line vote, but it still needs to pass the full committee, full House and Senate to become law, which is a tall order given that the Senate is controlled by the Democrats.
