Majority Statement

• Daniel K. Inouye

  Senator
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  Majority Statement

  Daniel K. Inouye

  It’s an exciting time for communications. We are seeing dramatic changes in the way we communicate, conduct business, educate, and entertain ourselves in this country. The future of communications holds tremendous promise, but this promise does not come without risk. As public servants, both here in Congress and on the Commission, we are challenged to ensure that our communications markets evolve in a manner that serves the public interest. We must foster an environment where consumers have choices, where businesses have opportunities, and where the rules of the regulatory road are clear. 

   

  A transparent regulatory process is essential. When agencies short-circuit the decision making process, public trust in their authority erodes. With the Commission poised to make historic decisions on media ownership, universal service, broadband, and the digital television transition, public confidence in the process is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. 

   

  I look forward to hearing from our witnesses and thank you for joining us for this oversight hearing. 

Minority Statement

• Ted Stevens

  Senator
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  Minority Statement

  Ted Stevens

  It has been 10 months since all five of you last appeared together before the Committee.  There have been a number of regulatory proposals that have drawn national attention.  Some of those issues have been resolved, but other issues important to consumers remain.

   

  As February 17, 2009 approaches, much remains to be done to assure a smooth digital television transition.  Plans are in place to achieve the goal, but coordination, outreach and execution is needed on the local level to make sure that all consumers are informed.  What broadcast TV means to parts of Alaska is different from what it means to Manhattan.  How to get a converter box to remote Alaska villages is also different.  Because of unique needs rural America should be a top priority for the digital transition.

   

  The 700 MHz spectrum auction for the DTV transition takes place next year.  This spectrum represents great opportunities to bring new consumer services, including additional broadband.  And the auction will fund a number of public safety programs that have already been put into place.

   

  Deployment of broadband is also an important priority.  The commission has indicated that steps to provide a more accurate picture of the marketplace will be taken, and it is my hope that these actions will be taken soon.  Universal service is the most important element for the communications infrastructure our country needs in rural areas.  I was glad to see that the joint board has outlined proposals for comprehensive reform.  While Alaska is unique, it is not alone in needing universal service programs to deliver the benefits of broadband, telemedicine and distance learning.  Universal service has a central role in the continued development of this country’s resources in rural America and any reform efforts should reflect this important role.

• Jim DeMint

  Senator
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  Minority Statement

  Jim DeMint

  Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing.  I appreciate all the Commissioners being here this morning.

   

  Mr. Chairman, I ask that my full statement be included for the record.  Thank you.

   

  The signals being sent lately by the FCC are mixed.  Deregulation, albeit very timid, is being pursued on the media consolidation front, while every possible angle to increase regulations on the video market seems to be pursued.  I urge the Commission to let the free market grow and allow consumers to enjoy new benefits and innovations in 2008.

   

  Media Ownership:

   

  ·       Our media environment is more complex than anyone could have dreamed 30 years ago.  Then, the average citizen perhaps had a one newspaper, 3 TV broadcasters, and a handful of radio stations in their local community. 

   

  ·       It was a time before:

  o   widespread cable or satellite TV (both are now available to practically every household, offering hundreds of channels)

  o   satellite radio (also now available to all)

  o   the Internet (offering limitless information from limitless sources) 

   

  ·       To suggest that American citizens in 2007 have limited, or even decreasing, access to voices is laughable. 

   

   

   

  ·       The Commission is right to amend the dated cross-ownership ban.  By listening to some of my colleagues, you may think that the changes being proposed are earth-shattering.  Of course, they are not.

   

  ·       There are currently many examples of cross-owned local newspaper and TV properties already existing in the United States.  Over 30% of U.S. households live in those communities.  I do not believe democracy is suffering because of it.

   

  ·       I would like to point out that the Commission could go further, however.  I think we should stop regulating competing media segments differently, based on transmission technologies they use. 

   

  ·       For example, the two satellite radio companies in America are close to getting their merger approved.  They use different transmission technology than local radio stations, but they compete with each other.  I would like to know why regulators allow one segment to essentially have ownership deregulation, but another to face limits that have the effect of hurting consumer choice and market competitiveness.     

   

  Regulation in the Video Market:

   

  ·       It is unnecessary and harmful for the government, through the FCC, to get involved in private business negotiations.  The competitive market rewards those offering the best product and punishes those that do not.  These incentives provide the impetus for agreements to be reached between programmers and distributors in nearly all cases.

   

  ·       It is also unnecessary and harmful for regulators to mandate the way companies in a competitive industry offer their product to consumers, whether at the retail or wholesale level.  I believe “a la carte” is a great idea and I would like to have someone offer it at my home in South Carolina.  But, the government mandating it is a bad idea that needs to be buried.

   

  Again, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing today.  I look forward to the testimonies and discussion this morning.

• Olympia J. Snowe

  Senator
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  Minority Statement

  Olympia J. Snowe

  Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this oversight hearing for the Federal Communications Commission.  I also want to thank all five FCC commissioners for taking time to appear before this committee this morning.  The hearing today provides a timely opportunity for the Commission to address recent actions that have concerned many members on this committee as well as the general public.  

   

  One of the more pressing matters is the FCC’s attempt to ease restrictions on certain long-standing media ownership rules.  This committee last month held a hearing on this very issue, where many members of this committee voiced concern about any relaxing of current media ownership rules, particularly because of the negative impact on localism, diversity, and competition in broadcasting. 

   

  However, less than a week after that hearing, a proposal to lift the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban in the top 20 media markets was announced.  Worse yet, the FCC allocated only 28 days for the public to comment on this new proposal.  No matter what side of the issue you are on, to provide such an abbreviated time frame for the public to weigh in on the specific proposal Chairman Martin has offered is very disconcerting, especially considering FCC precedent. 

   

  For example, last month, the FCC provided sixty days for public comment and reply for a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for amending pole attachments rules.  On December 4, the Commission gave forty five days for public comment and reply on a rulemaking proposal to indefinitely extend the very popular Do-Not-Call list registration period.   And, in November 2006, the FCC granted ninety days for public comment and reply on the effects of communications towers on migratory birds. 

   

  It defies logic that the FCC would place this on an accelerated path.  Historically, the Commission has provided 60 to 90 day comment periods.  By hastily concluding this proceeding, the Commission is inevitably muting the public’s voice and in doing so is wilfully negating its principle responsibility to uphold the public interest.

   

  It appears to me that the FCC is having severe difficulty understanding the communications from the Congress as well as the American people and even the Courts.  I know that at a localism hearing in Portland, Maine this past summer, my constituents communicated significant concerns about any further weakening of the media ownership rules.  Aside from shareholders and employees of broadcasting companies, I can think of no sector of society that could possibly be clamoring for further monopolization of America’s media markets.   When the FCC erroneously considered this issue back in 2003, the Commission received more than 2 million public comments on the issue—the vast majority of which opposed further media consolidation.

   

  While the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, in its Prometheus decision, concluded that “reasoned analysis supports the Commission’s determination that the blanket ban on newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership was no longer in the public interest,” it also stated, in its decision, that it could not uphold the Cross-Media Limits themselves because the Commission did not provide a reasoned analysis to support the limits that it chose. 

   

  Furthermore, the Court stated that its remand of the FCC’s “cross-media limits also gives the Commission an opportunity to cure its questionable notice.”  Most observers would agree that 28 day’s notice for public comment for significant rule changes and five day’s notice for localism and media ownership hearings in Washington, DC and Seattle, WA is unreasonably deficient.  Therefore, many of us were compelled to convey our concern through the Media Ownership Act of 2007, which was reported favorably out of this committee last week.  This bill requires a 90 day public comment and reply period on the Commission’s proposed final rule and a separate proceeding on localism, which must be completed before any changes to media ownership rules.  I hope it and this hearing result in the FCC reconsidering this rulemaking.

   

  Another crucial issue is the status of the DTV Transition.  While a lot of progress has been made recently, there are still several critical issues that persist.  There is a lack of clear leadership or central government authority managing the transition efforts – instead it’s more of a partnership between the FCC and Department of Commerce, which could lead to consumer confusion about whom to contact regarding particular issues and problems.  We have yet to discern how the government will work with industry and other organizations to provide greater assistance to the more vulnerable groups such as seniors, people with disabilities, minorities, and low-income families that will require that help.  Also, over the summer, the FCC found that label compliance of retailers was not impressive.  With the holiday season currently underway, hopefully that has improved dramatically. 

   

  I appreciate the benefit of your testimony today and I look forward to hearing from the panel on these topics as well as other timely issues.  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Testimony

• The Honorable Kevin J. Martin

  Chairman

  Federal Communications Commission
  Download Testimony (63.60 KB)

• Honorable Michael J. Copps

  Commissioner

  Federal Communications Commission
  Download Testimony (28.85 KB)

• The Honorable Jonathan S. Adelstein

  Administrator

  Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
  Download Testimony (160.92 KB)

• The Honorable Deborah Taylor Tate

  Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission

  Chair, Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service
  Download Testimony (22.94 KB)

• The Honorable Robert M. McDowell

  Commissioner

  Federal Communications Commission
  Download Testimony (53.46 KB)