Net neutrality, internet-for-students advocate awaits Senate confirmation Share
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President Joe Biden has made Democrat FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel acting chairwoman of America s communications regulator.
Rosenworcel needs the Senate s approval before she can take on the role on a permanent basis. Even then the FCC leadership will still be split with two Democrat commissioners and two Republicans until Biden can install a third Democrat, again via the Dem-controlled Senate, to push through changes. Rosenworcel is the second woman to hold the title of acting FCC chairwoman, Mignon Clyburn being the first.
A former Washington DC and Senate Commerce Committee lawyer, Rosenworcel has been an FCC commissioner pretty much since her installation by President Obama in 2012. Rosenworcel, 49, has more than two decades of experience in communications policy and law, and was seen as a natural pick for Biden.
Democrat victories in the Georgia runoffs could mean a major infrastructure bill in the near future.
The sudden flip in the Senate could have transit officials doing spinning cartwheels by the end of 2021.
Both Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, the Democrats who claimed Senate seats after winning Georgia runoffs, are both big advocates of transit and green infrastructure.
The Democrats now hold a slim majority in the Senate, and word is already circulating that a historical infrastructure bill could be passed once the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act expires in September. In fact, the new administration could start pushing for a new bill as early as February. The new Senate also is expected to move on another COVID-19 relief bill, which would mean more money for struggling transit agencies.