WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV today gave an opening statement at the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on the nominations of Ms. Terrell McSweeny, to be a Commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Mr. Michael O'Rielly, to be a Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Below are his prepared remarks:

This Committee has several items on our agenda today. Our most important agenda item is to take testimony from two nominees:

• Mr. Michael O’Rielly, who is a nominee for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and

• Ms. Terrell McSweeny, who is a nominee for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

But before we hear from these nominees, we have to take care of a necessary piece of Commerce Committee housekeeping. We have to pass a Committee spending resolution that will carry us through to the end of the 113^th Congress and the first five months of the 114^th Congress. Back in early 2013, the appropriations situation was so uncertain that Senators Schumer and Roberts, the Chair and Ranking Member of the Rules Committee, asked us to pass a short-term, 7-month budget. That 7-month authorization will expire at the end of this month. 

When we have a quorum present, Senator Thune is going to move to pass a new budget with new spending levels that the Rules Committee recently provided to us. Like the rest of the federal government, this Committee is being asked to do its job with less money. I ask Members to support this motion not because I think that cutting Committee resources is a good idea, but because this is the best we can do in the current budget climate. 

I would like to turn now to the much more pleasant topic of our two nominees. They are both dedicated public servants who would bring a wealth of experience from both the legislative and executive branches to their new jobs. 

During his more than 20 years of experience working in both the House and the Senate, Mr. O’Rielly has become an expert in communications issues. If you are confirmed, Mr. O’Rielly, you will be joining the FCC at a critical time. You will have the opportunity to help shape the future of our Nation’s telephone network, public safety communications, and the wireless, broadband and video industries. But just as importantly, you will have the job of protecting consumers and preserving the public interest in the communications marketplace. Yes, technology is quickly changing, but the FCC’s role in guaranteeing universal service, competition, consumer protection, and the other important values embedded in our communications laws, should not. 

As I discussed with you earlier this week, Mr. O’Rielly, there are two current rulemakings at the FCC that are of utmost importance to me. The first is implementation of the voluntary incentive spectrum auction. It is a complex undertaking, but its success ultimately will be judged on its ability to fund the public safety broadband network.  

The second is the FCC’s ongoing effort to update and strengthen the bi-partisan E-Rate program. The program has been hugely successful. But the technology demands of schools and libraries continue to increase, and we need to modernize the program to meet those broadband connectivity and infrastructure needs. We cannot afford to underinvest in our most important resource – our children – or to risk them falling further behind their global peers in science and math.

Our FTC nominee, Ms. McSweeny, has an extensive public policy background. She worked here in the Senate for then-Senator Biden, and more recently, she has worked in the White House and as an antitrust lawyer at the Department of Justice. The most important thing you need to know about Ms. McSweeny, however, is that she started her career in West Virginia, working as a reporter and as an education advocate. If you are confirmed, Ms. McSweeny, you will help direct one of the most important law enforcement agencies in the United States.   

For almost 100 years, the FTC has been enforcing our anti-trust laws and protecting consumers from unfair and deceptive commercial practices. Over these years, the FTC has protected Americans from a litany of anti-consumer scams - from misleading marketing campaigns, to abusive debt collection schemes, to privacy violations, to negligent data security practices. Ms. McSweeny, the FTC has a well-earned reputation for thorough deliberation, collegiality, and bi-partisanship. I am confident you will be able to serve on the Commission with this same spirit.

I look forward to hearing from both of our witnesses today.

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