Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who was a player on numerous communications-related legislative issues, has died at 82 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Reid pushed back on media consolidation, including prominently on the Charter-Time Warner Cable-Bright House Networks merger in 2016.

He also tried to block the Federal Communications Commission's 2008 decision to loosen the broadcast/newspaper cross-ownership rule.

Reid was a longtime proponent of beefing up cybersecurity.

He also famously backed the renomination of then-commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel in a fight with then Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who was blocking Rosenworcel's renomination. Reid took to the Senate floor in April 2016 to call for a vote on her nomination, which did not happen. Rosenworcel had to exit the commission before eventually being reinstated.

Reid and Rosenworcel — and cable operators — also shared concerns over then FCC chairman Tom Wheeler's proposal to "unlock" cable set-top boxes, which did not make it into the FCC rulebook because Rosenworcel ultimately did not vote for it.

Reid was also a leader in a Senate push to get the Washington Football Team (then called the Redskins), to change its name. That came at the same time that former FCC chairman Reed Hundt was encouraging agency officials to support the name change.

"During the two decades we served together in the United States Senate, and the eight years we worked together while I served as vice president, Harry met the marker for what I’ve always believed is the most important thing by which you can measure a person — their action and their word," said former Delaware Senator, VP, and now President Joe Biden. "If Harry said he would do something, he did it. If he gave you his word, you could bank on it. That’s how he got things done for the good of the country for decades."

“Harry Reid was a dear friend and colleague that I was privileged to serve with in the U.S. Senate," said National Association of Broadcasters president Gordon Smith, himself a former senator (from Oregon). "He was a committed patriot and public servant who fought hard not only for the residents of Nevada, but all Americans. He leaves behind a lasting legacy of service to his country. Sharon and I extend our deepest condolences to his family.”

"Our country has lost an honorable public servant," said Vice President Kamala Harris, also a former senator. "Harry Reid rose through the ranks in Washington, becoming Senate Majority Leader, but he never forgot his humble beginnings in Searchlight, Nevada — and he always fought for working families and the poor. Leader Reid also got things done: from expanding access to healthcare through the Affordable Care Act, to getting economic relief to families and businesses through the Recovery Act, and much more, he made a meaningful difference in people’s lives."

“America’s Public Television Stations are saddened by the passing of former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — a talented public servant with an extraordinary life story," said Patrick Butler, president of America's Public Television Stations. “Senator Reid personified the American dream of rising from the most modest of beginnings to the heights of government power. His early experience as a boxer proved good training for the political battles he waged, and usually won, on behalf of the people of Nevada. We in public broadcasting knew him as a steadfast advocate of our work in America’s communities, and I was honored to present the Majority Leader with our Champion of Public Broadcasting award in 2011.

"Among the most consequential actions in Harry Reid's career was his decision as Majority Leader in 2013 to change Senate rules and confirm circuit and district court judicial nominees, as well as other presidential appointees, with a bare majority vote instead of 60 votes," said Fix the Courts Executive Director Gabe Roth. "Some called it a 'nuclear' option, but given Republicans' record intransigence on confirmations, it was the rational way to keep the business of the federal courts and executive branch moving, and I'm glad Reid had the courage to do it. Without it, President Biden wouldn't have been able to tie the record for judicial confirmations in a president's first year." ■

Some deregulatory groups are trying to prevent a possible "compromise" vote on the re-nomination of Democratic FCC Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel, suggesting instead that she be  leave the commission after the current congress, but return during the next.

Tech Freedom and the Competitive Enterprise Institute have joined with a couple of others in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to say that while they supported Rosenworcel's re-nomination, but not if it creates a deadlocked, 2-2 commission and certainly not before FCC Chairman Tom wheeler leaves to remove the possibility of a Republican President and a Democratic majority on the FCC.

That means they want Rosenworcel to have to leave the FCC after the lame duck, but then be returned to her seat after a new chair or third Republican commissioner is seated. They say they expect Rosenworcel to be a "constructive participant" in reforming the FCC under a Republican majority, but don't want her continued presence on the commission to prevent that majority during the transition.

"[T]here simply is not time to properly consider a new nomination now, even if Chairman Wheeler were to resign immediately and President Obama   were to  nominate a Republican chosen by the President-elect. So the only way to avoid hamstringing the new FCC Chairman (acting or otherwise) is for Commissioner Rosenworcel to take a brief hiatus from the Commission. This is unfortunate, but better than the alternative. Pairing her with Republicans will give both parties a strong incentive to move quickly on all three nominations. We expect that both could  be  confirmed  by  March.  In the interim, Chairman Wheeler could shift Rosenworcel’s staff to regular agency positions. This would make it easy for her to  reconstitute her office when she returns to the Commission, without her staff missing a paycheck."

At press time, Rosenworcel's nomination remained on a list of nominations on the Senate Executive Calendar that were still awaiting floor votes, where her nomination has been since Dec. 9, 2015, when it was placed their after her unanimous vote out of the Senate Commerce Committee. A floor vote was not scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 6, but could happen off the floor under unanimous consent (UC), essentially a fast-track approval for noncontroversial nominations or legislation. Like a nomination hold, it would take only one Senator not agreeing to put the kibosh on a UC approval.

That is probably unlikely given that if she is reconfirmed a new Republican Administration would not have a majority on the FCC until a new chairman was named.

Rosenworcel's term expired July 1, 2015, but commissioners are allowed to continue serving until the end of the Congress following that in which their term expires, which means she has to exit in January unless her nomination is voted and approved on the Senate floor in the lame duck session.

The MOBILE NOW Act failed to secure passage thanks to the ongoing battle between Democrats and Republicans over stranded nominees, including Jessica Rosenworcel's renomination and the nomination of Merrick Garland to fill the empty Supreme Court seat.

Following two failed attempts to pass a continuing resolution, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) took to the Senate floor Tuesday to ask for unanimous consent to pass the bipartisan bill, but Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) once again said no dice while those nominations continue to be in limbo.

Thune's call for UC passage, essentially a procedural short-cut for noncontroversial bills, forced at least one senator to object or the measure would have passed.  That was an angry Reid.

Reid said, quoting former Sen. Bob Dole: "If you don't keep your word, is doesn't matter what agenda you try to advance," making it clear that applied to the advancement of mobile wireless.

Reid said that while he had great respect for Thune, he was not going to let the bill through, at least not today.

He said he was still waiting for Republicans to keep the promise they had made 18 months ago on that same Senate floor to hold a confirmation vote on Rosenworcel and that they could bring up MOBILE NOW as much as they wanted, it wasn’t getting voted.

Reid back in April also hammered Republicans in a floor speech over the Rosenworcel deal/No Deal.

Thune said he was also disappointed, He said he knew Reid was frustrated with the inaction on Rosenworcel, but that it was out of his hands and he had done everything he could, including voting her out of the committee--unanimously. He said scheduling the floor was not in his control.

The Republicans do not plan to allow a vote on the renomination of FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel this year, according to Sen. Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). If that were the case, Rosenworcel would have to exit since her term is over at year's end.

As reported by B&C/Multichannel News, Reid took to the Senate floor Thursday (April 21) to call for a floor vote on Rosenworcel's renomination, in the process saying Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had broken his word to act on Rosenworcel after the Democrats agreed last year to vote out Republican Commissioner Michael O'Rielly. Usually commissioners are paired, Democrat and Republican, before being voted, but Reid said he agreed to vote O'Rielly by himself after getting McConnell's promise that Rosenworcel would also get a vote.

But that has not happened, and may not if Reid is correct.

Reid said McConnell promised to vote her this year, but that has yet to happen. "I've waited patiently for my friend to do the right thing," Reid said, seemingly more in sorrow than in anger. "I've held off for months coming to the floor....I held off hoping the Republican Leader would deliver on the pledge he gave to me."

But Reid said he had spoken with McConnell this week and the leaders said he would do it next year. "Mr. President, next year she's out of a job [he had suggested one reason he had agreed to vote O'Rielly against his better instincts was that he had been told O'Rielly was out of a job]. "Her career will basically be over because of my accepting my counterpart's word," he said.

Perhaps her FCC career, but the highly-regard Rosenworcel could almost certainly get a job, likely at a multiple of her public service salary, at a prestigious law firm, in Silicon Valley, or elsewhere.

But Reid's point was that it was not the way to treat a public servant "who works every day very hard trying to do the right thing for a very important part of our country."

Reid said McConnell had broken his word, but suggested there was still a way to repair the damage by moving on nomination. "So, I still expect him to live up to his commitment and get Commissioner Rosenworcel confirmed, he said.

Reid did point out that Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, had kept his word and advanced her nomination through the committee.

Neither Rosenworcel nor McConnell were available for comment.

“I was pleased to see Senator Reid’s comments today on the floor,"said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. "Jessica Rosenworcel is an integral part of this Commission and should be confirmed. All nominees, no matter their party affiliation, deserve an up or down vote.”

In an FCC oversight hearing, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), ranking member of the Senate Commerce  Committee, said it was past time for the Senate to confirm Rosenworcel, suggesting than that it was a promised confirmation that had yet to be honored by the other side of the aisle.

Rosenworcel's renomination was unanimously approved by the Commerce Committee late last year, but the full Senate has yet to vote.

The President re-nominated the Democratic commissioner for a new five-year term back in May 2015. Her current term expired in June of 2015, but she could serve until the end of 2016 without renomination.

Rosenworcel joined the commission in 2012, confirmed unanimously by the Senate on that occasion.

Senate source says look for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid to use some of his time for opening remarks on the Senate floor today (April 21) to urge Republicans to back a full-Senate vote on the renomination of FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel to the FCC ASAP.

In an FCC oversight hearing last month, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, said it was past time for the Senate to confirm FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, suggesting it was a promised confirmation that has yet to be honored by the other side of the aisle.

Nelson pointed out, and Reid is expected to echo, that at the end of the last Congress (December 2014), Republican FCC commissioner Mike O'Rielly was confirmed without waiting for a Democrat to pair him with in that process on the promise that Republicans would confirm Rosenworcel quickly in the new Congress.

Nelson says that Reid (D-Nev.) told him Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made the promise to then Commerce chairman (and Rosenworcel's former boss) Jay Rockefeller that her nomination would be moved without delay in the new Congress.

Rosenworcel's renomination was unanimously approved by the Commerce Committee late last year, but the full Senate has yet to vote.

The President re-nominated the Democratic commissioner for a new five-year term back in May 2015. Her current term expired in June of 2015, but she could serve until the end of 2016 without renomination.

Rosenworcel joined the commission in 2012, confirmed unanimously by the Senate on that occasion.

Charter Communications CEO Tom Rutledge continued to beat the drum for his company’s $78.7 billion merger with Time Warner Cable, despite growing sentiment against the deal, telling an audience at an industry conference that the cable giant doesn’t need to raise rates to enjoy double-digit revenue growth.

Charter first announced its intention to purchase TWC in May, but has increasingly come under fire from critics who have warned the combined company would create a broadband duopoly with Comcast and dominate high-speed Internet service. Last night (Feb. 29) Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission expressing concern about the new Charter-Comcast duopoly.

“Growing customers is the key to our future,” Rutledge said at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom conference in San Francisco. “We have not been a rate-driven revenue driver business; we’ve been a customer-creating business.”

Rutledge said rate increases made up less than 2% of total revenue growth last year and that Charter has grown video customer penetration from 33.9% in 2013 to 34.7% in 2015 by building a high-quality, service-oriented infrastructure. The idea is to expand that philosophy to Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks.

“Our objective is to take those assets, invest in them, and put a 2-way interface on every outlet,” Rutledge said. “We’re doing fine in Charter, we’ve continued to accelerate, and I think be able to get the new assets doing the same thing.”

He added that despite some recent noise, Charter has been working with both the FCC and the states to work out any issues concerning the combination and that Charter is “reasonably confident” the deals will pass regulatory muster.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has added his name to the Democratic legislators urging the FCC to look hard at the Charter Communications-Time Warner Cable-Bright House Networks deal.

In a letter to attorney general Loretta Lynch and FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, a copy of which was obtained by Multichannel News, Reid predicated his criticism on the argument that there is little competition in high-speed broadband and that further consolidation increases the risk of higher prices and fewer choices.

Reid is a long-time media consolidation critic, including trying to invalidate an FCC ownership deregulation decision in the broadcast space back in 2008.

He said given that the deal would create a Comcast/New Charter broadband duopoly, the FCC needed to examine it closely.

The letter was mostly filled with questions. He pointed to the Comcast/Time Warner Cable deal, which he said the FCC and DOJ had concluded would be more likely together to act as a gatekeeper between customers and content providers.

He said there was a "significant question" about whether the Charter deal has the potential to erect barriers to broadband competition, which he said are "inextricably linked."

He also invoked the relationship between Charter and Liberty Media and said that could not be ignored. The FCC hasn't shown signs of ignoring it, last month getting new info from Charter and Liberty about that relationship.

He even raised some issues with conditions, which the FCC staffers are said to be focusing on as the deal review moves toward an unofficial 180-day deal clock coming due in late March. "While the companies involved in the Charter transaction may commit to mitigating anticompetitive outcomes, I ask that you closely review how effectively such commitments may be enforced." He also suggests that conditions that will eventually expire may not offer "the type of long-term certainty necessary to entice new entrants to this nascent marketplace."

"For months we have worked with state and federal regulators to demonstrate New Charter's plan to add tens of thousands of American jobs, expand broadband access to millions of underserved homes, preserve an open internet and offer fast unlimited broadband at a better value without additional modem fees," said Charter. "We are pleased that Netflix and other key stakeholders across the country have recognized that New Charter will be a 'tremendous positive' for the OVD industry and consumers.'"

Charter posted a blog countering some of the issues being raised by critics in the FCC docket, letters and press releases.