By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday voted to approve President Joe Biden's nominee for a key fifth seat on the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), after Democrats have been stymied since 2021 from gaining a majority on the telecommunications regulator.
The committee voted to approve Anna Gomez, a Democratic telecommunications attorney who currently serves as a senior adviser for the State Department's Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy. It also approved new terms for current commissioners Republican Brendan Carr and Democrat Geoffrey Starks.
Since January 2021, the FCC has been deadlocked 2-2, stalling Democrats' efforts to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules revoked under Republican President Donald Trump. The open internet laws seek to bar service providers from blocking or slowing traffic or offering paid internet "fast lanes."
Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell said the nominees could go to the Senate floor for a vote before the August recess.
In July 2021, Biden signed an executive order encouraging the FCC to reinstate net neutrality rules adopted under Democratic President Barack Obama in 2015.
Biden's first nominee for the open seat, former FCC official Gigi Sohn, withdrew in March after three hearings. She blamed industry opponents for scuttling her nomination.
Democrats hold a narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate. Sohn faced strong Republican opposition and saw her unsuccessful nomination await a vote for more than 16 months.
The FCC has been involved in a number of issues surrounding Chinese telecom companies.
The agency has raised mounting concerns about Chinese companies that won permission to operate in the United States decades ago. In 2019, the FCC voted to deny state-owned Chinese telecom firm China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) Ltd the right to provide U.S. services and later withdrew U.S. authorizations for several other Chinese telecom carriers, including China Telecom (NYSE:CHA) Corp.