Majority Statement

• Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV

  Chairman

  U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
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  Majority Statement

  Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV

  Mr. Wheeler, when confirmed, you will lead an agency that has the most challenging and complicated issues pending since the Commission implemented the 1996 Telecommunications Act.  I do not say this lightly.  The decisions the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) makes under your leadership will shape the future of the Nation’s telephone network, public safety, the wireless industry, broadcasting, the Internet, and consumer protection for years to come.  

  Of all the pending issues before the Commission, one current proceeding – and one future rulemaking – are of utmost importance to me.  The incentive auction proceeding will create the revenues to fund a nationwide interoperable public safety network -- a pressing national need, and personal goal of mine, since September 11^th.   

  The E-Rate program has connected millions of school children to the Internet exposing them to the transformational power of information.  As I called for several months ago and the President echoed in his recent remarks in North Carolina, the FCC can help to make sure our schools and libraries can meet the data and connectivity needs necessary for today – and the future.  Updating the E-Rate program to meet the needs of the 21^st Century is necessary for our children and national competitiveness.   

  Seeing the culmination of these two initiatives is my highest priority.  I hope it will be yours as well.  Too much is at stake in these proceedings not to get them right.  If the sheer magnitude and complexity of these issues was not enough, you face an agency that has become increasingly polarized and politicized.  Some even question its relevance in a digital age.  But, I think the agency is more important than ever. 

  At its core, the FCC is a regulatory agency.  I believe that too many have forgotten that the agency’s fundamental responsibility is the regulation of communications networks.  These regulations serve important policy goals.  You cannot have universal service without regulation.  You cannot ensure competition without regulation.  You cannot have consumer protection without regulation.  

  Let me be clear, even as communications networks evolve and technology advances, the FCC’s mission does not.  The rules and regulations we have in place now may not be the rules we need for the future, but that certainly does not mean we should not have any, as so many in the industry seem to advocate.  

  I think that we can all agree that:  

  • The rules the agency needs to adopt should create the conditions so that every American no matter where they live has access to broadband.  
  • The rules the agency needs to adopt should guarantee that every child in America can harness the power of the Internet.  And, do it safely.  
  • The rules that the agency needs to adopt should empower consumers with the information they need to make informed choices.  
  • The rules the agency needs to adopt should continue to create the conditions for job creation, innovation, and investment.  

  The FCC under the leadership of Chairman Genachowski made progress on achieving these goals.  But, much work remains to be done.  New challenges will emerge.  As I advised Chairman Genachowski, the FCC Chairman must be more than the arbiter of industry interests.  You must use the vast statutory authority to advocate for the public interest, the consumer, the parent, the student – all those without an army of advocates to lobby on their behalf.  

  You will bring to the job a long history and distinguished career in the communications industry.  As a pioneer in the cable and wireless industries, you have been instrumental in the growth of both these critical sectors.  As an entrepreneur, you built businesses and created jobs.  Most importantly, you understand the power of technology – how it has already transformed our lives and how it will continue to do so each day.   

  Your career is one of innovation, leadership and public service.  I believe that as Chair of the FCC you can use your experience and skills to harness the vast power of the FCC to spur universal deployment of advanced technologies, foster growth and innovation, and protect consumers.   

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Minority Statement

• Senator John R Thune

  Ranking Member

  U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
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  Minority Statement

  Senator John R Thune

  Thank you, Chairman Rockefeller.

  Mr. Wheeler, thank you for your interest to serve as the next Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and to bring your considerable experience to the agency. 

  We are in the midst of a technological revolution that holds great promise to improve the lives of all Americans. Advancements seem to be moving faster than ever before, and they are finding their ways into the hands of consumers more quickly and in larger numbers every day.

  Today, grandparents who live thousands of miles away can see their grandkids grow up due to the Internet and video applications. Small business owners in South Dakota use smart devices to run their companies and have access to technology that previously only the world’s largest corporations could use. And doctors are able to diagnose and help folks in rural America without patients travelling hundreds of miles to see a specialist. 

  When we met last week, we talked a little about South Dakota, and I again want to extend an open invitation to you to visit. There is no substitute for seeing firsthand the challenges of rural communications delivery and the value that new technology holds for Americans living in rural states. You can also replace the old sign from Wall Drug that you happened to come by a few years ago. 

  As my colleagues may be aware, you have written that “[t]he Communications Act and its enforcer the FCC are analog legacies in a digital world,” and that “[r]egulation designed around early 20th Century technology and monopoly market structure isn’t a perfect tool for dealing with distributed digital networks and multiple service providers.” 

  I think that frames our big picture discussion perfectly and, coming from someone now aspiring to lead that same legacy agency using that same outdated law, it begs several questions.  

  First, will you work with Congress and seek to amend the law where it may be inadequate or outdated? The two previous FCC chairmen both chose to intervene in the broadband market based on questionable legal theories rather than any clear statutory authority or Congressional intent. The first attempt was struck down in court, and the second may yet meet the same fate. If the Commission loses again, I hope you will take a deep breath and come to Congress for legal clarity or revision, instead of wasting even more public resources on regulatory adventuring. I certainly hope that you would also refrain from applying the monopoly-era Title II common carriage regime to our modern broadband economy.  

  Second, will you conduct agency business transparently? You have been criticized for suggesting that the FCC use merger conditions to create de facto regulation for an entire industry or, at a minimum, underscoring its ability to do so. I hope you understand the anxiety among lawmakers when a potential agency chairman, who is tasked with executing the law, discusses using a “backdoor to imposing a new regulatory regime” and “skirting the regulatory authority issue.” Congress never intended for the FCC’s transaction review authority to be used as a “backdoor” policymaking tool that lacks both transparency and judicial review. We already have too many federal agencies carrying out their own agendas and overstepping their Congressional mandates—we don’t need the FCC to be another one.

  Third, will you be visionary? As an industry leader and having served on the FCC’s Technological Advisory Council, you have seen firsthand the power and potential of the Internet.  There is no debate whether our current telecommunications laws, whether written in 1996, 1992, or 1934, anticipated a converged world in which American consumers can choose from multiple wireline and wireless communications substitutes. None of them did.  In fact, all of our laws deserve to be reviewed and brought into the digital, all-I.P. era, reflecting not just today’s reality, but also allowing for tomorrow’s advances. Your term at the FCC has the potential to be a pivotal one for communications history, and I invite you to share your ideas regarding statutory and agency modernization.

  Chairman Rockefeller, I know many members of the Committee have already had an opportunity to meet privately with Mr. Wheeler, and I know others would still like to do so. I also suspect there will not be enough time today to address all the questions our members may have, so the record will provide another opportunity for them to explore issues important to them and their constituents. Nevertheless, I appreciate your desire to process Mr. Wheeler's nomination in a timely manner in order to get the Commission back to its full membership as soon as possible, especially given the many critical proceedings before the agency. So, I await the President's additional nomination to fill the seat previously held by Commissioner McDowell, and I am ready to work with you and our colleagues to move forward both nominations in due course.

  Thank you, and I look forward to Mr. Wheeler’s testimony.   

Testimony

• Mr. Thomas Wheeler

  to be Chairman,

  Federal Communications Commission
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