Newly-appointed Commerce Committee Chairman pledges to end ‘two-year assault’ on telecom

The appointment of Representative Fred Upton (R-Mich.) as Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee was hailed from various quarters of the telecom industry yesterday, as Upton pledged to “strip away the countless job-killing regulations” involving telecom.

Upton has a history of involvement in telecom policy, including a long tenure on the commerce committee’s telecom subcommittee. Among other things, he has introduced legislation to enable telcos to obtain a nationwide cable franchise and to give the FTC the authority to implement and enforce a national Do-Not-Call registry, as well as chairing a subcommittee on Universal Service reform.

Rural roots

Upton has represented a rather rural area of southwestern Michigan that has been hard hit by the economic downturn for 24 years. To put things in perspective, the big city in his district is Kalamazoo (population 250,000).

As National Telecommunications Cooperative Association CEO Shirley Bloomfield noted in a statement released yesterday, that could be good news for small telcos. “Rep. Upton has a keen understanding of the communications needs of rural Americans and the unique challenges faced by small, community-based telcos in delivering on the promise of next-generation services for rural America,” Bloomfield said.

But Upton’s understanding of small carriers did not prevent large carriers from also voicing support. “With his extensive knowledge of telecommunications and his unwavering support for policies that foster investment and job growth, Congressman Upton’s leadership will be invaluable in shaping our country’s broadband future,” said AT&T Executive Vice President of Federal Relations Tim McKone in a statement.

Tough talk from Upton

A statement issued by Upton himself, however, used considerably less “feel good” language than what was used by his telecom industry supporters. In the statement, Upton accused the Obama administration of an “unfettered two-year assault” on the telecommunications sector (along with health and energy) and said that period “is now over.”

Those comments may have been a reference to Net Neutrality, which has been widely opposed by communications carriers. But it is more difficult to read into his comments what he might be thinking about Universal Service reform. Perhaps Upton would include reforms proposed in the National Broadband Plan in what he called the “assault on the telecommunications sector.” On the other hand, he has previously expressed concerns about the increasing costs of the Universal Service fund, which could make it unlikely for him to support expanding the Universal Service program to cover the higher broadband speeds as small telcos have advocated.

In his statement, Upton reiterated his desire to control costs, saying “We will stand firm in our fight to . . . cut reckless spending.”