| Sign up for The Hill's Newsletters: Policy at The Hill: | FCC faces a grilling By Julian Hattem and Mario Trujillo It’s going to be a rough week for the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Tom Wheeler is scheduled to testify in three separate congressional hearings this week, offering GOP lawmakers a prime opportunity to lambast him for his new net neutrality rules. Republicans have been livid since Wheeler revealed the details of the rules earlier this year, and the criticism hasn’t stopped since the 3-2 vote to institute them last month. First up is the House Oversight Committee, where Wheeler will testify about whether or not his independent agency was unduly influenced by the White House in drafting the tough Web rules. Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) has raised concerns about a reported “shadow FCC” at the White House, which critics say bullied Wheeler into the regulations that treat broadband Internet like a public utility. That hearing was rescheduled from last month, when Wheeler declined to testify just a day before his commission voted to institute the regulations. Just over 24 hours later, Wheeler will be on the other side of the Capitol, testifying before the Senate Commerce Committee alongside his four fellow commissioners. That hearing will cover a large swath of issues surrounding the FCC — including its budget, a potential reauthorization and a series of issues before the agency — though the net neutrality rules will likely take center stage. The full text of the rules was made public last week, giving lawmakers plenty of time to ready their questions. On Thursday, it’s back to the House, where all five commissioners will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The three hearings are likely to highlight the partisan divide on net neutrality, but may also offer a viewpoint into possible points of compromise. The leaders of the House and Senate Commerce panels have for months been working on net neutrality legislation that would enshrine some of the protections Web advocates have fought for while also undercutting the FCC’s authority in other ways. Democrats have yet to sign on to that measure, however, and it may also be torpedoed by a push from more conservative lawmakers to gut the FCC’s rules wholesale, without offering a replacement. It’s also going to be a busy week for the Senate Judiciary Committee. The panel will hold a Tuesday hearing to explore “immigration reforms to protect skilled American workers.” The hearing follows a floor speech that Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) gave late last month citing abuse of the high-skilled H-1B visa program, which is widely used in the technology industry. During his floor speech, Grassley said Congress needs to plug holes in the program and vowed to prevent movement on a bipartisan bill meant to expand the program. The committee will hold another hearing on Wednesday to explore “the impact of abusive patent litigation practices on the American economy.” House lawmakers have reintroduced a bill to fight so-called patent trolls, and leaders on the Senate committee, including Democrat Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), are working on their own deal, after reform died in the upper chamber last year. Some Democrats on the Judiciary panel are wary of broad reform and have introduced a pared-back bill that has been dismissed by broader reform advocates. On Thursday, the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee will also hold a hearing on patent reform, “focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship.” RECENT STORIES Patent director takes oath at SXSW FCC releases text of Internet rules AP sues State Dept. over Clinton emails With clock ticking, lawmakers have no plan for reforming NSA Wikipedia takes feds to court over spying |
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