CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this story, Rep. Mike Turner incorrectly identified the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. It is Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md.
A top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday called for Oversight panel lawmakers to investigate ties between the White House and LightSquared, a wireless start-up mired in accusations that it received special treatment from Democratic officials.
Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, the head of the Strategic Force Subcommittee, voiced his concerns based on a Center for Public Integrity report that highlighted communications between the White House and the wireless firm, which is backed by billionaire Philip Falcone, a major Democratic donor.
The report released on Wednesday said officials from LightSquared frequently reached out to the White House by e-mail as the company pushed for regulatory clearances of its nationwide mobile broadband network. Some of their e-mails cited fundraising efforts for the Democrats while requesting meetings with top administration officials.
“In my capacity as a member of the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, I will be asking Chairman Issa [Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.] and ... [ranking member Elijah Cummings, D-Md.] to promptly investigate this matter,” Turner said at a hearing of the Strategic Force panel.
Conservative activists accused the Federal Communications Commission of giving LightSquared special treatment after the agency granted it a waiver from certain rules earlier this year that would allow it to move forward with its network.
Turner slammed FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski for failing to testify at the Thursday hearing and sending an aide instead.
"I have the unfortunate responsibility to inform the subcommittee that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Genachowski refused to appear today. I must also make clear that I consider the chairman’s failure to show up today to be an affront to the House Armed Services Committee," he said.
Tammy Sun, a spokeswoman for the FCC, downplayed Genachowski's absence and said he did not decline the invite.
"The subcommittee invited the chairman or a designee, they agreed to a designee, and we are pleased that the FCC’s top technical expert will be at the hearing to respond to any questions about interference issues pertaining to LightSquared. We never said that the chairman would not appear," Sun said in an e-mail.
Genachowski has faced critical House lawmakers on various occasions this year, testifying at hearings on FCC reform and net neutrality.
LightSquared is struggling to get its business up and running. Tests show its services interfere with GPS signals, which can compromise critical operations at the Defense Department and other federal agencies. The FCC waiver to LightSquared was contingent on resolving those issues.
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