New Snag Delays Senate Confirmation of FCC Nominees

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The FCC nominees have taken one step forward and two steps back. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) is working to release his “hold” on FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr’s nomination for a full five-year term, Inside Towers reported. However, now Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has placed a hold on Carr’s Senate confirmation until the FCC guarantees broadband funding for his state.  

Manchin disagrees with the Commission’s decision last week to put the Mobility Fund Phase II on hold while the agency determines whether some carriers submitted fraudulent coverage data. 

Noting that he’s been saying the agency’s broadband maps are inaccurate, Manchin announced last week the answer is not to, “prevent states like West Virginia from receiving the funding they desperately need to deploy mobile broadband.” 

Manchin was the only member of Congress, and one of 100, to formally challenge the map data. “If the Chairman feels he needs to put the brakes on this program at this stage of the game, I need to put the brakes on the confirmation of his next Commissioner until he can show me where we’re supposed to go from here,” Senator Manchin said. The FCC declined comment, reported The Hill.

Traditionally, the Senate likes to vote on a pair of nominees. In this case, they would be Geoffrey Starks, a Democrat, and Carr, a Republican.    

December 18, 2018

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