Cruz Holds Up Vote on FCC Chairman After Citing Political Speech [View all]

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Source: Bloomberg

Republican Senator Ted Cruz blocked Tom Wheeler’s nomination to be chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission after asking whether the Democrat would use the agency to regulate political speech.

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“Yes, the senator is holding the nominee,” Sean Rushton, a spokesman for Cruz, said in an e-mail today. Senators can by tradition singlehandedly stall consideration of a presidential appointee.

Cruz, of Texas, in a June hearing asked Wheeler to say whether the agency could regulate political speech or implement rules proposed under last year’s failed Disclose Act. The bill opposed by Republicans would have required nonprofit groups to reveal who pays for their political advertisements.

Cruz wants to know Wheeler’s views on implementing the Disclose Act by administrative action, Rushton said. Cruz wants to speak soon with Wheeler, he said.

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Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-17/cruz-holds-up-vote-on-fcc-chairman-after-citing-political-speech.html