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Law360 (May 25, 2021, 4:50 PM EDT) -- Top Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are urging their Democratic colleagues to review the Federal Communications Commission's implementation of two COVID-19 broadband programs worth more than $10 billion.
In a letter Monday addressed to Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., chairman of the panel's subcommittee on communications and technology, the GOP lawmakers called for an oversight hearing to evaluate how the agency has implemented the Emergency Broadband Benefit program, a $3.2 billion program created to distribute federal connectivity subsidies to families, and the Emergency Connectivity Fund, a $7.2 billion program helping students and teachers stay online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Together, the EBB and ECF programs total over $10 billion dollars and without proper implementation and oversight, these programs could be subject to waste, fraud, and abuse," wrote Reps. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. Rodgers is the top Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee and Latta is the communications subcommittee's senior GOP member.
The Republican leaders argued that the issue is a "bipartisan priority," saying that their Democratic colleagues have a "mutual desire" to see the programs implemented successfully.
Latta and Rodgers also voiced concerns that the FCC is not properly staffed to roll out the "important, unprecedented programs."
"The commission still is without a permanent chair and short-handed with only four commissioners," they said. The FCC is currently led by Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, appointed by President Joe Biden in January.
"Now that rules have been adopted for both programs, the committee should invite the FCC to testify publicly about their plans to implement these programs," the two lawmakers wrote.
The Republican committee leaders also used the letter as an opportunity to question Rosenworcel's "commitment to free speech," arguing that she ignored their February requests to denounce their Democratic colleagues' suggestions that TV networks must answer for their carriage of right-leaning outlets.
"Protecting free speech is a core responsibility of the FCC, and the commission is prohibited from preventing the broadcast of any point of view," they said. "It is time for the acting-chair and the commission to come to the committee and take a stand against efforts to silence speech, even when we disagree with it."
Spokespersons for Latta and Rodgers declined to comment Tuesday.
The FCC did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
--Additional reporting by Kelcee Griffis. Editing by Jay Jackson Jr.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
