What if Democrats Win? Spotlight on Telecommunications

By David Hatch, CongressDaily© National Journal Group Inc.Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006
This is the seventh in a series of articles exploring the impact on key committees and issues if Democrats win control of the House and Senate in November’s elections.
For some insight into Congress’ approach to telecommunications policy under a Democratic House and Senate, look no further than FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s schedule. The nation’s top communications regulator, a Republican, is rarely summoned to Capitol Hill by the GOP, and when he is, the circumstances are never hostile.
The FCC's Kevin Martin should start bracing for regular trips to Congress -- and for Dingellgrams.

But that would change with Democratic control, congressional and industry sources said. The Senate Commerce Committee, under Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, under Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., would closely scrutinize the agency’s actions, they said. That means Martin should start bracing for regular trips to Congress and for Dingellgrams, the Michigan lawmaker’s legendary queries. There would also be major changes in pending telecom overhaul legislation, assuming it is not approved during the lame duck session, when Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and other Democrats will try to block it.
Whether Inouye and Dingell would pursue comprehensive telecom overhaul legislation or a series of smaller measures is unclear. Most sources think they would retain portions of the pending bills sponsored by Senate Commerce Chairman Stevens and House Energy and Commerce Chairman Barton. But it is uncertain whether nationwide video franchise relief for the Bells -- the central tenet of the GOP bills -- would survive. If it does, Democrats would seek to couple it with consumer protections. Nationwide agreements would make it easier for AT&T and Verizon to enter the video programming business and compete with cable. Complicating the picture is whether the Bell companies, the major driver behind the GOP legislation, will be at the table next year. They are hinting they won’t be because they have secured several statewide video franchises.
But some suggest the Bells will not be satisfied with a hodgepodge of state regulations and are bluffing to win passage of the pending legislation in the lame-duck session. One Democratic staffer said Dingell would keep close tabs on the FCC’s court-ordered review of its media ownership rules, promote broadband deployment and revamp the massive universal service fund, which lowers telecommunications costs for rural residents and those with lower incomes. Inouye’s office declined comment.
Democrats also are expected to ratchet up their demands for network neutrality safeguards designed to prevent telecom and cable giants from potentially dominating the flow of content on the Internet. Stevens has blamed a controversy over the issue for stalling his bill. But killing legislation lacking net neutrality might prove easier than passing a bill containing it. To that end, Democrats in both chambers must seek common ground with the opposition and industry to get anything done, observers say. That is particularly true in the Senate, where Democrats would face the same hurdle that Stevens faces: corralling 60 votes to fend off filibusters.
While Dingell historically has had strong ties with the Bells, he has been critical of Barton’s bill, which is considered favorable to the companies. The Michigan lawmaker is close friends with Stevens, but a Democratic aide said that would not affect his positions if the GOP holds the upper chamber and Stevens remains in charge of the Senate panel.