House Energy & Commerce Committee leaders last month announced their play for a year-long inquiry into updating communications law, saying they were looking for input.
They got it from Randolph May, president of the Free State Foundation, who penned an op ed in the Washington Times this week emphasizing the need for the inquiry, but also one that, while deliberative, was not endless and indeed resulted in changes in the law.
The committee press office Thursday made sure that piece got noticed, sending out an alert and link to the piece and tweeting a link from the committee's new regulatory revamp Twitter handle, #CommActUpdate (Communications Subcommittee Chairman Gred Walden (R-Ore.) also tweeted a link to the piece.
May who himself is a former FCC official, said that committee effort should not be overlooked.
"In light of the remarkable marketplace changes since the Communications Act was last revised, the updating process that Mr. Upton and Mr. Walden have announced is certainly welcome," wrote May, who has longed called for an overhaul of regulations tailored to a market that no longer exists. But he also added a note of urgency.
"Of course, the review needs to be deliberative," he said of what appears to be a multi-yaer effort. "But given the competitive changes that already have occurred in the communications marketplace — and that continue to occur at a rapid pace — deliberative should not be allowed to turn into never-ending."
