Senators Warn FCC To Keep Hands Off Cable Industry

Four Republican senators sent a letter Monday to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin, expressing their “deep concern” over proposed reforms that would impose tighter regulations on the cable industry.

The senators said the FCC's proposed new regulations would “interfere with the marketplace and potentially undermine” congressional authority to regulate the industry.

“If there is to be a fundamental shift or adoption of new regulatory policies, it is up to Congress, not the commission, to implement it,” the letter stated.

Republican Sens. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas, John Sununu of New Hampshire and Gordon Smith of Oregon signed the letter, which urged the FCC to continue its hands-off approach to the industry.

The FCC is set to vote Tuesday on a report proposed by Martin that would give the commission expanded powers over the industry, including the ability to force cable companies to lower rates and force them to settle carriage disputes, such the battle over the NFL Network which drew congressional attention earlier this year.

It is unclear how the five-member commission will decide the issue, with Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein, a Democrat, seen as the swing vote.