Tom DeLay: FCC Lacks Authority to Repeal TV Ownership Cap

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has asserted that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lacks the legal authority to repeal the national Television Ownership Rule. Despite DeLay's warning, the Trump FCC appears poised to eliminate the rule during its meeting this week.

DeLay detailed in an op-ed how he helped draft the law that restricts any single broadcast station owner from reaching more than 39 percent of all U.S. television households. He argues that only Congress, not the FCC under the current administration, can alter this cap, as the 39 percent limit is codified in federal law and was not determined by the commission itself.

DeLay shared his perspective in an op-ed published by The Daily Wire yesterday, just under three weeks after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced a proposal to abolish the ownership limit. The FCC is scheduled to vote on Carr's proposal this Thursday. Repealing this rule would allow a single entity to acquire more local TV stations, which DeLay contends would diminish local journalism and increase media concentration.