Amid lawmaker pressure, FCC plans California outing to probe fires

Driving the news: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) pressed FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in a letter this week to hold a field hearing in his district on the wildfires.

• FCC spokesperson Tina Pelkey told Axios that plans are indeed in the works to hold a hearing in California.

Details: McCarthy said in his letter that a hearing could help inform wildfire-related recommendations the FCC may make upon completing an ongoing review of the voluntary framework that wireless companies formed for bolstering networks' ability to withstand disasters.

• The House Energy & Commerce communications subcommittee held a hearing Thursday focused on network resiliency bills, including legislation from California Democrats that would require the FCC to hold public field hearings in areas affected by disasters.
• The lawmakers who introduce the legislation — Reps. Doris Matsui, Anna Eshoo Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman — also urged Pai in a December letter to include targeted recommendations on wildfire responses in his review of the voluntary framework.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that the FCC simply plans to hold its hearing in California, and not specifically in McCarthy’s district, as we originally wrote.