[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 168 (Monday, November 16, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H8182-H8185]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION PROCESS REFORM ACT OF 2015

  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2583) to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for 
greater transparency and efficiency in the procedures followed by the 
Federal Communications Commission, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2583

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Communications 
     Commission Process Reform Act of 2015''.

     SEC. 2. FCC PROCESS REFORM.

       (a) In General.--Title I of the Communications Act of 1934 
     (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 13. TRANSPARENCY AND EFFICIENCY.

       ``(a) Initial Rulemaking and Inquiry.--
       ``(1) Rulemaking.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     the enactment of the Federal Communications Commission 
     Process Reform Act of 2015, the Commission shall complete a 
     rulemaking proceeding and adopt procedural changes to its 
     rules to maximize opportunities for public participation and 
     efficient decisionmaking.
       ``(2) Requirements for rulemaking.--The rules adopted under 
     paragraph (1) shall--
       ``(A) set minimum comment periods for comment and reply 
     comment, subject to a determination by the Commission that 
     good cause exists for departing from such minimum comment 
     periods, for--
       ``(i) significant regulatory actions, as defined in 
     Executive Order No. 12866; and
       ``(ii) all other rulemaking proceedings;
       ``(B) establish policies concerning the submission of 
     extensive new comments, data, or reports towards the end of 
     the comment period;
       ``(C) establish policies regarding treatment of comments, 
     ex parte communications, and data or reports (including 
     statistical reports and reports to Congress) submitted after 
     the comment period to ensure that the public has adequate 
     notice of and opportunity to respond to such submissions 
     before the Commission relies on such submissions in any 
     order, decision, report, or action;
       ``(D) establish procedures for, not later than 14 days 
     after the end of each quarter of a calendar year (or more 
     frequently, as the Commission considers appropriate), 
     publishing on the Internet website of the Commission and 
     submitting to Congress a report that contains--
       ``(i) the status of open rulemaking proceedings and 
     proposed orders, decisions, reports, or actions on 
     circulation for review by the Commissioners, including which 
     Commissioners have not cast a vote on an order, decision, 
     report, or action that has been on circulation for more than 
     60 days;
       ``(ii) for the petitions, applications, complaints, and 
     other requests for action by the Commission that were pending 
     at the Commission on the last day of such quarter (or more 
     frequent period, as the case may be)--

       ``(I) the number of such requests, broken down by the 
     bureau primarily responsible for action and, for each bureau, 
     the type of request (such as a petition, application, or 
     complaint); and
       ``(II) information regarding the amount of time for which 
     such requests have been pending, broken down as described in 
     subclause (I); and

       ``(iii) a list of the congressional investigations of the 
     Commission that were pending on the last day of such quarter 
     (or more frequent period, as the case may be) and the cost of 
     such investigations, individually and in the aggregate;
       ``(E) establish deadlines (relative to the date of filing) 
     for--
       ``(i) in the case of a petition for a declaratory ruling 
     under section 1.2 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, 
     issuing a public notice of such petition;
       ``(ii) in the case of a petition for rulemaking under 
     section 1.401 of such title, issuing a public notice of such 
     petition; and
       ``(iii) in the case of a petition for reconsideration under 
     section 1.106 or 1.429 of such title or an application for 
     review under section 1.115 of such title, issuing a public 
     notice of a decision on the petition or application by the 
     Commission or under delegated authority (as the case may be);
       ``(F) establish guidelines (relative to the date of filing) 
     for the disposition of petitions filed under section 1.2 of 
     such title;
       ``(G) establish procedures for the inclusion of the 
     specific language of the proposed rule or the proposed 
     amendment of an existing rule in a notice of proposed 
     rulemaking; and
       ``(H) require notices of proposed rulemaking and orders 
     adopting a rule or amending an existing rule that--
       ``(i) create (or propose to create) a program activity to 
     contain performance measures for evaluating the effectiveness 
     of the program activity; and
       ``(ii) substantially change (or propose to substantially 
     change) a program activity to contain--

       ``(I) performance measures for evaluating the effectiveness 
     of the program activity as changed (or proposed to be 
     changed); or
       ``(II) a finding that existing performance measures will 
     effectively evaluate the program activity as changed (or 
     proposed to be changed).

       ``(3) Inquiry.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
     enactment of the Federal Communications Commission Process 
     Reform Act of 2015, the Commission shall complete an inquiry 
     to seek public comment on whether and how the Commission 
     should--
       ``(A) establish procedures for allowing a bipartisan 
     majority of Commissioners to place an order, decision, 
     report, or action on the agenda of an open meeting;
       ``(B) establish procedures for informing all Commissioners 
     of a reasonable number of options available to the Commission 
     for resolving a petition, complaint, application, rulemaking, 
     or other proceeding;
       ``(C) establish procedures for ensuring that all 
     Commissioners have adequate time, prior to being required to 
     decide a petition, complaint, application, rulemaking, or 
     other proceeding (including at a meeting held pursuant to 
     section 5(d)), to review the proposed Commission decision 
     document, including the specific language of any proposed 
     rule or any proposed amendment of an existing rule;
       ``(D) establish procedures for publishing the text of 
     agenda items to be voted on at an open meeting in advance of 
     such meeting so that the public has the opportunity to read 
     the text before a vote is taken;
       ``(E) establish deadlines (relative to the date of filing) 
     for disposition of applications for a license under section 
     1.913 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations;
       ``(F) assign resources needed in order to meet the 
     deadlines described in subparagraph (E), including whether 
     the Commission's ability to meet such deadlines would be 
     enhanced by assessing a fee from applicants for such a 
     license; and
       ``(G) publish each order, decision, report, or action not 
     later than 30 days after the date of the adoption of such 
     order, decision, report, or action.
       ``(4) Data for performance measures.--The Commission shall 
     develop a performance measure or proposed performance measure 
     required by this subsection to rely, where possible, on data 
     already collected by the Commission.
       ``(5) GAO audit.--Not less frequently than every 6 months, 
     the Comptroller General of the United States shall audit the 
     cost estimates provided by the Commission under paragraph 
     (2)(D)(iii) during the preceding 6-month period.
       ``(b) Periodic Review.--On the date that is 5 years after 
     the completion of the rulemaking proceeding under subsection 
     (a)(1), and every 5 years thereafter, the Commission shall 
     initiate a new rulemaking proceeding to continue to consider 
     such procedural changes to its rules as may be in the public 
     interest to maximize opportunities for public participation 
     and efficient decisionmaking.
       ``(c) Nonpublic Collaborative Discussions.--
       ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 552b of title 5, 
     United States Code, a bipartisan majority of Commissioners 
     may hold a meeting that is closed to the public to discuss 
     official business if--
       ``(A) a vote or any other agency action is not taken at 
     such meeting;
       ``(B) each person present at such meeting is a 
     Commissioner, an employee of the Commission, a member of a 
     joint board or conference established under section 410, or a 
     person on the staff of such a joint board or conference or of 
     a member of such a joint board or conference; and
       ``(C) an attorney from the Office of General Counsel of the 
     Commission is present at such meeting.
       ``(2) Disclosure of nonpublic collaborative discussions.--
     Not later than 2 business days after the conclusion of a 
     meeting held under paragraph (1), the Commission

[[Page H8183]]

     shall publish a disclosure of such meeting, including--
       ``(A) a list of the persons who attended such meeting; and
       ``(B) a summary of the matters discussed at such meeting, 
     except for such matters as the Commission determines may be 
     withheld under section 552b(c) of title 5, United States 
     Code.
       ``(3) Preservation of open meetings requirements for agency 
     action.--Nothing in this subsection shall limit the 
     applicability of section 552b of title 5, United States Code, 
     with respect to a meeting of Commissioners other than that 
     described in paragraph (1).
       ``(d) Access to Certain Information on Commission's 
     Website.--The Commission shall provide direct access from the 
     homepage of its website to--
       ``(1) detailed information regarding--
       ``(A) the budget of the Commission for the current fiscal 
     year;
       ``(B) the appropriations for the Commission for such fiscal 
     year; and
       ``(C) the total number of full-time equivalent employees of 
     the Commission; and
       ``(2) the performance plan most recently made available by 
     the Commission under section 1115(b) of title 31, United 
     States Code.
       ``(e) Internet Publication of Certain FCC Policies and 
     Procedures.--The chairman of the Commission shall--
       ``(1) publish on the Internet website of the Commission any 
     policies or procedures of the Commission that--
       ``(A) are established by the chairman; and
       ``(B) relate to the functioning of the Commission or the 
     handling of the agenda of the Commission; and
       ``(2) update such publication not later than 48 hours after 
     the chairman makes changes to any such policies or 
     procedures.
       ``(f) Federal Register Publication.--
       ``(1) In general.--In the case of any document adopted by 
     the Commission that the Commission is required, under any 
     provision of law, to publish in the Federal Register, the 
     Commission shall, not later than the date described in 
     paragraph (2), complete all Commission actions necessary for 
     such document to be so published.
       ``(2) Date described.--The date described in this paragraph 
     is the earlier of--
       ``(A) the day that is 45 days after the date of the release 
     of the document; or
       ``(B) the day by which such actions must be completed to 
     comply with any deadline under any other provision of law.
       ``(3) No effect on deadlines for publication in other 
     form.--In the case of a deadline that does not specify that 
     the form of publication is publication in the Federal 
     Register, the Commission may comply with such deadline by 
     publishing the document in another form. Such other form of 
     publication does not relieve the Commission of any Federal 
     Register publication requirement applicable to such document, 
     including the requirement of paragraph (1).
       ``(g) Consumer Complaint Database.--
       ``(1) In general.--In evaluating and processing consumer 
     complaints, the Commission shall present information about 
     such complaints in a publicly available, searchable database 
     on its website that--
       ``(A) facilitates easy use by consumers; and
       ``(B) to the extent practicable, is sortable and accessible 
     by--
       ``(i) the date of the filing of the complaint;
       ``(ii) the topic of the complaint;
       ``(iii) the party complained of; and
       ``(iv) other elements that the Commission considers in the 
     public interest.
       ``(2) Duplicative complaints.--In the case of multiple 
     complaints arising from the same alleged misconduct, the 
     Commission shall be required to include only information 
     concerning one such complaint in the database described in 
     paragraph (1).
       ``(h) Form of Publication.--
       ``(1) In general.--In complying with a requirement of this 
     section to publish a document, the Commission shall publish 
     such document on its website, in addition to publishing such 
     document in any other form that the Commission is required to 
     use or is permitted to and chooses to use.
       ``(2) Exception.--The Commission shall by rule establish 
     procedures for redacting documents required to be published 
     by this section so that the published versions of such 
     documents do not contain--
       ``(A) information the publication of which would be 
     detrimental to national security, homeland security, law 
     enforcement, or public safety; or
       ``(B) information that is proprietary or confidential.
       ``(i) Transparency Relating to Performance in Meeting FOIA 
     Requirements.--The Commission shall take additional steps to 
     inform the public about its performance and efficiency in 
     meeting the disclosure and other requirements of section 552 
     of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the 
     Freedom of Information Act), including by doing the 
     following:
       ``(1) Publishing on the Commission's website the 
     Commission's logs for tracking, responding to, and managing 
     requests submitted under such section, including the 
     Commission's fee estimates, fee categories, and fee request 
     determinations.
       ``(2) Releasing to the public all decisions made by the 
     Commission (including decisions made by the Commission's 
     Bureaus and Offices) granting or denying requests filed under 
     such section, including any such decisions pertaining to the 
     estimate and application of fees assessed under such section.
       ``(3) Publishing on the Commission's website electronic 
     copies of documents released under such section.
       ``(4) Presenting information about the Commission's 
     handling of requests under such section in the Commission's 
     annual budget estimates submitted to Congress and the 
     Commission's annual performance and financial reports. Such 
     information shall include the number of requests under such 
     section the Commission received in the most recent fiscal 
     year, the number of such requests granted and denied, a 
     comparison of the Commission's processing of such requests 
     over at least the previous 3 fiscal years, and a comparison 
     of the Commission's results with the most recent average for 
     the United States Government as published on www.foia.gov.
 ``(j) Prompt Release of Statistical Reports and Reports to 
     Congress.--Not later than January 15th of each year, the 
     Commission shall identify, catalog, and publish an 
     anticipated release schedule for all statistical reports and 
     reports to Congress that are regularly or intermittently 
     released by the Commission and will be released during such 
     year.
       ``(k) Annual Scorecard Reports.--
       ``(1) In general.--For the 1-year period beginning on 
     January 1st of each year, the Commission shall prepare a 
     report on the performance of the Commission in conducting its 
     proceedings and meeting the deadlines established under 
     subsection (a)(2)(E) and the guidelines established under 
     subsection (a)(2)(F).
       ``(2) Contents.--Each report required by paragraph (1) 
     shall contain detailed statistics on such performance, 
     including, with respect to each Bureau of the Commission--
       ``(A) with respect to each type of filing specified in 
     subsection (a)(2)(E) or (a)(2)(F)--
       ``(i) the number of filings that were pending on the last 
     day of the period covered by such report;
       ``(ii) the number of filings described in clause (i) for 
     which each applicable deadline or guideline established under 
     such subsection was not met and the average length of time 
     such filings have been pending; and
       ``(iii) for filings that were resolved during such period, 
     the average time between initiation and resolution and the 
     percentage for which each applicable deadline or guideline 
     established under such subsection was met;
       ``(B) with respect to proceedings before an administrative 
     law judge--
       ``(i) the number of such proceedings completed during such 
     period; and
       ``(ii) the number of such proceedings pending on the last 
     day of such period; and
       ``(C) the number of independent studies or analyses 
     published by the Commission during such period.
       ``(3) Publication and submission.--The Commission shall 
     publish and submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 
     the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation of the Senate each report 
     required by paragraph (1) not later than the date that is 30 
     days after the last day of the period covered by such report.
       ``(l) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Amendment.--The term `amendment' includes, when used 
     with respect to an existing rule, the deletion of such rule.
       ``(2) Bipartisan majority.--The term `bipartisan majority' 
     means, when used with respect to a group of Commissioners, 
     that such group--
       ``(A) is a group of 3 or more Commissioners; and
       ``(B) includes, for each political party of which any 
     Commissioner is a member, at least 1 Commissioner who is a 
     member of such political party, and, if any Commissioner has 
     no political party affiliation, at least one unaffiliated 
     Commissioner.
       ``(3) Performance measure.--The term `performance measure' 
     means an objective and quantifiable outcome measure or output 
     measure (as such terms are defined in section 1115 of title 
     31, United States Code).
       ``(4) Program activity.--The term `program activity' has 
     the meaning given such term in section 1115 of title 31, 
     United States Code, except that such term also includes any 
     annual collection or distribution or related series of 
     collections or distributions by the Commission of an amount 
     that is greater than or equal to $100,000,000.
       ``(5) Other definitions.--The terms `agency action', `ex 
     parte communication', and `rule' have the meanings given such 
     terms in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.''.
       (b) Effective Dates and Implementing Rules.--
       (1) Effective dates.--
       (A) Nonpublic collaborative discussions.--Subsection (c) of 
     section 13 of the Communications Act of 1934, as added by 
     subsection (a), shall apply beginning on the first date on 
     which all of the procedural changes to the rules of the 
     Federal Communications Commission required by subsection 
     (a)(1) of such section have taken effect.
       (B) Report release schedules.--Subsection (j) of such 
     section 13 shall apply with respect to 2016 and any year 
     thereafter.
       (C) Annual scorecard reports.--Subsection (k) of such 
     section 13 shall apply with respect to 2015 and any year 
     thereafter.
       (D) Internet publication of certain fcc policies and 
     procedures.--Subsection (e) of such section 13 shall apply 
     beginning on the date that is 30 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.

[[Page H8184]]

       (2) Rules.--Except as otherwise provided in such section 
     13, the Federal Communications Commission shall promulgate 
     any rules necessary to carry out such section not later than 
     1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 3. CATEGORIZATION OF TCPA INQUIRIES AND COMPLAINTS IN 
                   QUARTERLY REPORT.

       In compiling its quarterly report with respect to informal 
     consumer inquiries and complaints, the Federal Communications 
     Commission may not categorize an inquiry or complaint with 
     respect to section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
     U.S.C. 227) as being a wireline inquiry or complaint or a 
     wireless inquiry or complaint unless the party whose conduct 
     is the subject of the inquiry or complaint is a wireline 
     carrier or a wireless carrier, respectively.

     SEC. 4. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.

       Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act 
     shall relieve the Federal Communications Commission from any 
     obligations under title 5, United States Code, except where 
     otherwise expressly provided.

     SEC. 5. APPLICATION OF ANTIDEFICIENCY ACT TO UNIVERSAL 
                   SERVICE PROGRAM.

       Section 302 of Public Law 108-494 (118 Stat. 3998) is 
     amended by striking ``December 31, 2016'' each place it 
     appears and inserting ``December 31, 2020''.

     SEC. 6. REPORT ON IMPROVING SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN 
                   FCC PROCEEDINGS.

       Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Federal Communications Commission, in 
     consultation with the Administrator of the Small Business 
     Administration, shall submit to Congress a report on--
       (1) actions that the Commission will take to improve the 
     participation of small businesses in the proceedings of the 
     Commission; and
       (2) recommendations for any legislation that the Commission 
     considers appropriate to improve such participation.

     SEC. 7. EXCLUSION FROM PAYGO SCORECARDS.

       (a) Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Scorecards.--The budgetary 
     effects of this Act shall not be entered on either PAYGO 
     scorecard maintained pursuant to section 4(d) of the 
     Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.
       (b) Senate PAYGO Scorecards.--The budgetary effects of this 
     Act shall not be entered on any PAYGO scorecard maintained 
     for purposes of section 201 of S. Con. Res. 21 (110th 
     Congress).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Walden) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oregon.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous material into the Record on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Oregon?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Today marks the third time in 4 years that a variation of the FCC 
Process Reform Act has come to the floor for a vote. This is a sign of 
how seriously in need of reform the FCC's procedures are and how 
seriously I, and the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, 
take the responsibility of helping put these reforms in place.
  This bill is the product of a multiyear, bipartisan legislative 
process, bringing us to a place where we can at least begin to create a 
framework for more transparent and predictable rulemakings at the 
Federal Communications Commission.
  There are few other industries that have shown such high levels of 
innovation and investment as the communications and technology sector. 
Think of the developments in smartphones alone over the past few years, 
Mr. Speaker. The only way to guarantee that this continues is to make 
sure that the agency that regulates the industry is accountable and 
transparent so that the regulatory tangles do not impede the steady 
march of new and exciting innovations and offerings.
  The Subcommittee on Communications and Technology has spent a great 
deal of time on agency reform. In fact, tomorrow we will have the 
entire FCC before our committee once again. We have come to a consensus 
on how we can best improve the processes at the Federal Communications 
Commission without tying the agency's hands unnecessarily. It has been 
a focus of our work.
  Our bipartisan compromise requires that the FCC undertake a 
rulemaking to adopt minimum time periods for comments and to adopt 
rules that prevent the introduction of large amounts of data--we call 
those data dumps, where enormous amounts of information come in at the 
last minute and nobody has a chance to understand what is in it or 
comment effectively on it, sometimes even catching commissioners by 
surprise--at the very end of a comment period.
  The new Commission rules must put into place specific deadlines and 
timeframes for agency decisions or action on different types of filings 
before the agency. I know all too well what those deadlines and delays 
can be. My wife and I were broadcasters for more than two decades. We 
actually had applications sit at the FCC for nearly 10 years without 
any action. Finally, they were acted upon, and we were given 30 days to 
implement them. This isn't acceptable. There must be predictability and 
certainty for those who rely on the FCC to make decisions central to 
their businesses.
  In addition to the rulemaking, the FCC must also conduct an inquiry 
into more complex issues, giving them flexibility in deciding whether 
and how to implement the reforms. We aren't looking to, again, 
hamstring this agency. We simply are providing them with goals and 
allowing them to determine the best way to achieve them. That is our 
job as the oversight committee over an agency.
  Process reform is not about the actions of one party and it is not 
about the actions of one chairman. This is about putting rules into 
place that will carry over from one administration to the next, one 
party to the next, one chairman to the next, creating consistency and 
certainty for the many that are subject to the Commission's rules. I 
believe there must be some kind of accountability for our independent 
agencies and the decisions that they make. After all, it is the 
public's business that they are conducting.
  While there is still much work needed to be done on reforming the 
procedures at this sometimes broken agency, this bill represents a 
vital first step in that process. The communications industry and, more 
importantly, the American people, deserve a transparent and accountable 
Federal agency, no matter who is in charge.
  For the second consecutive Congress, I am proud to bring this 
bipartisan work to the House floor. I thank my Democratic colleague, 
Ranking Member Pallone, who I know will speak on this bill; Ranking 
Member Eshoo, who has been a terrific partner as we have worked on 
this; Representatives Matsui, Clarke, and Loebsack for their 
contributions to this bill; and staff on both sides of the aisle, David 
Redl, Grace Koh, Kelsey Guyselman, Gene Fullano, David Goldman, Lori 
Maarbjerg, and David Grossman, for their hard work. I urge my 
colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2583, the Federal 
Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2015.
  The FCC has a role in regulating industries that make up one-sixth of 
our economy and whose services have been essential to consumers, and it 
is important that the FCC functions in a fast, efficient, and 
transparent way.
  The FCC Chairman has made process reform a priority of his tenure, 
and he has made great strides in improving how the FCC functions. But 
it is the role of Congress to make adjustments like we are doing today. 
I believe that the final text of the bill we are considering today will 
achieve that goal, and I urge all Members to support it.
  Not all of the issues in the FCC Process Reform Act are new. In fact, 
the base of the bill being considered here today is very similar to the 
bill that passed the House under suspension by voice vote last 
Congress. It requires the FCC to adopt procedural rule changes to 
maximize public participation and to look into other potential process 
changes, including whether to establish deadlines for application 
processing. It also includes the provisions of the FCC Collaboration 
Act, an issue championed by Representative Eshoo, which will allow 
commissioners to freely discuss FCC issues with sufficient safeguards 
to protect against abuse.

[[Page H8185]]

  Democrats offered additional suggestions earlier this year when the 
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology considered this and other 
bills aimed at FCC process reform. The ideas of subcommittee members 
Clarke, Loebsack, and Matsui furthered our goal to help make the FCC 
fast, efficient, and transparent.
  The simple suggestions were to, one, require the FCC to provide 
quarterly reports on pending items with the agency to ensure 
accountability and timely responses; two, require, the FCC to 
coordinate with the Small Business Administration to improve small-
business participation in FCC proceedings; and, third, require the FCC 
Chairman to publicly post the agency's internal policies and procedures 
for greater transparency.
  Although we could not agree on the policies offered by the 
Republicans and dissented from the version of the bill that was 
favorably reported from the Energy and Commerce Committee in June, we 
worked in a bipartisan manner to craft the language that we take up 
today. This version of the bill takes the bipartisan language from last 
Congress and includes most of the Democratic suggestions that improve 
the bill.
  I appreciate Chairman Upton and Chairman Walden's willingness to 
listen to our concerns and work with us to achieve a bipartisan result. 
It is a stronger bill because of it.
  I also want to thank Communications and Technology Subcommittee 
Ranking Member Anna Eshoo for her leadership on these issues, as well 
as Representatives Clarke, Loebsack, and Matsui, for their thoughtful 
considerations. I look forward to continuing to work with our 
Republican and Democratic colleagues in the Senate to help this bill 
become law. Again, I urge its passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to thank my colleague from New Jersey and his staff for the 
great work on this legislation. I also meant to thank Mr. Kinzinger 
from Illinois as well, who has been very active on our subcommittee. He 
has done great work on this measure and some of its very important 
provisions. I left him out earlier today. I want to thank him as well. 
I also thank the staff and my colleagues. I urge passage in the House.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I think this is a fine piece of work. I think it 
will result in the Federal Communications Commission being even better 
and more transparent as it conducts the public's business. I look 
forward to this bill moving on across the Chamber and to the Senate 
where, hopefully, this year they will take it up. So I ask for its 
approval.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2583, the 
Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2015, a 
bipartisan bill aimed at giving the FCC flexibility while promoting 
openness, transparency and accountability.
  In the 113th Congress, the House of Representatives considered and 
passed similar legislation by voice vote. The bill before us adds to 
the previously included reforms by including three legislative 
proposals offered during the Energy & Commerce Committee's debate.
  First, a proposal offered by Rep. Clarke would require the FCC to 
report quarterly to Congress and to post, on its website, data on the 
total number of decisions pending, categorized by bureau, the type of 
request, the length of time pending, as well as a list of pending 
Congressional investigations and their costs to the agency.
  Second, a proposal by Rep. Loebsack would require the Chairman to 
post the Commission's internal procedures on the FCC website and update 
the website when the Chairman makes any changes.
  Third, the underlying bill includes a proposal offered by Rep. Matsui 
which would require the FCC to coordinate with the Small Business 
Administration and issue recommendations to improve small business 
participation in FCC proceedings.
  Collectively the proposals by Reps. Clarke, Loebsack and Matsui would 
modernize and enhance transparency at the FCC without jeopardizing 
regulatory certainty or opening the Commission to legal challenges on 
every agency action.
  I'm also pleased that the bill incorporates the FCC Collaboration Act 
of 2015, a bipartisan bill I introduced earlier this year with Reps. 
Shimkus and Doyle. For years, current and former FCC Commissioners have 
called on Congress to pass `sunshine reform,' so that three or more 
Commissioners can hold non-public collaborative discussions, as long as 
no agency action is taken. While I remain disappointed that this 
provision will not take effect immediately upon enactment, I've 
concluded that any further delay in implementation is the unnecessary 
delay of a much needed reform.
  I thank Chairman Walden for working with me and my staff to put 
forward a bipartisan bill and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 
2583.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 2583, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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