Wheeler Engages House Democrats, Privately Addresses Questions on Set-tops

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler privately addressed his much-debated set-top box proposal Wednesday in a meeting with the House Democratic caucus, House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., said in an interview. She had invited Wheeler last year, she said. Invitations for the caucus meeting had circulated earlier this week (see 1604250055).

“He raised that” issue of the set-top box proposal, Eshoo said. “It was one of the issues that he talked about. … There were a couple members that got up. Some were for, others spoke about content and how that needs to be protected. There wasn’t anything new. I’m for that, too.” Wheeler “talked about it” and “addressed it head-on,” she said.

Several Democrats and Republicans have questioned that proposal this year. Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., has raised concerns and demanded an impact study. She recently led a letter of more than 50 House Democrats requesting a pause. Eshoo has been a strong supporter.

Wheeler was the last speaker at the morning caucus meeting, Eshoo said. Also slated to speak was Smithsonian Institution Secretary David Skorton. Wheeler "talked about what his basic philosophy is: competition, competition, competition," Eshoo said. "He understands innovation. He understands when you bring those two things together, that one thing is an outcome of the other, and consumers win. If you compete, there’s going to be more innovation.”

Wheeler mentioned examples, Eshoo recounted: “He talked about 5G, keeping America number one in that, he talked about keeping the Internet open and accessible and what that means economically, the efforts relative to not just wireless service for all Americans but broadband as well because children can’t learn if they don’t have broadband today. He did an excellent job in his presentation.”

“Chairman Wheeler appreciates the opportunity have a productive meeting with Members about important issues before the Commission,” an agency spokeswoman emailed, declining to comment on the meeting’s substance. The agency released this week two responses that Wheeler gave to House lawmakers on the issue of set-top boxes, one response to a letter led by Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif., and another to Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif.

House lawmakers are preparing another letter to the FCC protesting the set-top proposal. The letter is bipartisan, led by Reps. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Bob Latta, R-Ohio, Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., and Collin Peterson, D-Minn.

The FCC proposal, “if adopted, will jeopardize the incredible evolution of video distribution services enabled by generally reasonable regulation,” said a draft of the letter, not yet sent to the FCC. “Imposing new, onerous regulations on pay-TV providers would produce very few benefits for consumers, while potentially harming the viability of these providers. The particular obligations being considered by the FCC are all the more troubling because they would mandate compliance with technical standards that do not yet exist, injecting even greater uncertainty into the marketplace. In particular, we are concerned the proposal threatens the economic welfare of small pay-TV companies providing both vital communications services to rural areas and competitive alternatives to consumers in urban markets. These providers are often at the forefront of innovation, allowing consumers to access programming through an array of devices. The FCC must take care to ensure their proposal, which is intended to lower costs for consumers and provide more competitive choices, does not inadvertently lead to higher prices and less consumer choice, as government mandates often do.”

The deadline to sign the letter is Friday, Cramer legislative assistant Adam Jorde told us. “As an at-large member of a very rural state, this rulemaking has been very concerning for our North Dakota video providers,” he said. “While we have major concerns with the rulemaking in its entirety, our goal for the letter is to shed light on the disproportionate impact this rulemaking could have on small video providers. If you’re looking for additional input from the industry, we have been working closely with the American Cable Association and NTCA as well.”

The lawmakers’ letter to colleagues is still circulating. They have 13 additional backers so far, Jorde said: Reps. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C.; Leonard Lance, R-N.J.; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Rod Blum, R-Iowa; Lamar Smith, R-Texas; Sam Graves, R-Mo.; Glenn Grothman, R-Wis.; Kristi Noem, R-S.D.; Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio; Steve Pearce, R-N.M.; Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill.; David Rouzer, R-N.C.; and Jim Renacci, R-Ohio. The ACA has circulated a petition to gather support for the letter. “This bipartisan letter recognizes the efforts of the Commission to support a competitive environment for video competition, but disagrees with their approach,” the ACA petition said, urging people to call their representatives to join the letter. “The FCC should be seeking a pro-consumer initiative that looks towards the future of technology, not backwards.”