Democrats in both chambers back the FCC’s stance...

Democrats in both chambers back the FCC’s stance on pre-empting state laws restricting municipal broadband, several told FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in a letter Friday (http://1.usa.gov/1iNPIPW). Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., led the letter. It was also signed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., plus House Commerce Committee ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. The FCC should “utilize the full arsenal of tools” Congress gave it, and local communities should decide for themselves whether they'll build municipal networks, the Democrats said, asking Wheeler to tell them his plans within 30 days. Republicans have attacked the FCC for floating this proposal, saying it violates state sovereignty.