Enough Already: It's Time for the Senate to Seat a Fully Functional FCC

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, the Senate Commerce Committee will convene to consider the nomination of Anna Gomez to fill the fifth and final seat at the Federal Communications Commission. Gomez is a State Department senior technology adviser, and former FCC and NTIA official and attorney. The committee will also consider the renomination of Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Brendan Carr, who are both nearing the end of their respective terms at the agency.

The FCC has remained in an unprecedented 2–2 deadlock since January 2021, the result of efforts by the phone, cable and broadcast lobbies to hamstring the agency that oversees their businesses. Gomez’s confirmation would finally restore the agency’s full complement of commissioners and provide a tie-breaking vote.

Free Press Action Policy Director Joshua Stager said:

“The FCC has been deadlocked for two-and-a-half years, a long and frustrating delay that is without precedent in the modern history of this agency. President Biden campaigned on the promise of restoring Net Neutrality and signed into law a historic broadband-infrastructure package, but his party hasn’t had a majority vote at the FCC for the entirety of his term. It’s time for that to change.

“Anna Gomez has a long track record of public service and is eminently qualified to serve on the FCC. She would also be the first Latinx FCC commissioner in more than two decades. We’re also pleased to see that President Biden renominated Geoffrey Starks, who has been a successful and effective commissioner and deserves speedy confirmation before his term expires at the end of the year.

“We applaud Chair Cantwell for moving quickly to confirm these nominees with today’s hearing. We urge all senators on the Commerce Committee to support these nominees and vote them out of committee before departing for the August recess. We’ve waited far too long for a fully functional FCC, and there’s no time to waste.”