Pallone, Doyle Probe Republican FCC Commissioners' Appearance at CPAC Conference

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Brendan Carr and Mike O’Rielly drew renewed scrutiny Monday for their attendance at the American Conservative Union's February Conservative Political Action Conference, this time from House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa. Carr, O’Rielly and Pai spoke on a panel at CPAC about process and structural changes at the FCC made since the commission shifted to majority-Republican control last year (see 1802230037). The Project on Government Oversight cited O’Rielly’s comment calling for the re-election of President Donald Trump as a potential violation of the Hatch Act, which restricts government officials' partisan political activity (see 1802270035). On the advice of FCC lawyers (see 1803020033), Pai turned down the National Rifle Association's Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire Award, which was awarded at CPAC for his role in and the hostile fallout from the rollback of the FCC’s 2015 net neutrality rules. “Your willingness to attend and help promote a political rally raises serious concerns about your roles as leaders of an independent federal agency, and the potential of taxpayer dollars being spent towards political ends,” Pallone and Doyle said in a letter to the GOP commissioners. “The public should be able to expect that independent agencies” like the FCC “will carry out their responsibilities in a nonpartisan manner.” Since the FCC shifted to majority-GOP control, the commission “has become not only more partisan, but increasingly political,” the Democratic lawmakers said. “Commissioners seem to be using their positions during this administration as a platform to promote and even raise funds towards a political agenda.” Doyle and Pallone noted Pai’s decision to turn down the NRA award, but “we are nonetheless concerned about how an FCC Chair allowed himself to be put in a situation where such an ethically questionable award could be presented to him.” The lawmakers asked the commissioners to respond by April 16 to a series of questions about their decision to attend CPAC, including whether they sought advice from the FCC’s Office of General Counsel about “whether you could attend CPAC under the FCC’s or other relevant ethics rules” and whether they used FCC resources in any way to support their appearance at the event. The FCC didn’t comment, but a commission official noted “many government officials,” including Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and Small Business Administration head Linda McMahon, spoke at CPAC.