Overnight Regulation: Republicans press attack on net neutrality rules

Welcome to Overnight Regulation, your daily rundown of news from Capitol Hill and beyond. It’s Tuesday evening here in Washington, where Republicans are looking to oust IRS chief John Koskinen, Congress is poised to pass a two-year budget deal, and the Senate just passed its first cyber bill in years. But that’s not all. Here’s the latest:

 

THE BIG STORY

The fight over the Obama administration’s Internet regulations flared again on Tuesday.

{mosads}Republicans pressed a new line of attack against the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing. At the hearing, GOP lawmakers and critics of the rules argued that they are stifling investment in broadband infrastructure.

The Hill’s Mario Trujillo has the full story:

“Republicans, who fiercely oppose the regulations, invited a slate of economists to testify before the Energy and Commerce Committee on the potential harm the rules will have on infrastructure investment from Internet service providers (ISPs) such as AT&T and Comcast.

“‘Clearly, the private sector will continue to invest in broadband build-out and improvements. The question is, will that investment plateau or even decline over time,’ said Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), who leads the subcommittee on communications and technology. 

“The regulations have set off a fierce debate in Washington and around the country, mainly because they reclassify Internet service under ‘common carrier’ authority governing traditional telephone service. 

“The authority is meant to give the FCC more power to enforce net neutrality rules that prevent ISPs from prioritizing any kind of traffic above another. Those rules bar blocking, throttling and paid prioritization. They also include a general conduct standard to guard against novel forms of abuse.” Click here to read more: http://bit.ly/208WxhK

 

ON TAP FOR WEDNESDAY 

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security will hold a hearing to examine retirement plan options for small businesses. http://1.usa.gov/1Whbg5w

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development will hold a hearing on Department of Energy national laboratories.  

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy will hold a hearing to get an update on low-level radioactive waste disposal issues. http://1.usa.gov/1LArsvF

The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence will hold a hearing to discuss how to counter violent extremism in prison and beyond. http://1.usa.gov/1jPfXrv

 

TOMORROW’S REGS TODAY

The Obama administration will publish 173 new regulations, proposed rules, notices and other administrative actions in Wednesday’s edition of the Federal Register.

–The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will issue new home mortgage disclosure rules under the Dodd-Frank financial reform laws.

The mortgage disclosure rules, proposed in the summer of 2014, include new provisions updating which banks and transactions fall under the rules and the data they will be required to collect.

The changes will be phased in over a three-year period beginning Jan. 1, 2017. http://bit.ly/1PPixut

–The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will open a new climate rule to public examination.

The EPA will hold public hearings next month in four cities around the country for the proposed requirements for greenhouse gas emissions from electric utility generating units.

The public hearings will be held in Pittsburgh, Denver, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. starting Nov. 12. http://bit.ly/1H8fipE

–The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will not cover multiple sclerosis as part of the World Trade Center health program.

The World Trade Center health program was established for 9/11 victims who survived the terrorist attacks but were exposed to health hazards that caused problems for them later in life.

A number of petitioners have asked to add multiple sclerosis to the list of diseases covered by the health plan, but HHS continues to deny the requests because it says there is insufficient evidence to show a link between exposure to 9/11 and this condition.

The ruling goes into effect immediately. http://bit.ly/1k7KuQS

 

NEWS RIGHT NOW 

Dems push OSHA to crack down on poultry industry http://bit.ly/1S840bD

Meat industry criticizes WHO report linking processed meats to cancer http://bit.ly/1k7KJeG

Wal-Mart asks permission to fly drones – The Hill’s Keith Laing http://bit.ly/1RzRTDg

Feds to ban e-cigarettes in checked airline luggage – The Hill’s Keith Laing http://bit.ly/1XxpeCD

More than 100,000 federal employees to get special pay boost – The Washington Post http://wapo.st/1MgRwcx

Hispanic share of federal workforce continues increase – The Washington Post http://wapo.st/1idhYfp

FBI to investigate S.C. school incident caught on video – USA Today http://usat.ly/1OUDYKe

 

BY THE NUMBERS

422: The number of backup tapes that may have contained emails from former IRS official Lois Lerner, which new tax chief John Koskinen failed to preserve.

25: The number of explosions or fires caused by electronic cigarettes between 2009 and 2014.

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We know people have been consuming meat for forever,” Shalene McNeill, a registered dietician and nutrition scientist for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, said in response to the WHO report linking processed meats like bacon to an increased risk of colon cancer. The meat industry is hitting back at the report’s findings.

 

We’ll work to stay on top of these and other stories throughout the week, so check The Hill’s Regulation page (http://digital-staging.thehill.com/regulation) early and often for the latest. And send any comments, complaints or regulatory news tips our way, tdevaney@digital-staging.thehill.com or lwheeler@digital-staging.thehill.com. And follow us at @timdevaney and@wheelerlydia.

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