Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, proposed changing a law that freed Verizon Communications Inc. from price controls last year without a vote by regulators.

The measure would "eliminate regulatory gamesmanship, promote reasoned decision-making and restore fidelity to democratic principles," Inouye said yesterday in an e-mailed statement.

Inouye heads the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees the Federal Communications Commission.

Inouye's proposal builds on a congressional effort to prevent telephone companies from winning regulatory exemptions by default, without an FCC vote.

Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced similar legislation in October.

Verizon, the second-biggest U.S. phone company, automatically won exemptions, known as forbearance, in March 2006 after a deadlocked FCC missed a statutory deadline for voting on the company's request. The action freed Verizon from rules governing how it sells high-speed data services to rivals.

A U.S. appeals court upheld Verizon's exemption last week. By failing to vote, the FCC neither granted nor denied the company's petition, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington said in its decision.

"In those instances in which the commission does not deny a forbearance petition, Congress has spelled out the legal effect: The petition shall be deemed granted," the court said.

Inouye said the court's ruling "underscores" the need for Congress to change the law so that companies can't win future exemptions without an FCC vote.

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