WASHINGTON, D.C. -

ACA International, the association of credit and collection professionals, recapped that members of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology pushed ahead seven bills designed to improve transparency and consumer access to the Federal Communications Commission’s decision-making process. The measures advanced after a hearing last week.

Subcommittee Chairman U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) said the FCC needs more structure and to function in an “effective, transparent manner.”

During his opening statement at the hearing, Walden asserted, “We have seen enough to know that the FCC falls short of the standard for a well-run agency.”

The bills approved by the subcommittee include:

— The FCC Process Reform Act, authored by Walden and Reps. Anna Eschoo (D-Calif.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) The act aims to increase transparency and predictability at the commission. The draft bill was approved by a voice vote.

— A draft bill from U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) that 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. The draft bill was approved by a voice vote.

— A draft bill from U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) that would require the FCC to coordinate with the Small Business Administration and issue recommendations to improve small business participating in FCC proceedings. The draft bill was approved by a voice vote.

— A bill offered by Communications and Technology Subcommittee Vice Chairman Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) that would require the FCC to publish a list of items that are placed on delegated authority that is decided at the bureau level in lieu of a commission vote. The draft bill was approved by a vote of 16-12.

— A bill offered by Kinzinger that would require the FCC to publish a draft of a rulemaking, order report or any other action when it is circulated to the commissioners for a vote. The bill does not prevent the FCC from making changes to the item after it has been circulated, but it allows the public to see what the chairman is proposing to the rest of the commission. The draft bill was approved by a voice vote.

— A bill offered by Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) that would require the FCC to publish new rules on the same day that they are adopted. The draft bill was approved by a vote of 17-13.

— A draft bill authored by Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) that would require the FCC to provide quarterly reports to Congress and post data on the total number of decisions pending categorized by the bureau, the type of request and how long the requests have been pending on the FCC website. The draft bill was approved by a voice vote.

“Rep. Clarke’s draft bill would ensure that the public knows how much process the FCC has made on the public’s requests for action; it will be harder for the agency to bury delays and hope they go unnoticed,” Walden said.

Walden also offered his projection of how the House measure might proceed going forward.

“We hope to reconcile these very good draft bills with the more extensive process reform bill that both the ranking member [Rep. Eschoo] and I supported last Congress,” Walden said. “This bill would put more structure around rulemakings and rein in the delays — good government policies that the bill requires the FCC to structure for itself.

“These bills all go to the same purpose — to tighten up an agency where only insiders know how to work the levers; to shine light into the dark corners of the FCC,” he went on to say. “Sunlight is nonpartisan and will show up bad behavior on either side of the aisle.

“These bills are a good way to instill lasting reform at an agency that impacts us all so deeply, regardless of who sits in the chair,” Walden added.

More details about the bills can be found here.