Transcripts For CSPAN3 FCC Oversight Hearing 20171026

2017 with a fully formed federal Communications Commission as often seems to be the case, the senate takes their dear ever loving time to get things done but im pleased to see that the commission is back up to speed and ill tell you i am pleased that we have five members of this commission and they have different points of view to bring to the discussion on all things telecomrelated and i think thats healthy for the telecommunications and technology industry. And were here today to conduct oversight of the agency which is this subcommittees primary role. It is very important that we fulfill these obligations. Because we have given the fcc a Critical Mission and task to fulfill. From the commissionss Disaster Response efforts to supporting rural broad band to its efforts to streamline and modernize the regulatory environment, impacting some of the greatest recreators and innovators. Youre all doing important work and we appreciate what you do. One of the many jobs is to regulate broadcaster whose accept and fulfill unique Public Interest obligation due to their use of valuable public spectrum. While we were in the final stages of planning for the routine oversight hearing, some of my colleagues ask the committee hold an entire hearing about comments by the president on twitter regarding certain broadcasters work. So i fully expect them to question the trump tweets and chairman pie since we have a very full slate of issues, my hope is you will address that concern so that we can focus on the work and responsibilities of the commission. The commission has conducted entirely appropriate oversight of broadcast licenses. Theres unlike some in our chamber who have urged the fcc to adopt a new fairness doctrine, mandating they provide equal time to the opposition if they allow anyone to express any type of political opinion on air. The outrage over the president s twitter music stands in sharp contrast to the silence as twitter cuts off the voices of conservatives, Sexual Assault victims and potentially anyone who posts something they just dont like for whatever reason. All this on a platform so powerful and far reaching that you could argue that it is the modern day public square. And some on twitter have even called to suspend the president s acount and after my recent experience i will say wouldnt put it past some people. The latest twitter scandal is an attempt to distract from the commission and the American People from the fccs real work which is delivering on a mission to unleash american innovation. So no matter what questions are said, i hope were going to stick to keeping our eye on the ball and making certain that we address things like media ownership rules, the Lifeline Program, the imperatives of expanding rural broad band and a free and open internet. That is something we want to see done by the end of this year and at this time i yield one min that to vice chairman of this subcommittee, mr. Lance. Welcome to chairman pie and the now full compliment of commissioners. What a good looking group. Thank you for appearing before us today. Since our last oversight hearing in july, theyve continued important work such as Disaster Relief and recovery. Fraud prevention and closing the Digital Divide. Moving forward in the process to roll back the misguided title to reclassification of isps from the Previous Administration. Here we have recently taken a bipartisan step forward in reauthorizing the fcc for the First Time Since 1990. I applaud the chairman and Ranking Member for their leadership in this oversight tool. I also thanking oreilly for joining me for a 5 g industry round table. I commend his leadership on infrastructure policies that will be importedant in winning our effort in the race to 5 g. I look forward to your testimony. Gentleman yields back. Mr. Doyle, youre recing nuzed for five minutes. Thank you, madam chair and for all the witnesses appearing before us today. Let me say i really enjoy our time here together as im sure all of you do and i would encourage the chairman to continue to hold these get togethers far more often. Welcome back. Your work on the homework gap has been missed. Commissioner carr, congratulations on your commission. I hope you remember that the guiding principal of the fcc is to act in the publics interest. Its a standard i will hold you to as well. Chairman pi, many people around the countrynercluding myself and many of colleagues are deeply alarmed by your response to President Trumps threats against the media and specifically his tweet threatening nbc. In 2013 you wrote in the wall street journal that the government has no place in pressuring media to covering certain stories. You took six days to respond to the president s tweet and when you did, you did not directly directed the president s threat at all or the chilling effects on the media. While they can dispute the verasty of any story, even ones demonstraebl true, they cannot attack the free institutions that enable our democracy. As senator flake said yesterday it is time for our complicity and acceptation to end. The commissions agenda under your leadership has already had a profoundly negative effect on our country. From increasing costs on Small Businesses, driving up the cost to family members in prison and claiming that wireless broad band is competitive, even when people in Rural America know it is not. It seems at every fork in the road, you have choseen the path that leads to higher consumer cost, fewer choices and less innovation. And if it sounds as if the worst is yet to come, news reports suggest that you will unveil plans tomorrow to vastly alter the media landscape in this country, clearing the way for more media consolidation, including the sinclair tribune merger. Yesterday they eliminated the main studio rule that had insured for 77 years that local news was gathered and reported locally. What good would a studio and reporters in new york have done for broadcast stations in houston or florida after the hurricanes . What good is local news if it isnt local . Other news reports suggest you will announce an order to repeal the fccs open Internet Order around thanksgiving. Madam chairman, i sincerely hope if this is true, we have a chance to talk to the commission in advance of a vote on that order. The idea that such a significant order would be voted on without oversight is ung kaungsinable and would be a dereliction of todays duties. If the chairman is intent to act, i believe his actions should be done under the scrutiny of congress and in the light of the public and im going to yield the remaining part of my time to ms. Eshu. I thank the gentleman for yielding his remaining time to me. I want to associate myself with our Ranking Members comments, particularly to what the president said that was a direct assault on the First Amendment and with all due respect to you, mr. Chairman, your delayed and rather temped response to that. I want to place verbally in the record the First Amendment of the constitution of our country. It was written without objection. Thank you, december 15th, 1791. It is as new and important today as the day that it was adopted. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press. They were very clear. They were very clear. Or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances. I hope you will choose to enlarge on the Public Statement that you put out and with that, i will yield back the balance of my time. Gentle lady yields back to ranking good member. And i yield back. At this time i recognize the chairman of the full energy and commerce committee, mr. Walden, who has been in the chair all day long with the hearing down stairs. Gentlemans recognized for five minutes. Thank you, madam chair and welcome commissioner carr, welcome aboard and welcome back commissioner rosen. And we look forward to continuing our work with you and the other members. Chairm pi, thank you for being here and for your leadership. I couldnt agree more that this commission has very important work to do. United states has weathered a large share of natural disasters this year including wild fires that have devastated nearly hundreds of thousands of acres in my home state and we know the tragedies all across the west from these fires. They have shown the important of maintaining the most Reliable Communications systems possible. And we know the work going back to 2012. We need 250 make sure that works as planned. I look forward to hearing about the federal relief efforts underway as well as those impacted by hurricanes harvey and maria. Although some of the effected areas are already back up to speed which is great thanks to a lot of hard work. We face a lot of challenges elsewhere inplases like puerto rico and the Virgin Islands as well as others on the mainland. We appreciate the commissions efforts to provide much needed assistance in these situations. We also appreciate the commissions work in a bipartisan briefing we requested. And chairman pis team did at the end of this month. We find ourselves waiting on a number of key items to emerge from the commission. In no way does this committee expect the oversight to delay the commissions important work. Rather hearings like this are vital to exposing commissionsers and Committee Members alike to different perspectives. Yielding better understanding and decision making. But we expect the commissions work to go on as it did under the preechbious administration. Having just finished a markup on an fcc reauthorization bill for. I want to thank both side of the aisle as we work towards full Committee Markup soon. Last month we held a hearing on the challenges and opportunities presented by the repacking process that the commission has embarked upon. I commend the commissions continuing efforts to work with every broadcaster to insure their needs are being met as this transition evolves in a timely manner. Your input will continue to be importabout as we look at options to solve the remaining issues. Some of my colleagues may wish to use this opportunity as a forum to rehash opportunity for dumping cutting edge broad band Internet Service into the stale bucket which is title two. My position hasnt changed on that and i dont sense others have. This commission should not be dissuaded by the partisan maneuver which disregarded reams of legislative history to achieve the results demanded by then president barack obama. Its up to the commission to set the regulatory conditions and i hope to see a new bar set before the end of the year. Ultimately congress is where to solve the debate. I think you hear a little bit of that passion here on both sides. Although my staff continues to engage in the various effected parties and discussions towards that ends. My colleagues have unfortunately seemed largely uninterested. Door remains open. Were willing and able to codify protections and establish a federal framework in statute for providing certainty to all. I dont think we need title 2 to do that. We have the same end goal. Preserving the internet as a free, open, dynamic environment to unleash innovation and drive our economy while doing everything we can to extend its benefits to every american. We should be able to Work Together and clear that issue off our plates. Were glad to see you fully constituted and confirmed. We have a lot of issues to hear from you on. Anyone seeking a remainder of the chairmans time . He yields back. Thank you for holding this hearing today and i appreciate youre maintaining oversight of the fcc. Know some people prefer you wouldnt. The fcc is on a path to take up a number of controversial issues in the next few months. Its curious this is schedule for today, just one day before chairman piis expected to make public at least one proposal that enriches a Single Company above others and that would clear out any last obstacles to sinclairs purchase of the company. This would be the single largest owner of broadcast station and they would be buying the second large largest. Hes claimed repeatedly that its simply coincidence that his actions are all to benefit sinclair. If thats true, why cant we see the latest proposal before the commission with came before us and now hes refused repeatedly to respond about allegations about his relationship with sinclair and this kind of evasiveness does not help put anyones concerns to rest. This is another example of how the fcc values Large Companies over small ones and always puts companies before consumers. Chairman pis commitment to eviserate Net Neutrality protections by the end 06 this year. It protects consumers, Small Businesses and free speech. And i hope the fcc is spending the time reviewing the millions of comments that have been filed including from the democratic members of this committee and i hope the fcc considers the thousand of consumer complaints that have been made public. These demonstrate that consumer problems with broad band providers is much farlthder reaching than the prow posed rule making lets on. Together they have the potential to drastically remake how they communicate. They must find a way to insulate itself from the political pressures from the president. Chairman pi refuses to put any distance between himself and President Trump whether its Net Neutrality, sen claire or protecting a free press and that does not inspire confidence. Ive said many times and i think ive told some of the Commission Members that i remember earlier this year when sean spicer at a press conference said the president would have the fcc repeal Net Neutrality. It seems everything is whatever the president wants and theres no independence at all on Net Neutrality or the other issues. And the fcc has a long tradition of bipartisanship but unfortunately thats simply not the case today. Hard working American Consumers and future congress is sure to take a dim view at the fcc and its time to restore that bispart zn pesition. I thank you for being here today and id like to yield a minute each to mcneerny and matsumy. I noticed a troubling trend in the recent actions. The very missions is in the Public Interest. In fact Public Interest appear over 100 times in the Communications Act. But by taking steps to limit access to information and content, the commission has gone against what i think publics interes interest. Its further evidence by the steps the commission is taken to undercut locallism from reinstating the uhf discount to eliminate the main studio rule. These and other actions signaling favorable treatment for sinclair and then the chairmans initial silence on the president s threat to revoke broadcast licenses on the base of view points, followed by the chairman reluct ntdly making a statement. One that was late and insufficient. Im disappointed in these actions and the effect they will have on the information americans across the country have access to. Thank you very much. Thank you for yielding. In order to expand broad band across this country, its important we free up spectrum. Additional spectrum is necessary to expand wireless coverage across Rural America and build capacity across all of america. And spectrum frequencies will allow new and Innovative Technologies to grow. This means everything from safety communications, telehealth services, the internet of things and connected devices. All of this rely on spectrum invisible infrastructure. Access would depend on the fcc allowing additional low, mid and broad band spectrum to be delivered. That is why congressman guthrie and i introduced the spectrum deposits act yesterday. Without this fix, future actions will be put off indefinitely. I look forward to enact this into law. And i see no other members requesting time. So this concludes our Opening Statements. I would like to remind members that persunt to the committee rules, all members Opening Statements will be made apart of the record. We want to thank our witnesses for taking the time to be here today and for preparing for the hearing submitting your testimony, we do appreciate this. Todays witnesses will have the opportunity to give Opening Statements, followed by the questions that are going to come from our members. Our Witness Panel for todays hearing, the honorable brendan carr, commissioner cliburn, commissioner oreilly, commissioner rosen. We appreciate that you all here for this and is the tradition of this subcommittee we will go in the order of seniority. So chairman pi, you will be firsted followed by commissioner cliburn and mr. Oreilly, carr and rosenworsel. Chairman pi, youre recognized for five minutes. Thank you. Thank you for holding this hearing today. I appreciate the opportunity to update you on the fccs work to advance the Public Interest. That work has been substantial. I outlined our progress in four key areas. Promoting Public Safety, modernizing our regulations and combatting unwanted robo calls. I commended the subcommittee in reauthorizing the fcc. Of particular importance is the provision that would allow the deposits placed in spectrum options to be sent to the treasury. Woult this measure the fcc woebt be able to launch a large spectrum option for the foreseeable future. But this morning id like to address an area of concern for l members and me. The First Amendment. I have said again and again and again that the First Amendment must be at the heart of our work. That is why i oppose the prior fccs critical information needs study which would have involved sendsing government funded agents into news rooms to second guess editorial judgment. Just last month i spoke about the importance of the First Amendment. My record on these issues is clear. And these are not new. President kennedy targeted the Washington Post and nbc directly telling one of my pred seshers that a particular story was outrageous and to quote do something about it. More recently some have said the fcc should reject a transaction involving the transfer of broadcast licenses because of editorial judgments and six members of this very committee including the current Ranking Members once suggest i investigate a broadcaster on a story that hadnt even aired. Let me be clear i stand on the side of the First Amendment. I firmly believe that journalists should he had their viewers, their listeners and their readers. Not the dictates of officials in washington d. C. If you believe the federal government has no business intervening in the news, then we must stop the government from intervening in the News Business and thats why this afternoon i shared with my fellow commissioners an order that will reform our media ownership rules. We will vote on this order at our november 16th meeting. The marketplace today is nothing like it was in 1975. Newspapers are shutting down. Many radio and tv stations are struggling, especially in smaller and rural markets. Online distribution of news is greater than it was. And just two Internet Companies claim 100 of recent online advertisi advertising growth. Their digital ad revenue alone this year will be greater than the cap of the tire broadcasting industry. They presume the market is defined entirely by poke and rabbit ears. Making the arc r argument the current rurals are out dated is easy. That was the New York Times in 2003. If this order is adopted, the fcc will belatedly match our rules to the modern market place. It will once and for all eliminate the cross broadcast ownership rule. As president clintons first chairman has ucplained, under currents conditions the fccs rule is pruverse and the second, the item will eliminate the Radio Television cross ownership rule, which is out dated in this marketplace. Third, it will revise the local Television Ownership rult to eliminate the eight voices test and incorporate a case by case review of the prohibition. This better reflects competitive conditions in local markets. It will eliminate the role for joint television agreements. By allowing broadcasters to better serve their local markets. Fifth, it will retain the disclosure requirement involving commercial television stations and sixth, it will finally, finally establish an Incubator Program to encourage greater diversity in and new entry into the Media Business and seek comment on what the details of that program should be and unlike under the Prior Administration i have ordered the text of this decisionby made publicly available tomorrow, three weeks before we vote on it. That too is news that is fit to print. Chairman blackburn, Ranking Member doyle, thank you once again for holding this hearing and i look forward to answering your questions. We thank the chairman. Commissioner youre recog nized for if i ever minutes. Good afternoon. And thank you for the opportunity to once again appear before you today. We are nine months into a new administration, making it appropriate i believe to reflect on the tremendous change that has taken place when it comes to our outlook on consumers. Beyond the washington acrunims, are a series of actions i fear. Theyre jeopardizing the fccs role as a referee on the field protecting consumers in Small Business interests. I ask you nautd to take my word about this. In my hand are 80 mostly hand written letters ive received in recent months. They express concern ranging fru fru from open internet and a lack of broad band in their communities. Amid the many policy changes what may have gone unnoticered the Enforcement Actions that we have failed to take against the largest regulates where they have violated the public trust and the commission rules. In march for example, millions of consumers were unable to call 911 for five how ares. Similar outages in the past few years resulted in the commission collectively fining companies more than 30 million. These past fines were a recognition that we depend on 91 within being available during times of greatest need. One of the largest fines ever. No penalty and no report that addressed the question of whether the commissions rules were violated. Now, im all for taking enforcement action whenever the public trust has been violated but what is clear that the majori majoritys focus is on targeting individuals and Small Businesses where we are least likely to collect any fines. Turning to policy. It is a source of great disappointment that as we approach the Holiday Season 2. 7 million children continue to wait for this agency to make gooden its word to bring about real reform on the inmate calling regime. In april the fcc welcomed industry consolidation month by restating the technologically obsolete uhf discount. The resultopening the door for a single broadcast Station Group to reach more than 70 of Television House holds. In the same month we pave the way for huge rate hikes on formerly known as special access that will not only negatively impact Small Businesses but schools, libraries and Police Departments as well. Instead of looking out for millions of little guys, the commissions majority once again chose to align with an interest of a handful of multibillion dollar providers. In august we began an inquiry that may actually put us on a path of lowering the bar for what we consider to be highspeed broad band. As i travl across the country the refrain i hear is service is too expensive and speeds are too low. We should be aiming to lead the world in having the fastest, most robust broad band, not head thing opposite direction bay green lighting broad band service at excruseiatingly snaillike speeds. And last month the adoption of our latest report. Ask those struggling with 2 g and 3 g service. What they want is reliable wireless connectivity. What they have is lackluster, noncompetitive service. Simply put our reports findings do not match the experiences on the ground and in the communities across this great nation. And if i am to believe the reports im reading and hearing in just a matter of days, the chairman will circulate a series of items that include rolling back the best elements of our media ownership rules. If try thea already consolidate idmarket will offer no discernible benefits to consumers. Our actions, most offen the ones that fail to make the headlines have real every day consequences. And while i will keep doing everything in my power to make sure that we do not dial back any further when it comes to consumer protections, just reasonable and phone rates for all of our citizens, media Ownership Opportunities and digital inclusion, i remain fearful in part because rhetoric is not in line with the actions. I have submitted a longer statement for thank the subcommittee for providing me the opportunity to testify today. I look forward, i believe, to answering any questions you may have. Commissioner clyburn, you always look forward to the questions. And we are delighted youre here. Commissioner oreilly, youre recognized for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Good afternoon. Its a pleasure to be before the subcommittee again. As it conducts further oversight of the federal communication commission. Before i discuss certain policy and other matters, i would like to address the recent tweets by the president of the United States, raising matters within the purview of the fcc. Let me be clear. I do not speak for the president and i have never met him. However, i think its fair to say that the new president and his administration have received what can be most kindly called unbalanced coverage from various media sources. But you dont have to take my word for it or corresponding studies showing the same. Former president carter stated over the weekend, i think the media have been harder on trump than any other president , certainly, that ive known about. With that said, i do not believe that the commissions licensing decisions should be influenced or decided by politics. Similarly, like my objections to the cozy relationship between the past administration and the commission, i continue to support the fcc as an independent agency. Moreover, i strongly believe in the constitution of the United States, which includes the First Amendment, and have sworn to support and defend it as part of my oath of office. But this is somewhat immaterial, because the beauty of the constitution is that its the highest law of the land and the rights that it affirms and provides supersede my belief or any action on the commission. It serves to protect us all, even the unwitting bystander. Or active hostile. Turning to substantive matters, a top priority of mine is to ensure that the electromagnetic spectrum is being put to the most efficient use possible. My overall goal of this work is to position the United States and our wireless carriers for overall success in the coming years. We know that internationally, several nations seek to corner the market on nextgeneration wireless technologies, commonly known as 5g. To reap the economic benefits and dictate the worlds wireless future. I intend to ensure that the United States ingenuity is not unfairly hampered by others quests for this premier position. Moreover, as the insatiable demands for more mobility and broad band offerings continue, the commission has the arduous task of reclaiming, real locating and in some cases clearing and facilitating spectrum sharing. A prime location for such efforts is the mid bands, including the 3 dot 5, 3. 1 to 3. 5 gigahertz bands. In terms of unlicensed spectrum, the time has come to determine whether the dsrc remains the best use of the 5. 9 gigahertz band. If it no longer makes sense, the commission could combine with the 5. 9 with the 6 gigahertz band to promote continued growth. Once spectrum is made available, additional options will be needed to assign licenses. But as chairman pai testified, the commission faces difficulty in securing a Financial Institution to meet the statutory requirements to hold our up front auction payments. Without a willing partner or a change in law, the commission believes that its unable to announce a schedule for future spectrum auctions, much less hold an auction itself. While the subcommittee has included a technical fix within its larger reauthorization bill, its possible this larger legislation may take additional time. Accordingly, i want to thank representatives guthrie and matsui for introducing the spectrum deposits act, a standalone bill for this purpose and express my support for moving this rightful shot in terms of process reform, i believe that the commission is more open and more transparent now than it has been since i started following its activities. However, i continue to believe that additional changes to the commissions procedures, both formal and informal are necessary and prudent. On that note, the commissions perpetual struggle over the excessive use of delegated authority continues. To rectify this, i have put forth what i consider to be a balanced plan to accommodate the competing interests of permitting commissioners to vote and resolving matters expeditiously. I would be pleased to work with the subcommittee on this and any other process reform ideas. I thank the members of the subcommittee for holding this hearing and i look forward to answering any questions you may have. Thank you. The gentleman yields back. So far he is winning the prize for most time yielded back. Mr. Carr, youre recognized. Thank you. Chairman blackburn, Ranking Member doyle, distinguished members of the sub committee. Its a privilege to appear before you today. This is a particular honor for me, because this is my first opportunity to testify since i was sworn in as a commissioner in august. For the eight months before that, i served as the general counsel of the fcc after joining the agency originally as a staffer back in 2012. In my five years at the commission, ive enjoyed working with you and your staffs on policies that promote the Public Interest. I want to commend you in particular for your efforts to enact Bipartisan Legislation such as carries law, the improving rural call quality and relike it act, and a most recently the markup of the fcc reauthorization bill. Having served in various roles in both the majority and the minority at the fcc, these experiences have instilled in me an appreciation for the importance of bipartisan consensus and working towards common ground. I commit to carrying that forward in my time on the commission. In my testimony i want to focus on the ways the fcc can continue to incentivize broadband deployment. This is particularly important as we make the transition to 5g, a shift that will require a massive investment in both wired and Wireless Infrastructure. But if we get the right policies in place, this transition could mean 275 billion in network investment, 3 million new jobs and half a trillion added to the gdp. As i see it, theres at least three keys to getting there. Spectrum, infrastructure and ensuring we have the Skilled Workforce in place to deploy these nextgen networks. First we need more spectrum into the market. Im pleased the fcc is pressing forward on this front. We have a proceeding under way thats looking at broad swaths of spectrum between 3 and 24 gigahertz and the chairman has announced we will vote later this year on opening up additional bands above 24 gigahertz. These are really great steps towards maintaining the United States leadership in the global race to 5g. Second, we must modernize the federal, state and local regimes that currently govern broadband infrastructure deployment. 5g is going to require a 10 to 100fold increase in the number of cell sites in this country. The current regime is simply not tailored to support this type of massive new deployment. It costs too much, it takes too long. So we need to find ways to drive the regulatory, the unnecessary regulatory costs out of the system. We need to speed the time line for obtaining regulatory approvals. Doing so will be particularly important for Rural America. One recent study shows that Regulatory Reform can shift the Business Case for entire communities. Streamlining alone could make it economical for providers to deploy 5g to nearly 15 million more homes than under the existing and more burdensome regime. The lions share of those would be in less densely populated parts of the country. Third, we need the skilled work force necessary to get this transition across the finish line. Last month, i participated in a round table hosted by the Wireless Infrastructure association outside of baltimore. A broad range of stakeholders from Wireless Companies to independent infrastructure providers all talked about the shortage of skilled workers that can deploy the small cells, distribute the an 1999 systems and other infrastructure necessary for 5g. While theres no direct regulatory role for the fcc here, i think we need to focus additional attention on this issue, including potential solution, including the role that apprenticeships and other job Training Programs can play. And to that end, ill be participating at an event next month at the department of labor on Workforce Development. One last point. While technology continues to evolve, one constant is the fccs obligation to promote Public Safety. This has been highlighted the most devastating of ways over the past two months with the hurricanes that have overwhelmed communities across the country and now currently with the wildfires that we see. The fcc has been working hard since well before the first hurricane made landfall. And chairman pai has kept the agency focused on the immediate task of supporting restoration efforts, including by forming a Hurricane Recovery Task force that is coordinating the agencys work. Right now, the fcc is focused on the emergency situations in puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands, while continuing to assess restoration efforts across the country. Ill see some of those firsthand on friday when i visit houston to hold a round table with broadcasters, meet broadband providers and visit a 911 call center. Ill be taking stock at the progress thats been made and the ways the fcc can continue to support those efforts. So chairman blackburn, Ranking Member doyle, members of the subcommittee, thank you again for the opportunity to testify. I look forward to answering your questions. Thank you, commissioner carr. You did well in your first appearance. Commissioner rosenworcel, youre recognized for five minutes. Thank you. Good afternoon. Chairman blackburn, Ranking Member doyle, and the other members of the subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. This is my first appearance before you since returning to the fcc. I had a little vacation, courtesy of your friends in the United States senate. Of course, a little distance provides some perspective, and in my time off, one thing became abundantly clear. The future belongs to the connected. No matter who you are or where you live in this country, you need access to modern communications to have a fair shot at 21st century success. But the fact of the matter is, that today too Many Americans lack access to broadband. Lets put a number on it. Right now, 34 million americans lack access to highspeed service. That number includes 23 million americans living in rural areas. Thats just not acceptable. We need to do better. But, of course, statistics alone dont tell the whole story. To get a picture of just what it means to be consigned to the wrong side of the Digital Divide, consider kids and homework. Today 7 in 10 teachers assign homework that requires Internet Access. But data from the fcc shows that as many as one in three households do not subscribe to broadband. Where those numbers overlap is what i call the homework gap. And according to the Senate Joint Economic committee, the homework gap is real, and it affects 12 million children all across the country. Ive heard from students in texas who do their homework at fast food restaurants with fries just to get a free wifi signal, and ive heard from students in pennsylvania who make elaborate plans every day to get to the homes of friends and relatives just to be able to get online. Ive also heard from High School Football players in rural new mexico who linger in the School Parking lot late at night in the pitchblack dark, because it is the only place that they can get a reliable connection. These kids have grit. But it shouldnt be that hard. Because today no child can be left offline, developing Digital Skills is essential for education and for full participation in the modern economy. So i hope that adds a human dimension to what it means to not have access to broadband. Now, let me tell you what we can do about it. If we want to get serious about addressing our broadband problems, we need to know where those problems are most pronounced. We need better mapping. Nearly nine years ago in the american recovery and reinvestment act, congress had a good idea. It created a National Broadband map. Identifying where deployment has and has not occurred. But if you check that map online now, you will last see that it was updated three years ago. And i dont have to tell you, in the internet age, three years is an eternity. You cannot manage what you do not measure. So i think its time for a National Broadband map that offers an honest picture of both wired and wireless broadband across the country. And, of course, we can build this map with all sorts of data sets here in washington. But i think it would be great if we had a clearer picture on the ground. I am a big believer in the wisdom of crowds, so i think we should put it to the public. If any of your constituents have not been able to get service or live in an area that lacks it, help us make that map. And write us at broadbandfail fcc. Gov. I set up this account to take in the public stories and ideas and i will share everything that comes in with the chairman and my colleagues. Because i think its time to turn every one of those broadband fails into something better. Broadband success. Finally, i want to point out that with broadband, speed matters. The fcc has a statutory duty to annually assess the state of broadband deployment. Today our National Standard is 25 megabits. But the agency has sought common on scaling this back to 10 megabits. Thats crazy. We wont solve our broadband problems by lowering our standards. We need to correct this course immediately and start setting bigger goals if we want to do bigger things. Let me close by thanking you for having me at this hearing today. I will look forward to answering any questions you may have. We thank everyone for the testimony, and this concludes our testimony portion. And were going into the q a portion. And i will recognize myself for five minutes. Chairman pai, im going come to you first. I want to stay with that freedom of speech theme. During the last administration, the commission had proposed a multimarket study of critical information needs. And you had made the comment that you thought it thrust the federal government into the news rooms across the country. And chairman upton, chairman walden and many members on this subcommittee, including myself, sent chairman wheeler a letter, calling the study what we thought would be unconstitutional and urging him to put a stop to the attempt to engage the fcc as the news police. Fortunately, chairman wheeler did heed our call. And i want to know if you can he put a stop to it, but can you tell us more about that project, how close was it to actually happening . How much money got spent on that project . Thank you for the question, chairman blackburn, and thank you for your advocacy several years ago. The critical information needs study was a study that was conceived in the prior fcc. It spent approximately 900,000, as best i can discern it, and the project involved sending governmentfunded researchers into newsrooms to ask questions about why they were or were not covering eight different categories of news that the government thought were important, asking questions to news directors and the like about perceived bias, and asking a whole host of other intrusive questions. It seemed to me that this was not compatible with the agencys obligations under the First Amendment so i wrote an oped about it and im grateful chairman wheeler ultimately scrapped that study but not before, as i said, a great deal of money had been expended and a rubicon of some sort had been crossed. Okay. Now, when chairman wheeler pulled the plug on it, the fcc said some of the questions may not have been appropriate, and that the commission would be modifying the draft study. So what is the current status on this . That study will not proceed, and period. Okay. I just want to ask for each of you on the commission, is there anybody on this Current Commission that would support such a study . Well, madam chairman, one of the things that i take issue with is how that was couched. I was a part of that study, which was a study of started out being a study of studies, looking at what the commission gathered in terms of information about the entire media ecosystem. And as a result of us not having information, we have been kicked, you know, back several times into court about not having justification, not having information, not having data when it comes to certain policies. The court has spoken. We dont have the information needed. We are making decisions by putting a finger up in the wind and seeing where the political winds are flowing and going in terms of in terms of information, in terms of our decisionmaking. Okay. And thats why we have a uhf discount that is totally has no justification. And that is because we have no information that we are gathering. Were just making decisions based on political so you would support the fcc being in the newsroom. I will support the fcc not being in the newsroom, because i i am a First Amendment prophet. I had a newspaper for 14 years, and dare not anybody come into my newsroom and tell me what to print. That is not what im saying. All right. Let me ask you all this. In 2009, anita dunn, the White House Communications director, said of fox news, were going to treat them the way we would treat an opponent. We dont need to pretend this is the way that legitimate news organizations behave. This overall attitude culminated in the exclusion of fox news from access in numerous large and small ways. As Deputy Press Secretary josh earnest wrote in an email to a treasury official, and im quoting, weve demonstrated our willingness and ability to exclude fox news from significant interviews. Did any of this raise First Amendment concerns with any of you . Yes or no . Commissioner carr, start with you and go right down the line. I think it underscores the need for the commission to just stay focused on every action that the agency takes being consistent. Okay. Were going to learn to do yes or no. Commissioner clyburn . Im hesitant about asking. Im trying to grasp what are you saying. All i know is i am very consistent on First Amendment principles. Okay. So exclusion from asking questions or being included. Would that bother you . Exclusion excluding a news outlet. Would that bother you . Excluding a news outlet that is not how i conduct myself. Okay. All right. Chairman pai . I agree with commissioner carr. Okay. Yes. Yes. Okay. Follows instructions well. All right. Chairman rosenworcel. Tension between administration. Yes or no . Got to learn to do it. Can you turn on your mic . Its as old as the republic. All right. Nothing strikes me about what youve just described as being particularly new or unique. Okay. Thats unfortunate. All right. Mr. Doyle, youre recognized for five minutes. Thank you very much. Commissioner oreilly, in the spirit of chairman dingell, i have a number of questions that i want to ask you with just requiring yes or no answers. And i would appreciate you doing that as rapidly as possible. Yes. Commissioner [ laughter ] thank you. You got it. You used to work on this committee. And you helped draft legislation that prevented one entity from owning broadcast stations that reach more than 39 of the national population, correct . Thats a yes or no. Yes. In response to a question for the record from me, did you state that you believe only congress can change the cap via the passage of legislation . Yes. Thank you. At that time that you worked on this legislation, did you understand that a uhf station signal, the ones above channel 13, could not travel as far as vhf signals . Yes. Were you aware at that time that the fcc did not count the entire reach of uhf stations against the 39 National Ownership cap . Yes. And in a twist of fate, since the dtv in 2009, digital uhf stations can now reach a larger audience than vhf stations, right . Yes. The uhf discount now allows a single entity to own stations that reach more than 39 of the national population, correct . Yes. Even though theres no technical reason for this discount any more, right . Yes. So the uhf discount just allows companies to reach close to 80 of the national audience, right . Yes. Do you believe that congress intended to create a loophole in the law . I thats no. Thank you. Did you state did you state in a response to me that even though you think only congress can change the national cap, this entire issue may need to be litigated through the judicial process to determine which position is accurate . Yes. Did you also say that you suspect your position will ultimately prevail at the end of the day . Yes, always. [ laughter ] does that mean you believe the court will find that only congress can adjust the 39 national cap . Both parts, yes. National cap and the uhf discount. But did you also state that you will support whatever action is necessary to see that the issue gets its day in court . Yes. So are you saying that youre willing to vote to raise the cap, even though you think Congress Prohibited the fcc from taking that action . Im saying that i need to see what the item is. I dont want to its a yes or no question. Well yes. Thank you. If the 39 cap is statutory, as you and i both believe, will you oppose any attempts by companies to contravene congressional intent . I believe they comply with the law. Specifically, if the sinclair tribune merger resulted in a combined entity reaching more than 39 of the national audience, that would contra vean congressional intent, correct . No. Why not . [ inaudible ] okay, thank you. Ill let you ill let you get by on that one. So if thats the case, though if it did contravene the 39 , would you oppose the merger . I dont talk about any pending merger before the commission. If the sinclair merger goes through and the courts determine that you were right, that Congress Prohibited companies from exceeding the cap, should the fcc undo the merger . I dont talk about any pending mergers before the commission. Let me just say, i think this is a dangerous path, because your response to my questions for the record and some of your answers here today suggest that you may take steps to evade the law by approving a merger, even though you and the majority of the commission agree that it would violate congressional intent. And i hope that youll reconsider that. Let me ask commissioner rosenworcel if she has anything she wants to add to the line of questioning i have regarding that merger. Thank you. I believe that 39 is the figure that congress chose to put in the law, and that this commission needs to abide by it. Thank you. Madam chair, i want to ask unanimous consent to enter into the record five documents. One is the chairmans 2014 wall street journal oped, his response, a letter also that he sent regarding a letter that a number of members sent regarding the president s threats against the media. A letter from consumers union, and the statement for the record that commissioner oreilly had sent back to me. So ordered. Thank you very much. I see my time has just about expired so ill yield back. Yes. It has. And now chairman walden, youre recognized. Well, thank you, madam chair. Yes or no, commissioner oreilly. Do you wish Communications Issues were as simple as yes or no . [ laughter ] yes. Thank you. Now, moving on. Commissioner rosenworcel, im glad you raised the ara issue. I was on the committee at the time when the stimulus bill came through and i fought like the dickens to get the maps done before the money went out the door and i failed in that effort. And so the money went out the door and they drew the maps. What im trying to figure out, why are the maps three years old . Does the fcc not have a responsibility to keep those up to date . Thank you for the question. I agree with you. I think we should be keeping them up to date. I think the fact that we spend billions of dollars on universal service fund every single year without having a full sense of where service is and is not is a problem. I fully agree. Its my understanding that the funds that were used to support that map at the department of commerce cease to be available when the american recovery and reinvestment act came to an end. And i think that the fcc has been collecting data through its own 477 process. But it is not and how valuable is that 477 . Compatible. There you go. With the data. Thank you. From the department of commerce. I you know, i dont know, wherever youre sitting on this issue, it just seems to me with better data were going to make better decisions. Thank you. And thats the point i actually agree with that and hope you all can figure out what the best reporting improvement mechanism is to get to those data points. So we shouldnt be overbuilding or wasting the rate payers money. Mr. Chairman . Would you want to comment on that . Id be happy to. Thats precisely why several months ago i asked the house and Senate Appropriations committees for reprograming of funds to enable us to discharge that important function. And im glad to report that each committee agreed with that recommendation, and that task is now under way. And certainly welcome commissioner rosenworcels support for it. I just want to point out, that sounds terrific, but its my understanding that is only for wired broadband and i think an adequate map has to include wired and wireless. Certainly if the committees give us additional reprograming funds, we would love to pursue it. We cannot act in the absence of congressional authorization from our proprietors, as this committee well knows. Very good. Maybe we can get everybody on the same page on this one. We stand ready to work with you on it. Chairman pai, we have spent a lot of time together over the years before this committee. Yes. And one of my concerns has been that the fcc did not always operate in an open and transparent way. I argued for making some of the proposed orders public. And so it actually circulated so commissioners could read it, the public could read it. Have you done anything to improve that process down there . I believe i have, chairman walden. I announced a Pilot Project and the second week i was in office that for some of the upcoming meetings which would be publishing three weeks in advance the actual text on the internet. Of these orders. Had that been done before . It had never been done, and not only was it to potentially unlauchl for forbe it to be done, but it was also unwise. I think the success of the pilot for the program has disproved each of the claims of fear and just yesterday i announced that two days ago, rather, this would be a permanent project that we would be doing this on a permanent basis for every meeting that the fcc will hold into the future, so long as i have the privilege of leading the agency. And youve also made have you made changes on there was issue about delegated authority and commissioners wanting to be able to take it off delegated authority. Have you made any changes on that one . Absolutely. One of the things that commissioner oreilly and i noticed in the minority is if one of us or both of us requested that an item that was reportedly going to be done on delegated authority, if we requested that item be considered by the full commission, my predecessor would typically ignore that. And so i said if there are two commissioners who want to handle something on the full commission level, we will do that. And thats what we have done. Good. Main studio rule. Yes, sir. I think im the only one on the panel that actually had to comply with that as an fcc licensee for more than two decades. Had it obviously, you believe it outlived its purpose. I believe it outlived its purpose. It made no sense. We very seldom if ever had anybody come into the main studio for the purpose of looking at the public file. Thats now online, i believe, right . Absolutely right. And so im trying to get to this issue of why some people think it was like the holy grail of local communication. Because i dont see it that way. I didnt see it that way. We acquired three other stations and another market. It would have been nice to be able to consolidate an overhead and put the money like we did into more news gathering and into the programing and all of that. People still knew where we lived and we knew where we lived. And so i commend you for getting rid of that rule. I think theres a whole bunch of other antiquated rules that are legacy that make no sense in todays internet communication world that other providers and competitors in the market have no obligation to comply with. I dont see twitter with a local Community Rule in every community they serve or any of these others. I realize theyre not licensed. But obviously theres a lot of debate going on now about how all these communication mechanisms work in todays environment. My time is gone. Thank you, madam chair. Thank you, commissioners, for all of the good work you do. We look forward to having you back up here on a regular basis. Gentleman yields back. Mr. Mcnerney, youre recognized for five minutes. I thank you for the hearing and the commissioners for your work. Its not an easy job. And its interesting to see the different viewpoints you all have. Mr. Chairman, i recently had a chance to visit huddle, which is a coworker space in my district where startups go together to bring innovative ideas and working hard to get their businesses off the ground. But theyre very worried about the impact that doing away with Net Neutrality protection also do to their businesses. Would you if Net Neutrality protections are weakened, as you propose, can you commit to me that Small Businesses and jobs will not be hurt in my district . Please answer with yes or no. Congressman, i didnt know that particular company, but obviously we support a free and open internet that allows Small Businesses like that to thrive. Commissioner clyburn, do you think that that will hurt Small Businesses . I think if we shift gears that it would. That they would not have the certainty that they need. And i think that what doesnt get enough attention is the impact on universal service. And we can talk about that later. But the chairman is not speaking, you know, clearly about what the impact on universal service would be. If we shift from title 2. Thank you. Commissioner rosenworcel, there have been a series of reports on the sinclair tribune merger. Im concerned about the impact this merger would have. The fcc has a Critical Role to play in the merger of the process. From your perspective, how do you think the commission has handled the review of this merger and related proceedings . Thank you for the question. Frankly, im concerned. I think any broadcaster reaching more than 70 of the United States households would be unprecedented. Im also concerned that if you look at the series of media policy decisions that has been made by this commission, they all seem to serve sinclair broadcastings business plans. From reinstating the uhf discount to changing the 39 rule that was enacted by congress, to possibly foisting on all of our households a new broadcast standard for which they own many, many patents. I think it has reached a point where all of our media policy decisions seem to be custombuilt for this one company. And i think its something that merits investigation. Thank you. Thats a pretty strong statement. Mr. Pai, should the fcc be doing more to ensure local officials have resources to know how local resources know how to use the wia, the wireless merge emergency alerts . Absolutely, congressman. Thats part of the reason why i supported the proposal last year, to work cooperatively with local officials and stakeholders to see if we can strengthen that system. So we can count on your support in terms of producing resources and education. Absolutely. Our Public Safety bureau and i personally am committed to making sure that that system is robust as it can be. Thank you. Mr. Pai, last september the fcc adopted a further notice of proposed rulemaking that addresses increasing the wea geo targeting. The final round of comments was due on january 9th. When does the Commission Plan to move on that . We dont have a particular time frame, congressman. I will note two things, however. First, the reason we have that geo targeting proposal is because my office last year urged the full commission to include it. And thats part of the reason i was pleased to support it. The second thing is that we are still working very cooperatively with local officials, with stakeholders and others to figure out the right way forward. So while i cant give you a specific time frame, i do want you to know this is under active consideration, and were going to do the best we can to make sure the system, as i said, is robust. Well, would you commit to giving the committee a Quarterly Report on the progress of that . I would be more than happy to do so. Thank you. Chairman pai, during our last fcc oversight hearing, i asked you if you would commit to turning over to this committee any reports, requests, memoranda and server logs related to the alleged 7 may 7th ddos attacks on the electronic systems. You said that you had hoped to consult with i. T. Staff and attorneys to see if there are any applicable, technical or legal prohibitions against you sharing information with this committee. You then committed to sharing the requested information with the committee, and to the extent that you could do so. So far, no one from your staff has followed up with my office regarding this matter. And we still have not received a single document in response to the request. Did you do you recall consulting with the i. T. Staff about this issue . I do remember meeting about this issue after the hearing. If you dont mind, i will take a look at it. My understanding is we had gotten in touch perhaps not with your office, with the committee. Ill doublecheck to make sure and well get you the information that you need. Okay. Well, ill follow up on that then and make sure we get that information. Okay. Well, im going yield back. The gentleman yields back. Mr. Lance, youre recognized for five minutes. Thank you, chairman blackburn. Good afternoon to members of the commission and regarding the First Amendment, let me say that i think you, chairman pai, and all members of the commission, are devoted to the First Amendment as, of course, we are in congress. Im proud that new jersey was the first state to ratify the bill of rights in 1791. Regarding president kennedy, you mentioned president kennedy, chairman pai, and the Washington Post. Before you were born, and i would imagine before any member of the commission was born, and when i was a little boy, john kennedy cancelled his subscription to the Herald Tribune, the great republican newspaper in new york, and my late father, who was involved in Public Policy in new jersey, sent him a subscription to the Herald Tribune and we have in our family files a very sarcastic and curt letter from Pierre Sallinger saying we should stay out of the subscription business of the white house. And so from my perspective, all president s on occasion criticize various news agencies. I dont find it necessarily attractive. My reading of American History is that this is done by various president s. And i have great confidence in you, chairman pai, and in members of the commission in this regard. Thank you, congressman. To commissioner carr and commissioner rosenworcel, congratulations on your confirmation. Commissioner rosenworcel, you recently applauded the airwaves act introduced by Senators Gardner and hassan for identifying more spectrum that can be made available for wireless broad band. How would the airwaves act arm the fcc with tools to keep pace with consumers significant demand for bandwidth and for the race to 5g . Thank you for the question and the delightful family story. I hope i havent bored you. You know, the best part of the airwaves act is something incredibly simple. Its full of deadlines. It chooses certain spectrum pans and then it tells the agency that it has to auction them on a very clear calendar. I think that calendar is useful for all aspects of the wireless ecosystem, and i think its vitally important. Yeah. Thank you very much. Chairman pai, last month, i believe without warning, google blocked amazons new echo showed devices from showing any youtube videos. As of november 2016, youtube was by far the leading internet video portal in this country with 79 market share. Netflix was ranked second with 8 . The same study found that users age 25 to 34 years spent an average of 178 minutes each week watching online video. So access to youtube is a dealbreaker for video devices like the echo show. From your perspective, chairman pai, should the fcc be involved in any way in this matter . Congressman, our internet regulations do not apply to edge providers or to conduct of the kind you are describing. So as a matter of law, they simply dont at this point. Thank you. And i think that this is a serious matter, and i dont know exactly the venue we should pursue, but is there any other member of the commission who would like to comment on this . Thank you. Madam chairman, i will yield back a minute and a half. We are rolling you might get the prize. I hope so. Please, everyone else, may i have the prize . Okay. [ laughter ] now were into a competition. Ive got goo goos in the office. Well see who wins. Mr. Ruiz. Youre recognized. Thank you, chairman blackburn. And yes, i vote to give him the prize. This hearing is timely for a number of reasons, but i would like to focus on the fccs role in the ongoing recovery effort in puerto rico and the Virgin Islands. By way of background, i have training in humanitarian Disaster Relief from the harvard humanitarian initiative. Im an emergency medicine physician, and i was on the ground in haiti as the medical director for the largest internally displaced camp in all of portauprince after the earthquake in 2010. So ive seen firsthand the challenges that arrive in a humanitarian crisis and the importance of Communication Systems and coordination amongst agencies, local governments and ngos in the field. Two weeks ago, i flew down to puerto rico to see the conditions for myself, and to do a Needs Assessment based on my training and experience. And i found two things that i would like for you to carry back and figure out how we can Work Together to improve. One is a lack of clarity of leadership as to which agency is really running the show and taking the leadership on the ground. And two, a lack of coordination amongst agencies, ngos, local governments, out in the field. Not necessarily in san juan. And so my first question is for chairman pai. Has the fcc been in the room during these conversations in leadership. What is your footprint in puerto rico, and what is the and what is your efforts in coordinating with the other agencies on the ground . Thank you for the question, congressman, and thank you for your attention to this issue, including personal attention in the island itself. Ive spent a lot of time over the last several weeks involved in puerto rico and the Recovery Efforts. Ive regularly consulted with fema, puerto rican officials, with Wireless Companies, tower companies. Regularly means what . Are you invited to weekly, daily briefings . So we get daily briefings on some of the situation do you have people on the ground full time . Yes, sir. Do they go to those meetings in san juan . My understanding is they do liaise. Do they go down into the periphery and the municipalities, as well . I know fcc staff ive spoken with have described to me how difficult it was in some cases to go from place to place. It is very difficult. In some places the roads werent even cleared. Very difficult. So thats good to hear, that youre you personally are involved in getting calls for sure. Absolutely. And in this case, we have some Lessons Learned that could save lives. I have also made some calls with telecommunication carriers that have run into a myriad of barriers, including and please take notes here. One is a lack of security. Available to keep their engineers and equipment safe so they can make the repairs necessary to restore service. Two, inconsistent coordination with Power Providers that could have freed up critical generators for use elsewhere on the island. And three, failures in the back hall infrastructure that have prevented towers from coming online, even when they are powered and repaired. And four, logistical delays that kept temporary satellite trucks which were utilized, for example, in texas and florida, to provide temporary Wireless Service literally waiting on the boat for days. So while a disaster of these proportions is hopefully a rare occurrence, Hurricane Katrina and sandy have shown us that hope is not a luxury that we can rely on. Two weeks ago, i submitted a proposal to have the fcc create a list of best practices for Telecommunications Infrastructure and preparedness in hurricane and disasterprone areas. I hope we can Work Together on this proposal to find a common sense solution that fosters improved coordination and more efficient response efforts in the future. So chairman pai and to the other commissioners, will you work with me on this important issue . Ill go down the line. Yes. Absolutely. Yes. Yes. Yes. Wonderful. I appreciate your willingness to work on this critical issue. Finally, commissioner rosenworcel. Thats it. You have been outspoken on the need for fcc action in response to hurricanes harvey, irma, and maria. What do you think the fcc can do to help with Recovery Efforts as well as better prepare for future disasters . Thank you for your question and your work on this subject. I think we just need to take a playbook from what we did with Hurricane Katrina and hurricane sandy. We held hearings. We held hearings and talked to people on the ground in locations that are different than washington, d. C. We came up with ideas. We put them in reports and then we changed our rules to make sure that we are better prepared the next time. While i appreciate that we have a task force, i am confident that all good ideas do not reside in our building on 12th street. And so i think we should be getting out, holding hearings, issuing reports and changing our rules to be better prepared in the future. Thank you. I yield back. The gentleman yields back. Mr. Shimkus. You are recognized for five minutes. Thank you, madam chairman. I appreciate you all being here. Opioids, nda, and then here. I apologize for missing some of the Opening Statements. Its been a busy day. And i just caught the last end of the comments from you, commissioner rosenworcel. And chairman pai was out to my district, and i appreciate that, visiting on an issue that many of you know that ive been working on. 911 going back to when we made it officially a National Cellular number all the way back to the next generation. The interesting thing about the trip was that it was a multiple counties, rural counties, working together to move forward. And then we had a round table. And the round table, from my point, its the people who talked about vesting in the program. They said good and bad. People who hadnt yet joined talked about why, but why theyre thinking about it. So i know youve made and this is to the chairman. I know youve made a lot of trips to Rural America. Id like to know what some of your takeaways are, other than just the next generation 911, but other issues that have been raised in your travels. Thank you for the question, congressman, for the hospitality you and your folks showed in harrisburg. The key takeaway i have from the trips ive taken, over 4,000 road miles in small towns across the country is the Digital Divide is real, and that is leaves Human Capital on the shelf, particularly in rural towns that dont have Internet Access. And thats why im deeply committed to doing everything i can and hopefully the fcc doing everything it can to bridge that divide. Weve seen the payoff in places like harrisburg where 15 rural counties, predominantly rural income are created to band together and create a 911 system that enables everybody to be safer than they were before. We have seen the potential in education where Rural Communities that have highspeed Internet Access are able to give their kids distancelearning opportunities and better Educational Opportunities overall. We have seen the change in telemedicine. I personally visited a town in southwestern virginia able to cut the sepsis rate by 34 by using advanced technologies like Remote Monitoring. And we have seen the power and precision agriculture. Ive been in feedlots in allen, kansas, and farms in maryland and other places that tell me the notion of an analog tractor is long gone. Right now technology is the key driver for agricultural growth. So to me t just reaffirms the mission of this agency so long as, again, i have the privilege of leading it, that the Digital Divide has to be our top priority. So let me follow up on the universal service fund issues that have been addressed. A lot of house members have talked about how its insufficient, letters have gone back and forth. My colleague, congressman cramer, and i know congressman peterson from minnesota, has also taken an interest in this. What do you have in the forefront of your plans to kind of address the funding issue on the universal service fund . Its a difficult question, congressman. Obviously, some of the Bigger Picture initiatives that we have been able to get across the finish line, like the Mobility Fund phase two have been more successful in terms of getting off the ground. In terms of the budget issue for the rate of return carriers youre talking about, unfortunately, we are in a pickle. Last year, the commission made a decision over my dissent, would i add, that i forecasted the time would leave us with a shortfall. And here we are and the shortfall is here. So one of the things i have suggested to my staff is that we should think about getting a notice of proposed rule making out by the end of year to be able to tee up before the end of the next budget cycle, which i understand ends at the end of july june 2018. To be able to address this issue in a timely way so that rate of return carriers, and more importantly rural consumers have the certainty they need in order to participate in the digital age. And with my 54 seconds left, does anybody else want to i dont want to leave out the other commissioners. Commissioner clyburn . What youre not hearing is a call for contribution reform. And thats the elephant in the room that no party, pun intended thats fine. You know, that nobody is talking about. And that we dont have a rational conversation about that. Were going to stay in a pickle. I appreciate that, commissioner. Two parts. One, i believe there is an opportunity to use some of our reserves for rate of return to balance out both the legacy and the model side to provide were not going to provide all the money theyre requesting but i think there is some opportunity to increase the budgets. They have nothing to do with the reforms we adopted last year which mostly guard rails prevent bad behavior. And two in terms of contribution forms, since i happen to be the chair of the joint board on universal service, we are trying to move forward on that, but there is a great difference of opinion on some of those things. So weve had to sideline that for the time being. Well, my time has expired. I think there is still a great difference of opinion. A lot of members of congress do. So i appreciate the challenges, and i appreciate you being here. I yield back. Mr. Loebsack, five minutes. Thank you, madam chair. And i do agree with my friend mr. Shimkus that weve got to deal with the funding issue. The question is going to be how were going to do it. First, commissioner rosenworcel, great to see you back. Appreciate that. I havent seen you since you were actually in newton, iowa, way back in 2016. And people there were very happy to hear you talk about the homework gap issue and just generally speaking these Rural Broadband issues. I saw that at a recent field hearing you did highlight the need for better data collection, and now youve got this crowdsourcing proposal. After you mentioned that, i went to your twitter account and checked it out to see what was going on there. Because i do want you to talk about that a little bit more. But before i do that, i am grateful that the subcommittee took up my Rural Wireless access act and we did move it forward, thank you, madam chair. Weve got to get that out of full committee. Its great to talk about making sure that we have better data. I remember chairman pai, you mentioned going through northwest iowa, going from southwest minnesota to northwest iowa, or maybe it was the other way. And you had a lot of problems with cell service. As somebody who has 24 counties in iowa, im fully ah wear of this problem, as are all of my constituents. But my bill, hopefully were going to get out of full committee, get on the floor and get this thing enacted at some point hopefully sooner rather than later to make sure you folks have Statutory Authority as much as anything to do the things that you, you know, are talking about today. But can you elaborate a little bit on your crowdsource proposal . Sure. Listen, for a long time, the way that the fcc collected data about broadband, as we found, if there is one subscriber in a census block, we presumed that it was available throughout the block. I think we all know that that is not a fair assumption any more. And were leaving too many households behind. We also have been collecting data and shape files from wireless carriers, and sometimes they get it right. But sometimes, as you probably know, you can drive through places and find that you have no bars and no ability to make a call. We are going to have to work hard to have more precision in our maps to target our policy efforts and i think we should be asking the public for help. I think they know better than anyone else where they live, where they get service and they dont. And i feel like its time to start incorporating Public Comment into our maps if we want to make them effective and accurate. I appreciate that. Democratizing the process. And thats very important. I think we can all agree with that. Thank you. For all the witnesses at the recent repack hearing we held, American Towers witness said in his testimony there was a shortage of qualified tower crews. There are some of us who have some ideas how we can address that issue. Do you agree with that assessment . And do we have enough crews to get the job done in 39 months, if not what will happen to broadcasters who cant complete the transition in that time . Any of you folks who would like to address that issue. Yeah. Go ahead. Well, ill simply say we tried to structure the phases such that we would be able to accommodate variations in terms of weather and availability of crews and the like. If we get information that there is a bottleneck like that, that might stand in the way of the 39month deadline being able to be met, we will certainly work with congress and stakeholders to take the appropriate action. Anyone else . I raised this issue a number of times with different Industry Groups to see where we were and i was concerned there was a shortage of crews and we havent seen an increase in the number of crews. Some of those sponsored by the Wireless Companies would like to take advantage of the licenses on an early basis. It has been relatively positive. But i think the chairman is exactly right. We have to get through some of the phases to see where we are. Any of the other commissioners want to speak on that issue . Its a Workforce Development issue, too. We have to get the people trained so they can do that, and ive talked to my friend, mr. Shimkus about that, too. Weve got to move forward on that. Well were on the subject of universal service fund and commissioner pai, you know ive written to you about moving the resources to the u. S. Treasury. And some of the concerns i have about that, making sure that the funds actually are used as theyre supposed to be used. Would you like to address that issue . Because i think thats a legitimate issue. If we move the funding, you know, to the u. S. Treasury instead of from the banks, the bank, i think thats going to be a really difficult issue that weve got to resolve. Go ahead. Thank you, congressman. And i appreciate your concern. The issue, as i understand it, from a financial perspective, is that well, twofold. Number one, from a legal perspective, it is safer for federal funds of this kind to be stored with the United States government as opposed to a private account. Secondly, given some of the issues that arise when these funds are kept in the private bank account. For example, if there are somebody who owes money to the irs and that person is also at the same time getting money from the fcc, the federal government is limited in its ability to have an offset, so to speak. Keeping the money in that treasury account allows the essentially the federal taxpayer to be whole. That were not sending money out the door at the end of the day Congress Might not want. And so we have been exploring with treasury and with others, the way to move forward on this. But obviously were happy to take any input on ways to accommodate multiple interests. Commissioner rosenworcel. You look like you want to say something. I appreciate what my colleague said. Weve gotten conflicting advice. Over the years on this from omb and jao. But i just want to make this point. We get about 55 million in Interest Income every year from the accounts as they are held today. 55 million can go far for Rural Broadband, for connecting schools and students. We are choosing to forego those dollars. I dont think that makes sense. If i may, congressman. If, god forbid, something were to happen to those funds when they were in a private bank account and all of the billions of dollars of universal Service Funds somehow went away, we would be accountable to congress. And you would be asking me, as leader of this agency, why did you jeopardize taxpayer funds by keeping them in the private bank account when thousands if not millions of americans are depending on those funds. Thats a tradeoff ive got to make. Thats why we need to put this out for comment. Thank you so much. It is a difficult issue. Weve got to deal with it. Thank you, madam chair. Youre welcome. And mr. Latta. Five minutes. Thank you very much, madam chairwoman, for todays hearing. Thanks very much to the commissioners for being with us today. As always, its great to see you all. And just following up on my friend from illinois, i really appreciate mr. Chairman and commissioner oreilly for you coming out to my district, because i think, you know, you take an interest in this one case when the chairwoman was out with the very small rural telecoms that you met with. And it wasnt where there were a round table. They were on a square table. But there were quite a few people there that day that you addressed and they appreciated it. And commissioner oreilly for coming out and talking to the you know, our smaller broadcasters in the area. I appreciated that. So its good that you listened to the folks back home. Chairman pai, if i could start my questions with you. Like you, i believe that modernizing regulations is critical to spur innovation. For instance, i would like to see the fcc streamline procedures for small entities to seek regulatory relief. The current waiver regime has a onesizefitsall construction. It disproportionately burdensome on small entities and when needed diverts resources from Infrastructure Investment to regulatory compliance. Do you believe there is a need for more efficient and expedited process that allows small entities to secretly from these unnecessary regulations . Congressman, i do appreciate the question. I do think consistent with my views we should minimize the regulatory burdens on small providers. That is an approach that has merit. Thank you. Commissioner oreilly, what are your thoughts . I agree. I think it has incredible merit. Thank you. Commissioner oreilly, in your statement on the commissions adoption of the mid band spectrum, noi, you noted that the six gigahertz band is adjacent to the unlicensed 5 gigahertz band. Would you elaborate on the potential benefits if the 6 gigahertz band is made available on an unlicensed basis . So we have to deal with incumbency issues within 6 gigahertz, but i think that will be a tremendous benefit. By combining it with 5 gigahertz. Wider channels provide opportunity for great speeds, latency reductions and Consumer Experience will go through the roof. We have a shortage of wifi spectrum or unlicensed spectrum Going Forward and we need to address that. Theres estimates by 2025 we need somewhere between 500 megahertz and one gigahertz of additional unlicensed spectrum. 6 gigahertz makes a great platform for that solution. So when youre talking about especially how badly congested that 2. 4 to 5 gigahertz bands are already available to the unlicensed community, so the congestion is how bad would you say . So i dont have an exact measurement. When i talk to folks in the industry, they barely use 2. 4. 5 gigahertz is popular, but thats becoming extremely more popular. So were running out. Thats why i spend a great deal of time on 5. 9 and my colleague and i have worked hard on 5. 9. But 6 gigahertz being right next door is a great platform. Thank you. Voiceactivated virtual assistants like siri, alexa and Google Assistant are becoming an increasingly popular gateway to the internet. Some day soon, they may even become consumers preferred interface with the internet, leaving the age of the desktop Google Search behind. You get yelp results in siri open table in google, tinein radio from alexa. These interactions are occurring through private partnerships among these companies to have their apps interact. However, it creates a situation where whereby definition the consumers access to other internet content is limited or completely blocked. Its the question of whose answers siris question when you asked siri something. Questionk siri something. Can the fcc do anything about this . Congressman under the current internet regulations kek not. Those do not apply to edge providers. Commissioners, do you think this is a concern for the open internet . Again. Ill jurisdiction is limited. I think theres an impact in an influence. But in term of our ability at this limited to negative. This our jurisdiction does not extend to that. The gentleman yields back. Youre recognized. Thank you. And chairwoman. Welcome to the you mr. Chairman and all of the commissioners. Commissioner car, congratulations to you. Commissioner its always an honor to have you here at the committee. And to know you. Commissioner o ryely. Terrific to have keep the irishmen together. And to commissioner rosen, its terrific to have you back. All represents a win for the American People. Hopefully. Mr. Chairman, i have been debating something inside of myself so im just going to make a statement. I dont want to go on and on about it. I need to say something. To bring together president kennedy with donald trump. I dont think is pal letable. Ill leave it there. You know mr. Chairman i have raised deep concerns about rt. Our Intelligence Community is determined with high confidence. That is the highest level of agreement between all of the agencies. That they interfered and our democracy. The Intelligence Community described them as the quote principle interarable propaganda out let. I wrote to you on may 8, urging you to consider applying broadcast tran parn si rirms to media out lets o so the American People would know whether foreign governments are behind the content theyre revauing. I found your response to be ambiguous and i dont think you answered my questions. Its curious that i get a response to my letters at about 6 30 in the evening. The night before of the day of were going to have a hearing with you. I think that this is a very serious issue. The Intelligence Community and owl of the members of the house participated in that briefing. It was a classified briefing. There was also an unclassified report that was put out. And that unclassified report was replete with rt. Now i dont know what i need to do to either impress upon you that this is a serious issue. And that you take it seriously. So i want to ask you, would you admit commit to us that youll apply or consider applying broadcast tran parn si ri broadcast transparency requirements. Thank you for the question. Youre welcome. Theres no jurisdictional hook. To transfer of license for example that allows. Fcc what about those who have a license and carry them . Doesnt the fcc have any say so in that . Or is this as the Intelligence Community said, that they are a principle International Propaganda out let. O they just fwoing it operate in the United States no matter what . Under the communication act and the constitution the First Amendment, we do not have currently a jurisdictional hook for taking doing an investigation of that kind. If you are privy to classified information, the suggest there might be another agency that has obviously a direct interest in the issue and were obviously happy to work with them. At the current time as i have been advised neither under the First Amendment or communication act do we have the ability First Amendment applies to free speech in our country. It doesnt mean a that the kremlin can distribute propaganda in the country through our air waves. I dont know if youre looking hard enough. Maybe a commissioner car or the general counsel he could advise you better. Im not going to give this up. I want to move to something else. That is this issue on media consolidation. Three years ago mr. Chairman, the Commission Voted unanimously to prohibit two stations in a market from jointly negotiating retransmission consent. You were part of that unanimous vote. Now by eliminating the rule, which reports indicate youre preparing to do, next month. You would permit two of the top four stations in a market to merge. So how do you explain this. The reports are inaccurate. When we publish an unprecedented fashion the actual text of document were doing a case by case review. Sin claire this will apply to sin claire . It applying to any broadcaster that enters into an agreement that dominance of a market how does that fit . Some argue we should get rid of the time expired. He can answer the question. Some argue we get rid of the top four prohibition. My recommendation was to draft it so theres a case by case review. We wouldnt get rid of it. We would review particular facts a particular broadcaster bring to us. Sdp presents a kocompelling cas. Well take a look. Otherwise the prohibition applies. I wish had i more time. Thank you everyone for being her here. We look forward to working with you guys. First thanks for letting us know about the auctions and the unability for the financing fix you need. The chairman has in the authorizization bill. Yesterday congresswoman did drop a bill specifically fix the issues so we can move forward hopefully on the auction moving forward. In 2013, i was one of the households affected by this. A carriage dispute between cbs and time warner. Block time warner internet cables from viewing shows through a web site. I couldnt get cbs or show time. On tv. The web site because Time Warner Cable was the provider. Internet and you couldnt go to cbs. Com. It was blocked. To watch any of the shows. Thats when new ones were out that august. We were trying to find that. Some members of congress did bring this up. I think acting chairwoman was at the time. And said she didnt believe the agency had the jurisdiction to intervene. Chairman do you think if it happened now do you think the fcc would have the opportunity to intervene in lar case . I think the illegal authorities have not changed to the extent the fcc gets a complaint that a party is acting in bad faith. Then we would be able to adjudicate it. The ab tense of complaint or authority from congress we couldnt take further action. The title is still in effect. Currently yes. To be clear. Our internet regulations wouldnt apply to that content to the extent youre talking about the block of online distribution. Because it only applies to the Service Provider not the content . Thats correct, sir. So to comment on that, being an advocate for the title 2, should it be expanded where it doesnt just affect Internet Service providers but also jurisdiction on the content side as well . Its good for one should be good for other. Im not in a position to comment at this time. I just know whats in front of me. And what the rules of the road are at this time. Okay. Same answer. No to be clear that behavior was problemic. From a consumer perspective. That stinks. I would point out that what were talking about when we talk about Telecommunication Service and urpd title 2 is about the provision of service by a provider of broad band. The jurisdiction does not extend to the content provider. That was my point. On spectrum. Cochair with congresswoman on the spectrum caucus. So we sent a letter last summer. Commissioner pie. Regarding a pending license modification pe fission for the l band. Satellite net work. Whats your ideal time line for getting information from the other agency youre working with . Do you think the end of the year is reasonable . We dont have a specific time frame in mind. I can say that it is a matter that is under active consideration. Were collaborating with agencies and private stake holders to reach a resolution. For all the commission. Given the efforts of the spectrum congress i support a deep dive by the committee on wireless issues. Could you give me what you think is the top spectrum issue that we should be focusing on this upcoming year. For moving forward on auctions. Whats the top issue for the committee . Sure. We have the hurdle in terms of authority to conduct auctions in terms of money. The top focus that i have over the next year is infrastructure deployment on the wireless side. We have a will the of progress that we can make. To help maintain leadership. For me as ensure that multiple providers no matter what size and if they have the ability to participate. So it would be contour the size of the bidding area. Good answer. The and the tried and true. The legislation is the number one issue. We cannot have spectrum auctions certainly of significance without that fix. It is a bottleneck for the agency. She might be next. That was a good pandering. My colleagues infrastructure and freeing more spectrum. All right. I agree. I want to quickly read you a list. 3. 7 to 4. 2 gigahertz. 37, 32. 42. 57. Gigahertz. Are all under consideration at the commission right now. What we need instead of that blitz of spectrum is a calendar that makes clear we have bands that we are going to auction earlier than others so the wirele wireless ecosystem and markets can organize around it. I yield back. Thank you, madame chairman. My questions are to chairman pie. I want to discuss your reaction to the president attack on press. I have a number of questions. Are you aware that the president said kp skp i quote net work news has become to by partisan, distorted fake. Licenses must be challenged and if appropriate revoked . Is that, sorry. From the tweet . Yes the the dwe question is are you aware of the quote. Yes. Are you aware the president said its frankly disgusting the press is able to write whatever it wants to write. And New York Times and the enemy of the American People. That he said that. Are you aware. Yes. Do you think the types of statements are appropriate for the president of the United States to make . Im going to speak to my own view. And my own words. My views are i stand with the First Amendment. I wont characterize the views of anybody else. But, mr. Chairman. You did say on another occasion that the American People are being misled about president obama plan to regulate the internet. You said that. Because that was a direct compromise of the Agency Independence on a particular pending issue. Where the agency was heading in a different direction. If youre not shy about speaking out against president obama. Would you condemn attacks on the press if they had come from president obama . Congressman, i always focus on the facts and the law. That is our job. And in term of licensing. I think its a double standard. But before coming to the fcc you worked for senator Jeff Sessions, correct . Yes, sir. When asked if he would jail reporters for doing that are job he said he cannot make a commitment to that effect. Im not aware of it. He said it. When you spoke at the center last week. Did you say and i kwoek under the law the fcc doesnt have the authority to revoke a license of a broadcast station based on the content of a particular newscast . Yes, i did. Do you understand why reporters might be concerned when the attorney general and the chairman of the fcc leave open the threat of punishment and even jail time . Im not again i wasnt familiar with general sessions statement. And im not familiar with the perception of journalist. Ill say this fcc stands on the side of the First Amendment. And that includes the ability of journalist to gather news as they see fit. The problem is the people raising this issue are concerned that your silence or responses contribute to a culture of intimidation that can chill free speech. Thats why im trying to clear the air. Im concerned about the impact of either silence or overly lawyered responses. At the center, you said ul not act based on a particular newscast. Would you revoke a license based on multiple newscasts . No. I have a working paper. I dont know if its it the record. Ill ask you if we can enter it. So ordered. I have a working paper produced by the center. In the working paper the center suggests the fcc able to threaten free speech through other mechanisms like license transfer. Do you commit your you will not threaten license transfer based on the content of reporting. Absolutely. Do you commit the commission will not launch investigations into Companies Based on the content of reporting . Yes. Okay. Do you commit that your commission will not take any acts of retribution against Companies Based on the content of reporting . Yes. Okay. And let me look. I appreciate working that out. Thats important. So finally chairman, when you first took office you committed to me that you would be response to congress if a request came from democratic members. I have heard complaints from my colleagues that your responses to a number of letters have been evasive. And avoided multiple times answering my questions about your relationship with sin claire broadcasting. Let me say, well look into your continued evasiveness on some of the important issues including sin claire. And i just want you to know that im not happy and im not going to tolerate the agency not responding to us. Because i dont really feel they have with regard to sin claire and so many other issues. Thats my opinion. Thank you. Gentlemen yields back. Thank you. I appreciate it. Before i begin my questioning. Chairman pie, i know you inherited a backlog of petitions related to the telephone communication. Consumer protection act. This is an area of real concern. To many individuals. Across various industries. I look forward to your response. And a future action to this topic. Ill moou on here. Commissioner during the last over sight hearing, i had a discussion with chairman pie regarding interference complaints and pirate radio operations. I know this is an important area. I know you care about it very much. To resolve it. Can you share the differences between repercussion pirate radio operators face as compared to row bow callers. Ill gif you an example. On terms of radio we did one for the 1,414,000 for a pirate radio operating in florida. In terms of a row bow call it was 82 million. A cramming call behavior it was 3. 9 million. The difference between the two are between the 3s is amazing. Wow. Okay. Related to this topic again for you. Commissioner. Do you or any of the commissioners here on the panel know of any assistances where pilot radio operators interfere with Public Safety or military use frequency . Technically it wouldnt be pirate radio. Thats operating within the a. M. Or fm band. They have violated the sangty of Public Safety just recently we had action in new york. That was violating the new york Public Safety system. Sdp they were fined. They had an enforcement action against them. They were actually theres still in prison at time. Well see if we get the money. Anyone else . Ill go to the next question. I regularly advocate for seniors and again improve quality of life for seniors. I think you know that. 5 g technology provides. What can the fcc do to advance specific technology. Tell health technology. Hike remote patient monitoring. To allow seniors to remain independent and age in place. Thats a great question. Its a growing need as population ages. I dont want to steal her thunder. Commissioner has been a leader on this. And pioneering the shes been a leader on it. Thank you. One of the things that were proud of is the chairman has endorsed and the connect to health task force. One of the things that is doing is looking at that intersection of broad Band Technology and health. And another thing thats its doing is helpful, it has developed a broad band mapping tool that looks at whats going on on the county by county basis in the United States. And looking at where broad band is available. Where Healthcare Providers are or are not. And informing communities asked to how best to approach a different business model. Different initiatives that might be needed nd a particular area. Were really on its quiet as its kept. People know about it. We are front and center on providing a means for people to be informed so they can make better critical decisions. This will help us also on our Healthcare Connect fund. Which we need to talk about. Enhancing that. Because in order to make all of these things ubiquitous. Allow them to age in place. Affordability is key. Connectivity is key. Im looking forward to working with you as we progress. Everyone on board with this . Anyone want to make a comment . The last point maybe the balance those things with our budget. So talk about expanding services we have to figure out how to pay for that. And the conversation on contribution. Absolutely. Ill add to the able on the issue that i think the importance of Remote Monitoring cannot be over stated. If you are an older person who have difficulty coming into a hospital or had surgery and returned home. The worst thing that can happen for you is to get an infection or illness that will require you to come back. I have seen for myself how a Hospital Center is using Remote Monitoring. And response to question to decrease the rate by 34 . I think among older individuals. And thats something if you can intervene quickly thanks to the technology. Everyone is bert off. Youre not spending money on in hospital rej min of treatment. Its something im excited abtd. Im glad commissioner is a pie ner on the issue. Wonderful. Thank you. I yield back. Miss dingle. Five minutes. I have no voice. Too much talking. Its great to have you here. I want to first start the important topic of privacy. Im really worried about privacy. And i think you all need to be too. This new wrod cast standard allows for internet, tv. Personized add placement and for granule collection of data about who is watching what. Chairman pie, if someone is looking to take advantage of this personalized content, theyd like to give up information about themselves would they not . If someone wants to use it. They have to tell the provider what personal information about themselves . The individual consumer . Yes. The consumer. It dpepds on the particular. These are i dont know. Personalized content. Thats the its going to be personalized content. Right. Yeah. How is the fcc considering privacy concerns as the commission looking at this new standard . Great question. Right now were looking at technical standard. Should we proceed with the new next generation tv standard. If so what should the parameters be. I would imagine prooi si concerns and others like it have come to the fore the agency will look at that too. Its really important. My staff wouldnt let me ask the other questions i wanted to ask today. I dont think people realize that we have televisions watching us that theres reverse people are using all of these great new gadgets how much information is being collected about them. And who has responsibility for letting people know that kind of data is being collected . Right. I think its the first instance the federal trade commission has been the. So much of the this is with the fcc. You all have a responsibility to really look at some of this. And do you think this new data thats generated will be kept in house by the provider . Or sold to third parties. Again here its a nay sense. The standard hasnt been adopted so were not sure. Should this be part of looking at standard . As the service materialize, well be monitoring all those kinds of concerns. The last time you were here in july. You agreed to follow up on the steps you were taking to mitigate attacks. What updates can you share . We have provided a detailed response to the committee. Well be happy to provide that to you with the particulars in that regard. But what i can say is our it staff is always vigilant to make sure we have the protocol in place. To make sure the systems are up and running. And appreciate the chance to work with this committee as well as the appropriators. To get the funding to make thur is continues to be the case. El live you off the hook. And ask. Dwrou think the Public Interest standard requires that you look at the Effective Commission actions on Small Businesses and consumers . Absolutely. Small businesses create two third of new jobs in the community. The commission should be thinking about the impact on Small Business. And the Public Interest incorporates that. Im just going to make an observation. And see if you agree or disagree. Mergers of the scale of the sin claire tribune are not always popular. But i cant ever remember when everybody was so opposed to the idea. Can any of you think of a merger that has metd this type of united opposition . No. Commissioner cli burn . I can say that within my last eight plus years of this is the most energyized i have seen diversed parties. And anybody else that wants to say something. I use the word energy. I have seen it before. Thats the reason we have a 39 cap. It was a result of a transaction that caused a lot of uprising between the relationship between the net work sdp a affiliate. Thats the reason the congress stepped in at the time. And addressed it. In terms of excitement or energy. I have seen the level far beyond what it is today. In that. The Broad Spectrum of people opposing is unusual. Ill yield back. Mr. Johnson for five minutes. Thank you. Thank the commissioners for being here. I have listened i have heard some buzz words that caught my attention. Former chairman, full chairman. Walden talked about the complexity of the tell come environment and how difficult your job is. I agree with that. Commissioner talked about how the technology is necessary to create opportunities for americans particularly in Rural America. It kind of took me back a bit. I have been thinking about this for last several months. How important your job is if you look at the hundred years of American History from 1868 to roughly 1970, we started out in 1868 at the most divided point the nation has been in. At the end of a brutal civil war. We healed our internal wounds to go into and fight off terny in europe and two world wars. Mobilizing from sdracratch both times. Same thing in korea. At the same time in that hundred year period, from 1868 to 1970. We saw one of the most explosive innovative periods in human history. The lightbulb, the and all of it born right here. The combustion engine. Automobile. Mass production of automobile. The Assembly Line process. Industrialization of western culture. The airplane. Powered flight, space travel, landing man on the moon, organ transplant. Telecommunications in computing technology. Nuclear power. That i think could arguably the case could be made that was one of the most innovative periods in human history. I talk about that a lot to people. That i represent back in ohio. Because then i follow it with a question. What have we done since 1970 . You know what answer i get most often . The internet. Tell come. And what is that the case . I believe thats the case because its the one area that the federal government couldnt figure out how to regulate. If you go back to the 70s, thats when the epa came in to be. Thats when the department of energy came into being. The department of education came into being. All of a sudden back in the 70s, washington kind of thought the American People had it wrong for all that time. Instead of telling the American People what we should be invating on and what we should be focussed onto create opportunities for the American People, washington started talking about how to innovate. Where to innovate. When to innovate. Why to innovate. And in many cases picking the winners and losers and determining who should be able to innovate. So i throw that out there just as a thought provoker to you folks. Your job is vitally important. We cant throw water on the campfire of american innovation. And i would submit if we want to create opportunity, if we would just look at our own nations history and realize that if washington would just get out of the way, in many regards, that the American People are more than capable of creating their own opportunities. Through innovation and ingenuity. Thats an important thing for folks to remember. I see the attitude of the commission today. I think thats what youre trying to do. I applaud that. Yes or no question it will be easy. Especially for commissioner o ryely. In 2013 it was reported that the Justice Department had spied extensively on fox News Reporter james rosen in 2010. Collecting his phone records, two days worth of personal email. And tracking his movement to and from the sate department. So in the 32 seconds that i have remaining. Each of you starting with mr. Car, commissioner. Did this raise First Amendment concerns for you at that time. Yes or no. I have said it reenforced. Come on. Follow. The importance of the commission as everyone said being committed to the First Amendment. And everything we do at the agency. Thats an interesting question. Ill say it raised personal and privacy and other concerns. Okay. All right. I agree. Yes. You are good. Thats a disturbing tale. Yes. Thank you. I yield back. Thank you, very much. First of all welcome. Im glad to see you here. I especially want to welcome back commissioner and welcome commissioner car. As cochair of the congressional spectrum caucus with my good friend representative guthrie. Were focussed on the opportunity to unleash new spectrum that will help us get to 5 g. We have introduced legislation that provides financial incentive to federal agencies to reallocate unused spectrum holdings. Commissioner, will you commit to working with us to try to strike an appropriate balance for the 3. 5 gigahertz band that will be the foundation for 5 g deployment . Im not in charge of the 3. 5. I took some of the lead. Well work as an agency to dispose of the item we adopted yesterday. Ill work with the committee and take views into account. In term of your point to raise the incentive. For tral federal agencies. Its not just incentive. Well need the carrot and the stick. We need more of the stick. Those pieces have to hand in glove. We can be happy to work with you in putting the stick into the legislation. I think we talked about this before. Would you like to comment. I belief carrots work bert than sticks. When it comes to spectrum policy what we need to do is make federal users internalize the cost of holdings. Report at some level what the value of what they have today is. And give them encriminincentive gain not just loss. I can see carrot and stek working well tonight. Today Everyone Needs a broad band connection. We know that. Every part of the country. And i have 20,000 con tich chents utilizing. A Program Helping low income families Access Communication essential in a digital economy. The National Lifeline eligibility verifier will be a significant step towards this goal. But will not be fully up and running until 2019. Now in august i wrote to the commission to request steps that the f drrks cc taken to implement the verifier. I received your response last night. Did you fwgive me an update. And commit to providing me and the committee with regular updates. Congresswoman ill take the second piece first. Yes. Quarterly reports will be forthcoming. In terms of the fers point. Which is the update. We are on track. I have been advised by december in december of 2017 for called a soft launch of National Verifier with a full launch in early 2018. The first states that will be considered for the National Verifier there is six of them. Colorado, mississippi, montana, new mexico, utah and wyoming. And in 2018 u sack will role out a 19 states in the National Verifier. Working with other stake holder under the over sight. Consumer groups and carriers and others to make sure it works and serves consumer needs. We would be happy to work with you on the issue. And thank you for flagging it for our attention. Appreciate that. Talk about whats needed to ensure the lifeline process remains an option for low income household with access to communication or broad band moving fwrd. We need to have the mechanism to ensure providers to get involved and provide more opportunity. If you know back in february we stopped a nonprovider so nothing wrong. From gaining access and offering opportunities. And some of them had to even discontinue service. So we need to give the states the power and the ability they need to include to have lifeline providers particularly for broad band. And dpet get out of the way. Were not allowing the reforms that have been laid out. To happen. Were in the way of lifeline becoming a phenomenal program. Okay. Well at this point. Thank you very much. I will yield back. Awesome. Not in the running for the prize. But getting close. Thank you. I want to welcome commissioner car. To the commission. Its fwraet to have you here for your first testimony. We all know that reliance on mobile net works is growing. My question is this. What more does the fcc ask Congress Need to be doing to ensure we coop up with demands for mobile . Thanks for the question. Short answer if you can. My principle focus is infrastructure deployment. We have to streamline the rules. The current regime we have relatively few small cell deplimts. We need to get to millions of cell sight quickly. We have to streamline the process. We need focus on the areas where we have 2 and 3 g service. I was pushing for the Mobility Fund faze two. And we need to talk about affordability. Which is why im pushing for a Lifeline Program sfwl. I add spectrum is a critical input. Commissioner. Three things. Infrastructure. Two spectrum. Which we talked about. And three, deciding what tad on those hardest to reach individuals. We dont have plan for today. Ill give you one thing. Which is we should set a time for auctioning the 28 gigahertz band. And make it the first millimeter band to heed the world in wave. Thats the first priority. That auction correct . I believe so, yes. I want to go back to the First Amendment conversation. Yes or no answers will be appropriate. In 2013 the Justice Department revealed they had been secretly combing through the work, home and cell phone records of 100 Associated Press reporters and editors. What appeared to be a fishing expedition for sources of leaks and frighten off whistle blowers. Did this action raise First Amendment concerns for you . This is what drives home the importance of us committing to the First Amendment and acting. Thats a yes . Not sure how to answer that. Yes or no. Yes or no. Sorry. Yes. Yes. That sounds troubling. All right. I appreciate the work you have been doing for revitalization. Particularly order from february and september. Lets continue along that lip. In general whats the status of efforts to revitalize a. M. Radio. So the translator window has been a success. A great many folks applied for a translater and were processing those. By the end of the yore well have several hundred of those. That will be processed. And were thinking about bigger peckture issues that are of interest in broadcaster. And sort through the ror record. What can you answered my second question. What can the committee do to be helpful to encourage a revitalization. Certainly well take all the support from whatever quarter we can get it. I have never been shy about the issue of a. M. Revitalization. You dont need to earn courage me. Its important to talk about the importance of the work a. M. Broadcasters do in the Community Every day. I know you visit the stations. Theyre not just call signs. These are folks who really are keeping the lights on and keeps communities. My community is wtw. I assume the entire commission is on board with that. Okay. Everybody shook their heads yes. Across the board i hope. Seemed like it was one where we had good cohesiveness. For all of you i understand the other countries are moving rapidly to make available for 5 g service. Particularly china, japan and south korea. Making spectrum available. My question is this, for each of you. Two questions. One is in the United States are we risking falling behind those other countries if we dont catch up on making it available for 5 g . I think were in good shape right now. With the high band spectrum. We have to keep the pe dal down and move forward. Im confident ability where we stand. I agree. Our Spectrum Management policies have to be all of the above to make sure we get the optimal use with optimal players. Yes. High band spectrum and fwraet and part of the equation. We have to address the midbands. 3. 5. 3. 1 we have to take action on those Going Forward sfwl im not the only one a list. Thats right. I think we are at risk of falling behind. We need something simple. A calendar for which bands are moving at which time. Id like to work with you more on that. Miss clark. Five minutes. Thank you. I thank the Ranking Member. I thank commissioners. Welcome. Welcome back. Of course its good to see you. I want to just talk about how important todays hearing is. Theres so many pressing matters and changes happening under the fcc authority on a daily basis. I can say that its been quite instructive and interesting just listening to todays proceedings. And your answers regarding the issues sdp and the significance in facilitying announced changes. I want to talk about a couple things currently on my mind. As cochair of the multiculture media caucus. With colleagues we are extremely interested in the recent media ownership changes. As you have indicated the commission is poised to take up an item o modify the local tv ownership rule. This important rule provides for diversity of voices and ownership at the local level. Establishmenting ownership of more than one tv station to the highest market. Hypothetically. If the commission were to modify the local tv ownership roul next month by adopting a case by case approach, who do you think should have the burden of proof . Those seeking more consolidation or those seeking to maintain diversity of ownership . As always the case if a proximate remains and a matter is seeking a relaxation on a case by case basis the petitioner would bear the burden of proof. That that is in the Public Interest. Do you have any process concerns with the potential modification of local tv ownership rules . One of the things that we were demonized for was trying to look at the media ecosystem. We dont have the tools and data needed to make the changes. Theres 67 women owned broadcast stations. 12 African American owned. Clearly our policies must be out of. Thats not diversity and inclusion in any stretch of the way. Thank you for question. Media owner ship matters. What we see on the screen says so much about who we are as individuals. As communities and as a nation. And right now when you look at the Ownership Structure is doesnt reflect the diversity of the nation. I worry with consolidation it will get worse. Those situation we have today is under our current rules. Those rules have been in place for so long. They havent worked. We ought to try something new. Heres the question. Youre saying that it hasnt changed. Were not certain whether what youre proposing will make it even worser. Its regard to get much worser. You think so . Thats not the case. The numbers are so low. 12. The numbers are really low. Its been a lot of reasons why theyre going to go lower youre saying your proposal is going to transform that . Im saying the current what im asking you. The proposal will transform that. Is that what youre saying . Yes or no. Its not my proposal. Im just asking. In general im hopeful it provides a better opportunity. Youre hopeful. The Current Situation isnt working. Commissioner. Yes. The answer is yes. You think it will . Part of the reason we dont have diversity is the rejected my suggestion. Another proposal. Part of the reason why we dont have diversity the Prior Administration let it lapse. We havent had input from stake holders. Specifically tasked one of the working groups with promoating diversity in the broadcast business. The Prior Administration out lawed. I have met. Are you saying that this is going to be a Pilot Project or is wholesale change . Were seeking comment. Are you saying wholesale change or a Pilot Program . The Incubator Program . This is if we get the public input we need this is a real program. Okay. Let me move on. Id like to ask, we talk about that further. I have been working with congressman with respect to the u. S. Virgin island chl specifically is the fcc engaged to assist puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands regain the tell come capability in the wake of the hurricane season. What must we learn from the hurricanes and impact on existing communication infrastructure. Yes. I personally called congresswoman office and offered our assistance. In addition. I make sure i have talked to the stake holders as i have in puerto rico. Stake holders and tower compani companies. Wireless companies and others. Conveyed to others that to the extent there were power issues. We would love for the Communications Power requirements to be elevated in terms of getting that infrastructure onto the island and obviously the hospitals and schools and other things that are competing for attention. Communication net works are critical too. Were working on it. We forwarded a universal service money. Universal service money. So people can build have hard dollars to built to rebuild their telecommunication system. We did the same. Or proposed yesterday to do something similar. For schools and libraries to help those in need. I yield back. Thank you. You are welcome. Mrs. Walters. Welcome the two newest fcc commissioners. 5 g deployment is important to the district. Where the majority of residents have multiple devices are and using technology. Further investment has the potential to create over 2,300 jobs in my district. A recently released survey found 5 g will improve Business Operations and kpom pettiveness with further demonstrates the need to deploy the technology. Since joining the subcommittee at the beginning of the year i focus on issues related to the sightings of 5 g infrastructure. The governor of california vetoed a bill that would have established uniform standards across the state for the installation of equipment. The bill would have limited the ability of local government to block antenna placement and capped installation rates on public property. Such as traffic lights. California isnt the only state where sighting is an issue. Id like your thoughts on the issues 5 g deployment is facing. Can the fcc take immediate action to work with states and localities to streamline the citing process. If so can you discuss bha the commission can do to address the issues. The answer is yes. And we teed up earlier this year in the wire lest infrastructure proceeding a number of dimpt different tools to streamline approval process. Im hopeful we can move on that soon. Congratulations on your confirmation. Your testimony mentioned the importance of 5 g and need for infrastructure to deploy the technology. Are you concerned local zoning requirements throughout tcountr not just in california are impeding the deployment necessary. I am concerned. I was dispinted today see the veto of the bill. The current regime is not tailored to support the deployment. If were getting it across the finish like this could be the bottleneck. Im glad we have a number of steps teed up with the commission. I look forward to getting it across the finish line. You touched a bit on it. As you know wireless net works in puerto rico were devastated by hurricane maria. Net works and texas and florida. And the fires in my home state have damaged infrastructure in california. I commend you for speeding the ability of u. S. Funds to carriers in puerto rico to accelerate rebuilding of the critical communication net works. Will the fcc con template similar efforts in other states. We are certainly open to hearing that case. And taking action if appropriate. Okay. All right. Thank you. I yield back. The winner is. There he goes. All right. Way to go. All right mr. Well much. Thank you. Welcome to the full commission. Its really tremendous to see you at full strength. Congratulations on your confirmation. Its good to have you back commissioner. It wasnt a swift process. It had an end result. Chairman, congratulations to you. Net neutrality we have talked about some. We know the debate here. In my view is that the actions of the Previous Commission made a lot of sense. But my understanding is that your commission is going to is opening that up. You have you have heard millions of comments. And the question i have is if the apprehension among the industry has been that there maybe a new commission at some point thats over bearing. But they wont necessarily agree to put in statute their assurances they give privately and publicly. That they wont do anything to interfere with Net Neutrality. So theres a skepticism on their part about the durable blt of the Current Practice which worked well. Isnt it fair for consumers to have skepticism that when ceos change in the companies when shareholders start demanding a bigger return that there wont be the pressure to do things that advantage the company at the expense of of the folks who need solid Net Neutrality . I appreciate the question. Obviously we are now engaged in the question of whats the regulatory frame work best calibrated to preserve the free and open internet. Heres the question. Why not have it be em body in the statute. Theyre saying to us as i assume theyre saying to you they want to maintain Net Neutrality. Thats who is in the executive offices now. Other people there later. So do you consider that to be a valid concern on the part of those of us who want to make certain we preserve Net Neutrality. All i can say is what i said in the wake of the 2014 decision. The proper course i think is for congress to ultimately decide what the rules of the road will be. Thats obviously i dont have a lot o time. You look like you want to say something. I say yes thats the law. And you have an opportunity to craft the law into decide what we should go forward. Thats what members of the committee were contemplating for months. We havent seen the statute. The majority has to act on that. I support Net Neutrality. Our internet economy is the envy of the world. Its built on a foundation of openness. Our current rules support that. They have been sustained in court. And they are wildly popular. Im at a loss that we would decide to take them away. Thank you. A lot of us are from Rural America. Republicans and democrats. We started a rural broad band caucus. And real concern we have is not only deployment, were lagging behind. Its the spoed. Theres been so Movement Toward reducing what is considered to be the adequate speed. That would be very damaging to us in Rural America. Commissioner do you want to comment on that . I think any talk about slowing things down to do something of sub 253 is a problem. For keeping an and ensuring Rural America catches up. You havent caught up. Thats a problem. Thats why this talk of loosening the standards of lowering speed is very problematic to me. Thats not the direction we need to go. You were in vermont. I appreciate your visit. Burling ton is not where we have the issue. Thats an urban area. They have high speed. A lot of vermont is like Rural America. Its slow. And our Rural America in Rural Vermont is on its heels economically. We have to have this tool to have any shot at getting back in the game. Your view on it. Slowing the lowering the standard. I think lowering the standard is crazy. I believe you have to set goals if you want to do big things. Deciding we can get 100 megabit speed to everyone in the country is worth the effort. Including Rural America. You have a real history of Rural America. Im hoping that youre not going to be in favor of changing the definition for Rural America. A few different points. Fers the actual proposal is to maintain the 253 standard. Theres no proposal other than that. Secondly a little criticism. When the prior majority had the pen and had the ability to do something for folks in Rural America, december 2014. Billions of funding. According to to them now thats not broad band. Over the last year when we reformed the Lifeline Program i specifically suggested we increase the speeds to 25 megabit per second. Poor consumers should get broad band. The prior majority specifically rejected that suggestion. Its a Little Hollow now to somehow be my time is up. I wont argue with you about that. Youre in the chair now. My proposal is maintain the standard. Does that give us assurance there wont be suggestion to lower that standard. Congress charged us with taking a look at what is connectivity. We have to seek comment. What do consumers use the internet for. Are there other standards . Thats what were trying to do. The lead proposal is maintain the standard. Thank you. Mr. Olson. Five minutes. I thank the chair and welcome to our witnesses. A special welcome commissioner rose. I spent a few weeks with my dad in icu. Its not a pleasant time to have a loved one in the hospital. Thank you for coming chlgt were prayering f praying for you. Thank you for coming houston to see the devastation firsthand. You saw it with your own eyes. Hit us twice and came back. 50 inches of rain in parts of district and the county. We very well. We can do much better. I ask you. What do you see with respect to communication net works throughout the reduring hurricane harvey. To support the restoration and recover efforts. Back home. Appreciate the question. Your leadership on this issue. I know you have been active had trying to inform things. Number one, the fcc is working very proactively to make sure that we assist state and local partners in texas, and i personally as you mentioned visited and offered my assistance. A few Different Things we could do Going Forward. First, i was quite taken by a point that i learned at the Harris County 911 center, which is part of the reason why the networks relatively were relatively reliable was because despite 33 trillion gallons of water was dumped on the surround ing area was it was fiber based. Because they were fiber theyre more resilient. If it had been copper it would have disintegrated all together. The second thing is, we all need to Work Together. Were all in it together. I heard time after time that state and local partners and the industry relied on our disaster information recovery reporting service. Which is very helpful. And they also found it useful to have a point of contact at the fcc that they knew could provide assistance. A lot of things that were excited about Going Forward, in terms of our Disaster Response. Were going to apply some of that in puerto rico and have already. Thank you. How about whats called the Network Resiliency framework. That is the widest initiative to better prepare for response to times of new jersey. Do you think this restored recovery faster . When i was in texas, i heard how useful it had been. As i understand it, the Governors Office provided some of these Wireless Companies with information as to where the flooding was. And some of the companies were able to overlay that information on where they saw their cell networks, up or down. And they were able to target in some places, okay, we see theres huge flooding here, but there are people actually on the network. We needed to get help there. It is serendipitous benefit in other jurisdictions. Things we could learn from harvey . Anybody want to comment . He was down there, saw it firsthand, but i would just want to mention the wireless Network Resiliency you cited was the industry coming together in the aftermath of hurricane sandy. We had it in place because we learned from that past disaster. And its my hope well learn from this one. Im about out of time here. Commissioner carr, i believe you went to houston, texas, to see for yourself . Ill be there friday to hear about what the fcc can continue to do to support the Recovery Efforts down there. Great. Theyre thrilled to hear about that. One thing i have to warn you about, can you say yall . Ill work on it. Can you say beat l. A. . Yeah. Well played. Commissioner pi, youre a huge fan of pro baseball. As i sort of alluded to the l. A. Dodgers playing the Houston Astros in the world series, yesterday we had a rough day. Didnt quite do as well as i wanted. But that morning, all over capitol hill signs popped up about that game, especially this sign popped up on the door of the majority leader from california. In having jurisdiction over federal communications, lets make sure that is not some federal offense youre looking at. I can neither confirm or deny any involvement in those operations. And commissioner pi, just whats your prediction, astros in five or six or seven games . Congressman, i want to reiterate, i stand in favor of the First Amendment and your right to plaster and the gentlemans time has expired. I like the word plaster. Miss brookes, five minutes. Thank you, madam chairman. And thank you, and congratulations to all of those who have recently gotten confirmed. Just recently i joined with my colleague across the aisle, debby dingle, to form a 5g caucus. We had our first briefing with staff yesterday led by ctia. And im learning more and more of 5g. This is not something that i think is commonly understood among the citizens of our country. And i would be a slide was up during the presentation that talked about the global race for being on for 5g. And quite frankly, because we have often be the leaders in innovation, and in technology in the world, i was a bit surprised to see it appears that china and europe and others may be further along in 5g deployment than in the United States. And im curious whether or not and now, obviously, some of those countries, particularly china, for instance, dont have the division in governments between federal, state and local jurisdictions, the way that our great democracy does. But how are we taking that into account, and what should our role be in congress, and what can the fcc and our role in congress do to better partner with our state and local governments . Because i think were struggling, quite frankly, particularly in state legislatures, either educating or understanding what this race is about, and what were how were, i think, falling behind. Chairman pi, would you like to start as to what we could be doing differently and better . Because i think we all, from what i can tell from your responses today, were in agreement here that we all need to do a lot more, and a lot better. But what does it mean for us, a, to fall behind, and what should we be doing im pleased, indianapolis, that i represent the northern part of, is a 5g test site. But i think were way behind these other countries. I have an answer. Before i start, thanks for the hospitality you showed me in noblesville back in the district. I think theres a significant opportunity cost that attaches to america inertia on this issue. If we dont lead, there are plenty of other continents and country more than happy to take that lead. One thing i learned in this role is that the other countries are quite eager to capitalize on the 4g revolution. Not long ago, we had 4 of the worlds population and 50 of the worlds 4g subscriptions. China, among others, they dont want that to happen with 5g. Theyre trying to be aggressive in terms of spectrum and infrastructure as well. I think its important for the fcc, but not just the fcc, to think very creatively about this issue. Working with congress and local and state governments, we really need to have a serious conversation about what is the appropriate Regulatory Framework for 5g . Is it tri fur indicated or quad fur indicated . Just in regulation . Or is there more streamlined approach that we need to consider. I recognize the equities are different here. But National Competitiveness is our priority. I appreciate the need for a calendar, the need for the discussions with state legislatures. But whats the fcc doing, and im sorry that i might have missed part of that relative to educating state legislatures, and local communities. Because in our state, which did pass some legislation this last session, it was a fight between local jurisdictions and state legislature. And so can we and the fcc be doing to maybe educate in large part, or have these really tough discussions . I dont know if commissioner carr theres a number of steps that the fcc is taking and will continue to take on this. We have an Advisory Committee where we have representatives from local government on that. That we can have these discussions. This is critically important. You know, the u. S. , we heard, led the world in 4g. The regulatory structures we have right now are going to be the bottleneck that holds us back. But i think we have the momentum to move forward to streamline some of those. It will make a real difference. As i said in my testimony, we can shift entire communities from be uneconomical to becoming economical by streamlining the deployment rules. Can briefly someone say why its important that we win this . Anyone . Risk capital is fickle. It will go to any country in the world where it thinks innovation will find a home. And that an investment will yield a return. And that doesnt necessarily have to be the United States in the 21st century. I think about our policies are flexible. We include the needs of all communities. The voices of all communities. That we will win this race. Thank you. I yield back. I have great hope. The lady yields back. Chair, can i ask to waive mr. Tonko on the committee today . Mr. Tonko, so ordered. Thank you. Thank you, chair blackburn and mr. Doyle for conducting what i think is an important hearing. Thank you for your service on what are very Critical Issues for the growth of our economy. Commissioner rosenwarsal, i recently introduced the access broadband act for internet interconnectivity and the telecommunications administration. Under this Bipartisan Legislation, that office would coordinate broadband deployment programs across our governments, amongst other things, to make sure were all working together, pulling in the same direction. And your time at the fcc, do you believe that our agencies could do better coordinating with the various programs that serve broadband interests . Thank you for the question. Yes, more coordination is always going to make scarce dollars go further. I think thats particularly true with respect to the fcc, and the folks who are just up the road from us at the agriculture department, at the Rural Utility Service which runs grant and loan programs for Rural Broadband, too. The more coordination, the better. Thank you. Any other comments from any of our commissioners . Also, when were greenlighting those devices, we need to work closely with other agencies. In particular when we talk about telehealth and telemedicine. There are so many synergies that can be realized if we leverage those relationships we have inside of government. I appreciate that. Anyone else . If not, my bill would also task this office with tracking just how many consumers each of these programs serve. So that we have a better sense of how many people are being connected and where the consumers live. So chairman pi, today, does the fcc know definitively how Many Americans it helps to serve through the connect america fund . We have an estimate. But its not as definitive as the metric that i think your legislation contemplates. Right. Is there any way you can commit to providing my office, or this subcommittee, the committee in general, with that information before the end of the year . That information being the number . Right. We would be more than happy to provide any information we have that bears on that question. Thank you. And commissioner rosenwarsal, if put in the right context, do you believe information would be valuable for policy makers . Not just as it relates to the connect america fund, but for all of the governments broadband programs . Absolutely. We cant manage what we dont measure. If we get better broadband data, that can form the communications policy. I think its imperative. I found sometimes people without highspeed broadband at their homes may not understand all the benefits that broadband can bring. So education becomes important. Thats why the access broadband act includes educational components to help people learn what broadband can do for them, and the difference it can make in a community and what it means toward a stronger bid of economic recovery. Commissioner clyburn, do you believe that there is value in the educational component of what were attempting to do here . You talk about the educational component in terms of us broadband awareness and what it provides. Absolutely. Again, the commissioner talks about not measuring what, you know, you cant whatever you said is true. But sincerely, you know, if you dont have the exposure, you dont know whats possible. You dont know whats possible for you to better age in place if you have connectivity, if youre not aware of the options and opportunities that you have. So there are so many things from the educational standpoint. We mentioned health, in terms of keeping in touch and knowing whats going on in government, in realtime. You know, those are the types of things that can better empower individuals only with connectivity, only with the awareness, and i think all of us have a role to play in ensuring that the public is informed. So they can be better able to live their life more fully. Thank you very much. Finally, i know there was some exchange with our colleague from vermont. But the commission is considering lowering its definition of broadband, or could . To be honest, its hard to make sense of this proposal when i hear from my constituents day in and day out asking for faster Broadband Speeds. They want a faster Internet Access. So while we did hear some of that exchange, are there other comments you would want to make about that definition of Broadband Speed . Two different points, congressman. As i said, the proposal was to maintain the 253 standard. If you look at some of the decisions we have made in terms of our universal service fund, weve been always trying to push the envelope. Thats why in the very first vote when i became chairman was to deliver 170 million in funding to ub served parts of upstate new york so they could have the connectivity that folks in the big cities often take for granted. With that, ill yield back. The gentleman yields back. Mr. Ingle for five minutes. Thank you, madam chair. I want to start with funding for the repac. I understand that the fcc has reduced its total cost estimate for the repacing process downward, approximately 2. 1 billion, to 1. 86 billion. Many have told me, though, that they think the amount might be higher. Chairman pi, do you think congress should provide additional funding for the repacing process . That number could fluctuate up or down. Its not set in stone at this point. What i said to the other committees on the senate side was that to the extent that we dont have any the ability to be on the 1. 75 billion in the relocation fund, the additional funding from congress will be necessary, in order to meet that gap that otherwise broadcasters would have to pay out of their own pocket in order to fill. Let me also ask you this, mr. Chairman. If congress provides additional funding, do you believe low power tv stations and tv translators should also be eligible for that funding . Thats obviously a decision for congress to make. Congress decided not to give those entities rights in terms of reimbursement. If Congress Changes that determination, then certainly the fcc would be dutybound and would happily administer it. You personally dont have a position on it . Ive been talking to a lot of the translators, and theyre in a tough situation. I can tell you, ive been pushing for them since september 28th of 2012 when we proposed the rule making on this issue, whatever consideration the fcc can give them, and congress, too, would be welcome. Another group that weve heard from, fm radio stations were impacted by the transition, but not included in the initial reimbursement fund. We heard those concerns, too, that under the act they arent entitled. But because theyre piggybacking on infrastructure owned by the television broadcaster, then here, too, i think congress could step in and provide some relief. Thank you. Commissioner clyburn, how important is it to ensure that there is money for Consumer Education in this transition . My goodness, its just so obvious. You know, in terms of looking at what impact, if any, hopefully negligible, that would happen in this as we move toward relocating and making our ecosystem more efficient. The public needs to be aware that the low power of the stations and those not protected but impacted, they need to be informed. We need to continue to do what we can to protect them to make sure they dont have to do relocation twice. All of these things are very important. You know, for us to be at the forefront of ensuring that the transition is as smooth as possible. I dont think anybody would really disagree. Let me talk a bit about cybersecurity, and commissioner ros rosenwarsal, we heard about the breach of Companies Like equifax and yahoo and being exposed. Do you think that the fcc has the Necessary Authority to address cybersecurity . Thank you for the question. I do. I believe the very first sentence of the Communications Act references our obligation to make sure that we make available the communications for the purpose of national defense, and for the protection of safety of life and property. I believe that encompasses what is modern, which is cybersecurity. At the same time i recognize that our cyber aggressors will always move faster than any regulation. So the task is, can we bring people together so that we can come up with good best practices, and implement them widely to make sure our networks are more secure. Did the Congressional Review Act rescinding the fccs broadband privacy rules have any effect on the fccs Cybersecurity Authority . Thats a good question. I think the primary problem right now with cybersecurity is that my colleagues dont agree with me, in addition i think theres a fact that our Communication Security reliability and interope interoperaability, in its current iteration, its not part of their agenda. Finally, how did the cra impact the security of consumers private information . I think were going to only time will tell but im worried about that as well. Thank you. Let the record reflect i cosigned. Thank you. Thank you, madam chair. The gentleman yields back. Theyre going to call votes in about 15 minutes. Miss rogers is seeking to be ucd to the committee for purposes of asking a question. Without objection, so ordered. Youre recognized. Thank you, chairman, blackburn, for giving me the opportunity to join you today. The internet has revolutionized the lives to millions of americans and vital to an individuals economic potential in the 21st century. Unfortunately, many in Eastern Washington live with a Digital Divide that is limiting employment, educational, health and economic opportunities. Ensuring that hard working families in Eastern Washington have reliable access to broadBand Technology is a top priority of mine. And we must use every tool in the toolbox to provide greater opportunity. Thats why im excited in the opportunity to build out from the broadcast incentive auction to provide to Rural America. Many individuals and families in the most rural parts of my district struggle to get a signal for cell phone, let alone connect to the internet. Im encouraged by the commitment private sectors made in purchasing this spectrum and the practical effect it will have in Eastern Washington. Deployment of infrastructure and technology as a result of the auction will support millions of jobs and generate billions in Economic Opportunity in Rural America. An increased broadband will help the u. S. Continue its leadership in technology and innovation, by providing an on ramp for 5g network deployments. Thats why i wrote a letter in a Bipartisan Group of 54 of our colleagues urging the fcc to continue supporting the current time line for the repac resulting from the auction. This issue is too important, ensuring that the repac remains on schedule will mean many in Eastern Washington will gain reliable Broadband Access in a matter of months, not years. I wanted to thank the fcc for putting a renewed emphasis on closing the Digital Divide. And im encouraged by the engagement of the commission in looking for new innovative ways to provide access to millions of americans. We have the opportunity to provide every american the opportunity they deserve regardless of where they live. I look forward to you making that reality. At this time i would like to submit to the committee this letter that congresswoman eschu and i led with the 54 colleagues. So ordered. I would also like you, chairman pi, on title 2. Until the last fcc chairman acted late in the Previous Administration to upend really decades of bipartisan work in fostering broadband infrastructure, providers of this service were subject to a light regulatory touch. Are you concerned about achieving the level of broadband investment necessary to deploy broadband deeper into rural areas if the u. S. Does not go back to the light regulatory touch model . And can you tell us whats on the horizon to remove this uncertainty for investment for folks who just want fast and reliable Internet Service . Thank you for the question, congresswoman. For the way you captured i think both the peril and promise of bringing connectivity to folks in Eastern Washington, we are as mentioned earlier engaged in open proceeding to figure out what is the best Regulatory Framework to preserve as much Infrastructure Investment as possible, especially in parts of the country that dont have it. So weve taken a fair amount of Public Comment at this point, and were studying the record and trying to figure out the appropriate way forward. And what i can tell you is that we want to make sure, not just in this proceeding, but in every proceeding, that we have first and foremost in our minds closing the Digital Divide. There are far too Many Americans who are on the wrong side of that divide. Individuals who dont have the opportunities that others have. There are families who dont have the chance to thrive. Communities that will eventually wither on the vine. The country is weaker. And that is why the first day i was in office, i said this would be our top priority. And its going to remain so, so long as i draw a paycheck at the fcc. Great. I thank you for that commitment. And with that, ill yield back. The gentle lady yields back. There being no further members wishing to ask questions of the panel, you all have been generous with your time for the over past three hours. I thank you all for being here today. I ask unanimous consent to enter the following letters into the record. The five documents offered by mr. Doyle, mercada center paper offered by mr. Pallone, the letter from the lptv coalition and mcmorris repac letter. Without objection, so ordered. Pursuant to committee rules, i remind members they have ten Business Days to submit additional questions for the record, and i ask that witnesses submit their responses within ten Business Days upon receipt of the questions. Seeing no further business, before the subcommittee today, without objection, the subcommittee is adjourned. This week marks 50 years since senator john mccains capture in vietnam, and the beginning of his time as a p. O. W. We spoke to him about his service, his imprisonment and the legacy of the vietnam war. You can watch this starting at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan, online at cspan. Org, or on the free cspan radio app. Last week, cspan2s book tv sat down with Hillary Clinton to talk about her book what happened. She addressed criticism from sean hannity on her handling of a u. S. Russia uranium deal while she was secretary of state. Heres a look. Sean hannity on his program has been very critical of the uranium one deal, the president saying with regard to russia, thats the real story in all of this. What would you say to those critics . I would say its the same baloney theyve been peddling for years, and theres been no credible evidence by anyone. In fact, its been debunked repeatedly. And really, i have to give them credit. You know, trump and his allies, including fox news, are really experts at distraction and diversion. So the closer the investigation about real russian ties between Trump Associates and real russians, as we heard Jeff Sessions finally admit to in his testimony the other day, the more they just want to throw mud on the wall and im their favorite target, me and president obama. Theyre the ones they always like to put into the crosshairs. So yes, im not surprised, but i think the real story is how nervous they are about these continuing investigations. That was part of an hourlong interview on her recent book what happened. You can find the full interview with book tv on our website cspan. Org book tv. Up next, a hearing to assess the federal Governments Public Health preparedness for hurricane season. Recent hurricanes caused major damage to parts of texas, florida, and puerto rico, which is the home to several drug manufacturers. Whose facilities were severely damaged by the storm. The house energy and commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations heard from fda commissioner dr. Scott gottlieb. Its 2 hours and 35 minutes. Go ahead and get it started. Th