House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., worries the FCC...

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., worries the FCC “is relegating broadcasting to the past, rather than working to give broadcasters a chance to compete in the modern content marketplace,” he planned to tell the Oregon Association of Broadcasters Friday, according to prepared remarks. Walden enumerated multiple issues of concern around “a number of its actions,” pointing to the agency’s “ban on joint sales agreements, changes to the UHF discount, and a persistent delay in processing those petitions for allocation changes from VHF to UHF filed prior to the Middle Class Tax Relief Act,” all of which are “troubling,” he said. He insisted that broadcasters that do not wish to relinquish spectrum in the broadcast TV incentive auction should be allowed to make that choice. “I intend to ensure that the Commission properly implements the provisions of the Act to preserve a vibrant post-auction broadcast environment,” Walden said. “That includes ensuring that broadcasters who wish to remain broadcasters can do so; ensuring that the FCC makes all reasonable efforts to maintain coverage areas; ensuring that the FCC coordinates with Mexico and Canada; ensuring that the FCC does not unnecessarily impact LPTV and translators; and, ensuring that the FCC raises enough money to compensate stations that return spectrum, to reimburse those that relocate, and to fund FirstNet.” Walden criticized the laws governing broadcasting as particularly old, and slammed the broadcast media ownership rules, saying he plans to take aim at the rules in a planned overhaul of the Communications Act: “It is our intent that the #CommActUpdate take a hard look at the current state of the market and have a serious conversation on how we can remove unnecessary government intrusion into broadcasting and let broadcasters compete in the 21st century.” Walden criticized FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler for “having taken it upon himself to unilaterally ‘reform’ industries without regard for the consequences to consumers, to jobs and the economy, or to the innovation that has been the hallmark of the American communications industry” and referred to the FCC’s “seeming disregard for transparency and process.”