[inaudible conversations] one [inaudible conversations] remind good morning welcome to oversight of the fccs i should point out since this committee has jurisdiction over sports last night the South Dakota State University jackrabbits plunged their ticket to the tournament by winning the Summer League tournament i am getting gaveled down by someone. [laughter] last time we met a lot exchanged since then with the new fcc chairman with several members of this committee this is the first sec oversight hearing is that i hope to see changes how the commission operates i urge them to treat each other fairly to be willing to ask congress for guidance whenever possible. While still in the early days they seem to heed the advice that actions under chairman pai to improve the of process of transparency. And those that seem to amass power the chairman office that they could instead empower the public and other commissioners. Chairmanpai says purging the divide to guide under his cedar ship to represent a rural state where many people are without Broadband Service already taking huge steps for deployment moving along with the Mobility Fund and the connect america fund. The commission could move forward so quickly even during the time of Agency Transition debates the question why they were not completed sooner. Is refreshing to see that take that action and to move forward with to broadcasting items to help Television Better serve the American Public recognize that everything the commission will do will be as nonpartisan or well received as this is chairman pai first open meeting agenda. Unrecognizable monday easy task to rectify this biggest missteps from the last few years referring to uh uh and subsequent broadband privacy order other actions may need to be revisited and then to be reset to of both items will glad to see those that are set to go into effect last week is suspect everyone knows i feel strongly that the best way to provide longterm protection for the internet is congress to pass Bipartisan Legislation but we dont have agreement on that so theres no reason for the fcc to hold off to rebalance the regulatory posture under current statutes. Something tells me what will be dedicated to the topic issued not distract from other rules as will the fcc is in the final stages of the broadcast tv incentive option 84 mhz have been reallocated for billions of dollars dedicated for deficitreduction well that auction process is done the work is far from complete we will start the process as knows small undertaking care urged the commission to rethink its power to ensure the transition is successful. Robocall is another problem to be a trust addressed the government must do everything we can to protect consumers from those who are the bad actors which is one reason why this Committee Works antispoofing legislation but to be sure they are not punishing legitimate callers who were not acting maliciously that would give a much needed jobs start to that conversation and i will note and with my colleagues will be busy with the nominations he is now in his also for your his been renominated there are two vacancies right now live in the current term expires at the end of june was the president makes a is nomination and they will move swiftly and the most important thing is we will not allow the fcc to fall below a functioning quorum line no no responsible person who would deprive the agency to protect the consumers and marketplace that it would be a priority of mine. The recognize the Ranking Member for his statement. By welcome the three members of the fcc including the new chairman with his first appearance the president has been nominated him to give him primary responsibility over what this senator believes is one of the most important Consumer Protection agencies of the federal government. The last 80 years the sec has the consumers back for ultimately the senator the success or failure of the Commission Last on the fulfillment of a wish list but on how those who are least able to protect themselves have been treated and First Amendment rights including those of journalists are vigorously protected. Since assuming the chairmanship in the last few weeks, the fcc of your leadership has acted to prevent millions of broadband subscribers from receiving Key Information rates and terms and conditions so those subscribers will have less protections of their data of the duties that they owed to protect that web browsing history to pay subscribers in that would arouse people pretty quickly start stealing their personal data. Into a threat and the expansion of broadband into the homes of lowincome americans by limiting the effectiveness of a new Lifeline Program reforms. And in the last few weeks formally rescinded the fcc staff report detailing the implementation of the agencys comprehensive effort that sent shockwaves through schools and libraries across the country which are worried that you try to up bent this highly functioning and bipartisan program. These are actions that directly impact the lives of millions of americans faugh i hope they are not signs of things to come because at the end of the day p. Fcc has the responsibility. I hope and the white house will correct that fend correct that what service turned other term. It is imperative for the Senate Leadership without dispatch. I would share your highlevel of interest that we would receive those nominations soon and weekend process very quickly. I do want to recognize the commissioners in front of us today the agency has a lot of work ahead of us and we hope you focus on steering the commission and the right direction but youre hearing allows us to move quickly and this is good to have you here. We will start with you mr. Chairman. Did you get that . If you perform well. No pressure. Thank you for holding this hearing today they give for the confidence you have shown in me before discussing the matters level by to offer a personal note i grew up in the great state of kansas just a few months ago that was painful to learn of the cold blooded murder i cannot fathom and as it stands those of us the indian descent but i do want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with the family and tanks to have for risking his life into the perpetrator the exception that proves the rule for respect in the sunflower state. Returning to the focus of todays hearing our right to discuss more piraeus protecting consumers and reforming the fcc. Highspeed Internet Access is critical to economic opportunity. By more efficiently targeting by revising regulations and by creating deployment fit in the first six weeks of may chairmanship we have already taken action on a bipartisan basis to expand for glt across the country and also to serve to americans we have a limited outdated rules with the necessary paperwork to establish for the first time of broadband appointment to develop for those localities to are interested. Another priority shows a regulatory environment. But too often theyre unable to bring them to market for regulatory under shah. Going for remind them to facilitate and last month going to the Television Broadcasters to adopt that on a voluntary and Market Driven basis basic begin advance of innovation and spectrum sharing also getting the benefits and their the core mission is to serve the broader Public Interest and for instance all americans are united but with the fcc year end and year out every year americans receive approximately 2. 4 billion robocall. This month the commission will vote on my proposal to block robocall theres no reason why any legitimate caller should answer a number if it cannot come from the identifying phonenumber. Last friday we granted emergency waiver to Jewish Community centers to identify those who are responsible i hope that this measure helps to bring the upper traitor to justice. And in working to make it more transparent. And then tell after the Commission Voted but every day americans are in the dark last month and made public of the agenda danas went so well i could address that fact sheet that is just one of the of many ways to working with my colleagues members of the committee thinking again for holding this committee and i look forward to continue to work with you in the time to come. Chairman and Ranking Member and members of the committee, good morning it is a daughter once again to share my prairies to put consumers first. As a commissioner i have been an advocate that far too often in their voices go unheard. Including families and with the incarcerated loved ones also with Broadband Access those that live below about Property Line or benefit from the tel health services. In an affordable connected to the with Reliable Service in the open internet for all including several of those issues. Talk about the open internet in a broadband world back when we write the talk about universal service dollars according to one provider in a remote area you cannot rely solely of competition to protect consumers. The sec has continued in his present role in bisbee ecosystem. And if there was a billing dispute for pour service or billing concerns . This is why i strongly supported the commission opened unit order and continue to believe it provides the best Legal Framework to protect consumers and entrepreneurs and with the ftc privacy framework to empower consumers to make informed choices to give broad band providers the flexibility in a manner for those that works with the company to do everything that i can to respect privacy and the broadband world. With open internet and privacy in continues to be the greatest form of injustice i have seen in my 18 years as the regulator. Follow wife pays as much as 24 by a fog of leadership to ensure that it is not paid again and again and more broadly to be on infrastructure and access universal service mandate as four different programs that these are enabling broadband appointment and health care to bring connectivity and attacking the affordability factor. We cannot keep out any lake and expected continued to steam and to have access on our program also to be courageous of the system that is increasingly the heavy burden on Senior Citizens who grenoble under afford longterm deployment. I believe the conversation must dart by asking how we move for those seeking to fulfill the dream and to this end the support reinstating a Certificate Program and to start a Pilot Incubator Program to disadvantaged businesses and finally to focus on enhancing Consumer Protection over 172,000 subscribers only onethird said they were very or completely satisfied with television or Telephone Service as the Agency Responsible oversee the Communications Sector this is highly alarming we can and must do more. This includes streamlining broadband infrastructure telephone elf and telemedicine and access to 911 service. Into use in greater detail thinking for the opportunity to be before you today in ellen ford to answering any questions you may have. Thankyou commissioner for the opportunity to appear before this distinguished body for the work occurring at the sec. Like to raise a handful of issues to retention about last november election with a change of leadership within new spirit of cooperation to have that immediate focus and in approximately five short weeks to improve the efficiency and transparency and accountability of the commission to public leasing documents that is shared with the commissioners with that provided the outside party is with information that has been necessary and important i have a number of ideas including changes to the delegated authority process and Data Collection. On another topic that a core function is the integrity is not sufficiently achieved. To dave the squatters are infecting the radio band including Emergency Communications and financial status financial stability. It will take sufficient enforcement and diligent as well as the Statutory Authority dedicated to address higher radio. It is a high priority for me to insure broad band access is available to all americans. We will reply and standing in the way of greater access ranging from the difficult permit and approval process with an effort to establish a Government Network with the favorable land tax process. With the benefit of broadband appointment that there are bad actors to require preemptive mesh in the census by the commission will share with you a handful of my conversations suggest increasing concern of International Government seeking a greater role of government oversight of believe the possible expansion is one of the greatest threats of longterm stability of the internet. We have a lot of members here today to be as close as possible to the five men rule five minute rule. Serving during clintons term they your off to a good start. Meeting with them individually and reacting very positive the office of Personnel Management is an index based on the employees satisfaction that will recommend their organization as a good place to work. Yes, mr. Chairman, because i am the chairman and because i spent years as a former career staff were the agency i take this issue extremely seriously and i am committed to doing whatever we can to provide appear atmosphere of respect among the personal staff. Commissioner cylburn, it has been suggested that you may have the ability to deny the fcc a quorum by leaving before your term expires at the end of june or refusing to attend open meetings. Will you commit to serving ourout full term and doing wrour part as a Senate Confirmed member . Mr. Chairman, what you read has never been suggested or hinted by me. I have no plans to do anything that would jeopardize the functionality of this institution i love so much. Thank you. Chairman pai, as part of the reform in 2011, the fcc established a minimum price Telephone Companies must charge customers for local Telephone Companies or risk loosing universal support. This is what is known as the rate floor. Relief was granted in 2014 but the rate floor continues to increase every year and there is little effort to assess the impact the increases have having oncon surms and Service Provider ins Rural America. Do you have concerns about ever increasing rate floor and do you expect the commission to examine . Thank you. I have significant concerns on the rate floor and talked about it years ago. It is odd rule carriers were forced to raise the telephone rates that rural consumers who have less Median Income would have to pay to get Telephone Service. That is something i am committed to working with our bureau, staff and happy to work with you and your staff as well to get it right. As you know, there has been a lot of discussion about the fccs broadband privacy order and what were to happen if it suddenly went away. Would consumers be left unprotected or would the fcc be obligated to police the acts . The carriers still have obligati obligations in addition to federal data and breach notification. Commissioner orielly, you said you were comfortable with the fcc pushing communities to allow timely institution of 5g. What tools are available to help with that . We have talked about the good actors and the steps they have taken. There is model codes and a number of positive things. But i believe we have to preempt bad actor communities that are preventing broadband from being expanded throughout our nation. I think that is good for me now. I will let my guys go first and i will do clean up. I want to make sure you all understand that erate, which was setup and it was supposed to be looked at in 2018, it is so essential broadband to our schools and libraries and i would expect the fcc not to make any major changes on this Vital Program and i would ask you to evaluate it. Thank you mr. Chairman. Congratulations chairman pai. Many of us were disappointed by the pulling of jessica last week. The senate should have confirmed her term last year and i am counting on everyone to honor the commitment i would like to get back to the tradition of jessica and chairman pai can move through the senate floor quickly. This is a question for all the commissioners. Congratulations to all of you for overseeing a successful incentive auction. The first one of its kind. We all want the faster internet and better cov rnl coverage from the auction but i have concerns about local broadcasters loosing channels. The three of you said if the stations cant repack in the 39 month time frame they would not be forced off the air. Yes or no question. Would all of you support legislative efforts to make sure that doesnt happen . I would support any effort of ensuring our goal. Senator, i agree with commissioner cylburn. Depending on how it it read, i would agree. Thank you. Chairman pai, is the fcc going to review the at t and time warner merger . As i understand how the parties structured the transaction, there is no license transferred from one party to the other which is a jurisdictional hook for us to apply what is known as the Public Interest standard. So far as that remains the case, my belief is the fcc would not have the Legal Authority to review the transaction. Have you asked the fcc staff to conduct an independent analysis to confirm the fcc has no role . I have not at the current time. Would you be willing to do so and share with the committee . I would be happy to do so. A question about Net Neutrality and the context of this merger. If you move forward with the repeal of the open Internet Order and we fail to pass legislation and the comcast merger has Net Neutrality requirement conditions in it how do we ensure a level Playing Field with the at t merger not having conditions in rural or as a condition of the approval of the merger and one of its major competitors will be bound by that original requirement . Senator, there are a number of hypotheticals i need to sort out but the basic answer is that we want to act within our authority, of course, to protect the Public Interest and in the context of a transaction that depends on whether or not the transfer of license in the Public Interest. With respect to the past, it involves the enforcements agreed upon by prior commissions. There are other factors that go into the analysis. I cann i cannot you a simple answer. There would be two giants. One having to abide by Net Neutrality and one that doesnt. Correct. Chairman pai, i wanted to follow up with a private conversation we have had regarding the commission itself. That is something i have talked to all three of you about. In one of your previous oversight hearings you criticized the previous chairman for the large number of partyline votes under his tenure and said it wasnt always this way. It was understood no Political Party had a monopoly on wisdom and we recognize communication issues are not necessarily partisan. But the first two issues you tackled it has been 21. I understand you have a different perspective and you are in the business of implementing your point of view but what assurance can you give the committee, the community, the commission itself, the staff and the democratic commissioner of your commitment to try to get to 50 votes whenever possible . Thank you for the question. Very much appreciate your perspective. The Top Priorities i listed in my testimony in my comments to the career staff on my second day in office was i wanted to close the Digital Divide. Two of the topics that have been sitting on the shelve for a while involves the Mobility Fund regarding Wireless Service to parts of the country that dont have it and the connect america fund. In my explicit directions to my staff and bureau were to work with commissioner cylburn, hear her out and try to accommodate her concerns. I would like to think the end product we validated would be relevant. She said i understand we want to push the items out once up for consideration what about a onepage fact sheet to make it easier and i said that is right and implemented that immediately. That is the spirit i want to carry with me throughout the chairman ship to the best of my ability. Chairman wicker . Thank you. Chairman pai, lets talk about bringing broadband to economically challenged areas. This is something commissioner cylburn emphasized in her prepared testimony. You were successful in moving forward two major universal fund items including phase two of the Mobility Fund. These will help bring broadband to rural and hard to reach areas. You have four major initiatives in this regard i understand. Tell us about your plan there are areas of income falling below 75 of the National Median and requiring states and localities to have deploymentfriendly policies . I think you used that term in your testimony also. Tell about tax incentives and zones that you might designate for the u. S. Of tax credits use. Thank you. I outlined in accepted what i hoped would be a september would be a bipartisan agreement. One of the key proposals was my proposal for congress to give us the authority to setup what i have called giga bit opportunities with the idea you would get a Geographic Area as small as a city block or as large as a rural county in which the Median Income of citizens was 75 or less than the National Average income. The idea would be to provide tax incentives to providers to build out in those areas. Part of that would be a requirement of states and localities adopt broadband friendly policies in terms of access of right away and pole attachment and the like. And making sure entrepreneurs can take advantage of the networks, my idea was to provide relief for the employer side of the pay roll taxes for companies that want to setup businesses in those areas. People who live in the area and want to create jobs have a greater incentive to do so. It was drawn from jack kemp from the urban housing development. My idea was develop his idea of enterprise zone and give people in poverty greater chance to achieve prosperity in the digital era. This is going to require legislation . That is correct, sir. Do commissioner cylburn, what do you think about such legislation . If insulation if such legislation allows us to do what we do best and recognizes that affordability is a factor when it comes to adoption of services. We look at the principles and tools in the arsenal and i think it would be a good series of steps forward in terms of bridging those gaps that currently exist. But affordability has to be a part of the conversation. Chairman pai, commission cylburn says there is an affordability gap. Do you agree with this . What would you do about it . I do agree and part of the reason i expect concerns to chairman thune about the rate floor because that increases the rates rural customers have to pay. I think we need to do more to ensure consumers have competition and Affordable Access to the internet and i am committed to working with you and her on it. It seems to me that reversing the Net Neutrality rule with regard to free data and zero rating has turned out to be proconsumer in that not long after you terminated the investigation into these practices we saw a series of proconsumer unlimited data offerings come into the market. Do you think that new flood of opportunities came as a direct result of your action in this regard . Senator, i dont know if it was a direct result but i think it simply confirmed with the approach which is to recognize it is a highly competitive marketplace and wireless carriers have a strong incentive to compete for the consumer attention and all four wireless carriers are offering new or expanded unlimited data plans and that is great for consumers. You like tat . Correct, sir. Thank you. Senator booker. Thank you very much, chairman. Just on the point being made, and before my questioning, i want to reaffirm i am have a firm unwavering commitment to the ideals of Net Neutrality and the 2015 fcc Net Neutrality rules that were put into place which are now the law of the land and upheld in court and a lot of doom and gloom was predicted if this was to happen. But clearly the sky has not fallen, businesses frankly are continuing to innovate in this space. We are seeing a lot of very positive results. I am really hoping that there is a commitment to Net Neutrality here, not just in the committee, but also amongst the commissioners. Obviously we will have time to talk about that. I want to jump into the really another area of bipartisan encouragement is just this idea to Broadband Access which is so important when it comes to creating a robust access to education, to telehealth, you name it. This to me is something of great urgency. As most people know, i have a big concern about the way the criminal Justice System is operating that is profoundly become a tool to create d disparities in the country. They are stunning. There is no difference between blacks and whites in america for using or selling drugs but africanamerican americans are 3. 7 times more likely to be arrested for nonviolent drug crimes. As a result, you have situations like my state where africanamericans are 14 of the population but over 60 of the prison population. Our prisons are full of people color and poor people in general. Disproportionally people with Mental Health challenges, victims of sexual abuse, and i am just fiercely committed to the idea of trying to make our society fairer for all americans. Equal justice under the law. And also to empower people who are affected by the prison population by our mass incarceration problem in america so when they are paying their debt to society they can come out and be successful. When people are in prison, and the federal wardens talk about the robust importance of family ties. We have 2. 7 million children who right now are separated from an incarcerated parent. They are facing challenges on growing up as well and those links and connections are vital for the children, for those families, and for the rehabilitation of the person who is incarcerated. So this issue of Affordable Access to calls isnt just about a guy in prison making a call but goes to a core priority we have to drive down recidivism rates and support families. Video visitation is on the rise which is again something i talked to numerous wardens and people in the bureau of prisons that think this is strong. Commissioner cylburn, can you let me know if the fcc loses the case in court what are the potential consequences for the issues i am passionate about . I have only one word it would be devastating. It would set us back in the efforts we have attempted to do in terms of closing that gap to keeping families together, to ensure that more than 39 of the population impacted they can keep in touch. The number hovers around 3839 percent of people keeping in touch because they cannot afford to. Where it is affordable, the conversations have spiked. We have seen families there are 700,000 inmates that are released back into the society every year. If the majority of them go home as strangers because they didnt have to opportunity to speak, 75 of them are back in in a done on trade providing just, reasonable and fair rates to families pays d e divdands for all of us. I said when the fcc keyed up the proceeding it took too long. The petitioner shouldnt have had to wait a decade for the fcc to finally heed their call. I suggested i think the marketplace is broken. This isnt like the wireless marketplace we discussed with senator wicker. The commission has the authority to adopt rate caps, i agree the commission has the right to regulate this. The d. C. Circuit highlighted the stays of the orders the fcc has had and we are working through those. My commitment to you, regardless of case, we want to make sure the fcc does everything within its Legal Authority to fix this problem and we will be happy to work with you on this. Trembling trade would you like to the table for the work he did last year at the rate of return reform orders. Ive heard from nebraska companies who opted into the cost model and were pleased with the result and i appreciate your efforts. I continue to hear concerns from nebraska carriers that they are not permitted to get universal Service Support they provide single about the service what you must charge customers hundreds of dollars a month to recover their costs forve standalone broadband. Do you have any thoughts on ways we can solve the problem several customers have the option to buy affordable standalone Broadband Service . Thank you for the question, senator. Ive seen it in places and i very much appreciated. It feeds into the affordability question a little bit earlier. This is why two years ago i put on the table simple public onepage plan to allow carriers to offer similar Broadband Service. My concern is for carriers to calculate how much support they would get it have to jump through a lot of. At the end of the day they dont necessarily yield funding for them to offer or consumers to accept. My commitment is working with you and others interested in the topic to make sure we make the regulatory system or streamline inefficient to allow consumers to offer a similar service. Thank you. Commissioner rightly. Im a little defensive. Been t the point, i appreciate the desire to be simplified when we talk to and worked closely with carriers they preferred a model that wasnt a simplified. We had a choice to go one direction i wouldve been much easier and they preferredd another model. Your point is well taken in i terms of visit available. That is in the hands of the carriers themselves. In your state in other states is doesnt matter what the changes are never going to split off thm offering of voice products are missed a long broadband because im making so much money off that. The that ive carriers to want to offer the standalone Broadband Service and really not be penalized for it. They are provided subsidies under mechanisms so they are not penalized compared to a bundled product today. As long as they make sure customers in rural areas of that available to them withouter costing hundreds of dollars a nth. We have defined the race price point. We found a rather happy place. The commissioner pai, you mention streamline and i appreciate your willingness to streamline regulations and processes so we can encourage innovation. We had a hearing on infrastructure deployment and ask Shirley Bloomfield about the broadband funds maintained that the fcc and whether its necessary to maintain the numbef of programs out there. Not just under you folks, but also department of commerce, department of pack. Theres a lot of funding available. What im hoping to do is look at encouraging broadband deployment , but also we but also wish enough to duplicate efforts. Do you think we can streamline programs that are out there, whether its at the fcc or other agencies so they can avoid duplication of the funding and make sure we can on existing networks that are needed but not overbilled your i dont presuppose to Tell Congress today to think it would be helpful to unify or streamline them to some extent. Early on my tenure at town hall meeting in kansas, my hometown was senator murray in where a number of terms told us we have a line of credit and on the other hand were not using it because the sec is pointless sec is pointless if we do there will be significant regulatory restrictions on how we spend it and the like and the like. If we had a unified system that gave greater clarity to the recipie recipients it could be better for everybody at the end of the day so i Hope Congress takes it up. Thank you, senator fischer. Senator udall. Thank you, chairman thune and congratulations chairman pai on becoming chairman. Thank you, senator. While we may disagree on issues like Net Neutrality i think we have a shared goal of extending communication access to all americans. That must include native americans who face a terrible Digital Divide on tribal land and i know commissioner cylburn has seen that first hand in my state. I want to ask you about the president s open hostility toward Media Outlets and that many of those outlets have business before the fcc and how you intend to lead the fcc in this climate. This could affect matters before your agency. The First Amendment issues you have been very out spoken on could be affected as well. Your official fcc bioography states you have been an outspoken defender of First Amendment freedom, and describes your advocacy that scrapped a study on entry bearers in the marketplace and you wrote i quote the government has no place pressuring media organizations into covering certain stories end quote. In response to a media question last year about quote there is a role for the fcc to play in keeping the political elite in trying to suppress Trump Supporters you replied i think one aspect is the fcc using the bully pulpit it has to continue advocating for free speech and you added quote i hope whoever the president is americans would return to the respect for robust debate and that is something becoming increasingly rare end quote. Today, President Trump is using bully tactics to try to intimidate the media. He has declared certain Media Outlets and i quote he called Media Outlets the enemy of the American People. His press secretary, sean spicer, took the unusual steps of barring some journalists from attending his daily press briefings. Many news organizations have business dealings with the fcc from regulatory matters to potential merger reviews. I would like to ask you a couple questions i think can be answered with a simple yes or no. Do you agree with President Trump that the media is the enemy of the American People . Senator, i dont want to wade into larger political debates but i will reaffirm the quotes you offered from last year and the year before. You refuse to answer the media being the enemy of the American People . I believe every american enjoys the First Amendment protections guaranteed by the constitution. When you met with President Trump in the oval office and at trump tower did you discuss any issues related to the media . Senator, i will leave the details of those conversations to the white house to determine. I am not at liberty to say. Did you discuss any specific companies that interact with the fcc . Again, senator, i cant comment on the conversations i have had with i cant comment on the conversations ive had with the president. I would leave it to the white house to disclose. Statement with the fcc offered independently of the whitethe house . Absolutely pure would resist any attempt toga intimidate news organizations . Including last week in an International Forum to the regulators he regulates and comp of the world, we are an independent agency and any matter placed before we i will take a sober look at the facts, render a decision based on the law and precedent that apply to those facts and make a determination on what my colleagues and i thing is best. Steve bannon said quote, the media should be embarrassed and hew mileated and keep its mouth shut . Do you agree . I will not wage in the political debates. Would you as the fcc commissioner make a comment like nat . Senator, i certainly have not made comments like that. I have at home when i discharge my personal responsibilities but i have not said things like that. The wall street journal recently reported that the president s son in law, jarred cushner, raised concern with a time warner executive about cnns coverage of President Trump. The article notes that time warner owns cnn and has a merger pending potential antitrust review. So, have you had any discussions with or contacts with anyone in the Trump Administration about cnn or any other news organizations . Senator, no i have not had speed had any conversations with him or anyone else i that ill you immediately report to this committee if anyone from the white house contacts you, or your staff, about taking any favorable or negative action regarding any media or Communications Business . Senator, i will commit to following all the appropriate protocols and ethical requirements that apply to that sort of conversation. Thank you very much. Senatoradol senator udall, thank you. Senator moran. Thank you for joining us. Appreciate the relationships we have had with you and your staff and the open and receptive way we work together. Chairman pai, thank you for your opening moments of your presentation and appreciate the heart felt nature and something we highly deploy. My first visit returning to d. C. Was to the embassy of india to express concern we had with families and those coming from india and expressing the belief that kansans are opening people. Couple quick questions i would like to raise. I know the topic of repack was raised. I guess he solicited and received your commitment to work with him and i assume that includes the rest of us on the committee should a repack alt alteration be necessary. Let me ask a couple more specific questions. Did you believe the commission adequately assessed the size and scope of the repack when the Commission First formulated its transition plan . Thank you. I did have concerns about the agencys course but obviously a lot of decisions have been made so our goal is to work and ensure a smooth transition and leading up to the end of the auction putting out a schedule of Public Notice that outlines steps, working with broadcasters to get cost estimates back and stay tuned is the best answer i can give you. When will you know if money set a side is sufficient . We anticipate three months after the close of the auction we will get costs from the broadcasters and then we will be able to take stock and figure out the estimate. If that is within the 1. 7 billion congress allocated we will take the appropriate action. When will you know if the 39 month time period established by your predecessor is sufficient . That will depend on when the auction closes and petitions for reconsideration that are pending that raise questions about that. We are going to go with the facts take us and are not sure what the timeframe is. Switching topics. The mobility phase fund two. Congratulations on getting an order adopted for that fund. I am pleased to see we are moving forward. I understand that the order recognizes there is a need for a robust challenge process. I agree. We have had this conversation several times before about coverage maps and the challenges are fallacy. Can you explain how an auction or challenge process would operate . Thanks for the question. First and foremost congratulations to the colleagues who are working to put something on the table that will benefit the American People. This was inspired by a drive from wichita to des moines and i was struck where the fcc suggested we had coverage but didnt. We want this challenge to be robust and gives the American People and the fcc Accurate Information about where consumers are covered and where they are not. That is one of the issues in the document we put out was to figure out the best way to ensure that data is accurate. If the map is accurate, great. But if not, we want to act on the basis of firm and accurate data. Let me ask commissioner cylburn and commissioner orielly if they have comments they would like to make in regard to either question answered by chairman pai. As you know, i have been pushing for the next phase of the Mobility Fund for some time. I am happy to see its conclusion. When it comes to the to the challenge, i am very passionate about that and make sure those challenging are not disadvantaged and have a means of affordable and open and transparent manner. Being able to say this is not the case. I am very proud of this, very open and interactive process and look forward to continuing to work with the parties to make sure we have accuracy and a process that will enable us to meet our goals. Thank you. I agree with my colleagues. I have pushed for improvement of the challenge process knowing we need to improve your mapping. Ba back fact your questions on the repack, i said i would be the first one to come the congressss of additional funding was necessary in terms of timing as well. I think its a little premature to get to that point. I think we are still months away from there. Thank you all three appeared pleased to see where having a conversation by three commissioners, not the normal dialogue between two. Ive also been in a room with senator thune and i recognize some times and never get asked a question either. Wanted to make sure you had the opportunity. Senators time has expired. [laughter] thank you, senator murray ani senator peters. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you to each of the commissioners for your Public Service and would appreciate your openness to discuss these important issues. Chairman pai, you have said the Commission Must commit itself to being a truly independent agency that makes decision based on facts and law which i appreciate you making that comment. I know you are wearinghairma september 2015, chairman thune, Ranking Member nelson, senators booker, rubio, mccaskill and i sent letters to the fcc endorsing a plan for the joint testing of two proposals for spectrum sharing in the 5. 9 gigahertz p. M. And i know thattn testing. They are vitally important to the automotive safety system, which will dramatically decrease and will be a major advancement is fully deployed. In keeping with your commitment to transparency and letting the data drive the policy, can you commit to making public all of the Data Collected by the secnc during the field testing phase . Senator, i would be happy to do so with the caveat to the extent there is a confidential trade secret or information that might otherwise be revealed. Wed be happy to take public whatever we can. I want to make sure we abide by whatever rules and regulations apply to the information. I understand not. Everything else will be made public. Id be happy to take a look at that. Wed be happy to do whatever we can to make a public. Do you commit to final determination on spectrum sharing the 5. 9 billion will be based on sound Engineering Data which will undergo rigorous and open review to fully review the decision made. N we tak any action we take in this area or any area has to be based on a firm foundation. What is your target date for making a Firm Determination . We dont have. Ch we are experts of the agency tried to discuss issues. Id be happy to get back to youh if thats okay with the more specific timeframe. I appreciate if you could contact my office is something were following closely. What has been the commission that there is coordinating withi d. O. T. During the transition to the new administration. Were already in the process of outreach to the department of transportation and ntia appeared my instruction to our staff was to make sure we are plugged in to make sure the one agency is not accede to the other thisll be an open and quadrant of dialogue moving forward. I appreciate that. I want to pick up on senator burns discussion and questionsat related to form 477 data critical for us to make sure rural areas actually got service. We have a big issue when imwe v trying even though rural areasas quite simply dont have service. It really goes to the heart of the issue which is beyond the challenge process, which we want to make sure his aggressive fully open. We really have to change these maps. They are simply not accurate as far as what im hearing and how are we going to fundamentally make sure we have good data beyond just the mobility phase which is important that will arise. We need to have good data or we cant make good decisions. I think its critical not just for Mobility Fund, that any program to make sure that our a data is accurate. Having just come back from there. We want to make sure what we hope to iron out but moret we ae generally is to make sure the information we get is correct and thats one of the commitment going forward. Cl i like to work closely because of the greater part of too many part of my state but i look forward to your commitment to it. To do that, senator peters. Thank you for the time youre spending today. I thought it would quickly lay out operating principles as they interact with the fcc. Before i do that, i reviewed the fccs strategic goals promoting Economic Growth, protect Public Interest goals, and promoted operation excellence at the sec. Sec. It is just a general effort to make sure you serve the broader Public Interest. With that in mind, im looking to partner with all of you to promote the following peerpa privatesector innovation, transparency, bottomup solution as opposed to pc driven policies and sustainable bipartisanve policies to give her jobe. Creators the certainty they need to innovate. Rtant to you spoke about process reforms to create efficient turns. In effect give fcc. I couldnt agree more. To give i would like to give some more specificity to what youve laid out in your testimony. Ive long been a champion of congress reasserted its roleti with respect to major regulations and making sure why we have in place is still relevant, serves the broader Public Interest. Why do you believe its important to create a new bureau of economics within the fcc and are there other bureaus you believe should be consolidated perhaps to better reflect regulated industries. I appreciate the question above powered ideas to deal with the internal workings of the three of us remaining. Your question gets to the benefit of cost benefit analysis even though chairman of promisee to do so. I believe in cost benefit analysis. I read every item that i voted. Youll see the cost benefit vealysis is lacking. They do some of the cost, but very little benefit is quantified even though it can be difficult it should be done. Ive had difficulty with their current structure at the economist are scattered throughout the bureaus today there is no continue ill be between the items. One might be better than the other. Another completely lacking. It always comes to the same form. The benefits are large of the cost or whatever they are exceeded by the benefit before the item. He made chairman pai you discussed the need to reform internal processes. But additional authorities do you require if any should make reforms you think are necessary. Thank you for the question. We have a lot of tools in the toolbox and we do have the authority to organize ourselves to promote efficiency. There are things that lie within congress purview. Reform of the sunshine act to allow the three of us to collaborate which we cannot do without running a foul of restriction and consolidated reporting so instead of setting up reports that consume a lot of Staff Resources and few people read we provide you a unified project of our legislative responsibilities. Thank you. I want to commend you on your efforts to close the Digital Divide and that of the other commissioners. Look forward to working on that effort together. As a matter of followup here, i would like to ask you, seeing as the president proposed we pass a major infrastructure package n fairly near term, what lessons have you learned about implementing broadband build out and if congress were to approp additional funds where should they go . America is a challenging place in some places to deploy broadband. For the private sector, it will not be there. We need to think creatively about stewardship of federal funds, modernizing the regulations to ease the case, and to encouraging others, states and localities to adopt broadband friendly policies. Those three tools are things we can and should be implementing. With respect to the infrastructure plan, i hope with respect to the white house and the body, Digital Infrastructure is a part of that conversation. I think in the 21st century as i travel that is one of the first thing people interest. They might leave their small town or not have the opportunities others have because they dont have Internet Access. I am committed to solving that and to the extent congress can help that would be terrific. I yield back. Next up is senator cortez masquez. Good morning afternoon. It is a pleasure to meet all three of you and chairman pai, congratulations on your renomination and i look forward to sitting down and talking about the issues we are discussing today and other issues. Thank you. We have many rural areas in nevada that is a concern but one of the concerns before that is the hiring freeze. What impact have you seen or felt from the white houses hiring freeze to your agency . To be honest, we have been so busy producing work product for the American People i have not had a chance to talk to our Human Resources and other administrative experpt do is figure out what we havent been able to do. I can say we are making progress on some of the core priorities using the terrific staff we have thus far. And how many years have been been serving as commissioner . From 2012 to january of this year and a staffer for almost four years before that. Can you assure me the merger reviews and legal challenges are not being impacted by the need to hire legal staff . Yes, senator. All are positions to your knowledge that currently are vacant in the Inspector General . I know with the field offices there are four vacant positions. Can you provide to me in writing answers to the questions with respect to the hiring freeze, the impact, and where they are located throughout your agency. I would be more than happy to do that. Thank you very much. Commissioner orielly, i know the fcc cybersecurity and communication Reliability Division works with the Communications Industry to develop and implement improvements that ensure reliability of the nations communication infrastructure. What else specifically can the fcc be doing to aid in the concern and challenge of cybersecurity and Identity Theft . So, i want to be careful here. We do a good job improving the relationship with the providers we oversee. Our Statutory Authority is limited in the Data Security space. I would be open to congress changing the lines of jurisdiction. There are other agencies that providers interact and operate with in terms of the Data Security and pieces of that nature. So limited to no authority . I think it is extremely limited. If congress changed that i would implement what they change. Getting back to expanding broadband. I am interested particularly in access on public and tribal lan lands. I am aware of these concerns particularly in nevada with 80 of the lands are owned by the federal government. Chairman pai, your bio page on the fcc emphasizes your regulatory philosophy is we need to streamline the process for deploying Wireless Infrastructure and you include the federal government should speed the deployment of broadband on federal lands that impact the most Rural Community by adopting shot clocks, minimizing fees and mapping federal assets. Can you explain to me what we can to do address these challenges and what commitment you can make to help me get access to more nevada residents who are impacted by the hurdles . I will start with the last part which is you have my commitment to work with you to make sure all nevada residents especially rural ones have access to broadband. I saw a fixed provider in reno providing to the tesla factor and it was incredible what they were able to do in challenging environments with respect to wireless connectivity. It takes twice as long if you want to get a permit on federal land than private land and we want to close that gap. That the Wireless Infrastructure subject to see bloggers requirements apply to a couple hundred foot tall tower. Those networks are going to require much more smaller ad infrastructure. We want to make sure we work with all stakeholders to ensure wireline infrastructure is more easily deployed. One of the topics we talked about is you take one. If youre going to take up the road as part of a project, why not also have a condo to have any provider to be able to lay the fiber can provide an alternative to consumers. I dont mean to interrupt, but what youre saying is so important. One of the areas i would like to see and i hope you can take the song with the efforts to an Interagency Group of partners to tackle these challenges. We have challenges, but aside from that you be dedicated to helping us with a nevada in any other state that has similar challenges . Is frankly underway with what i call my broadband Employment Advisory Committee that my colleagues have agreed to help the end how to work cooperatively with other agencies to make sure no one agency or no one part of government is standing in the way of Digital Opportunity. E wat that thank you. Thank you very much. That be a good place to start. I think the number as well. I appreciate your service. I appreciate you coming and washing the catwalk and scaled out rather than walk in. I know youve had a lot of conversation about Rural America and i appreciate the empowerment agenda. They have opportunities and i would like to know in terms of best part is his first taste tov mention this in terms of citing a powerful citing anonymous kinds of things, do you as the chair plan to come out to some state initiatives because you saw in Fayette County have difficult days in a small state like ours to deploy. That experience and i think we need to have a set of best practices that would enable states and localities to move forward if they want to allow citizens to have digital access. One of the things we will charge is creating a model code so that any jurisdiction could take these policies off the shelf without having to hire people to study issues in real to say we want to deploy broadband. The fcc has given these policies and know they are going to be in the consumer interests. That would be well appreciated. A lot of times they proceed down barriers that was really is. I appreciate that. Thank you for coming to morgantown. At that point you run your community store. While we are two top line takeaways. When we got a chance to come up after i got my sanity back, if you have been up to their staffer, youll need medical attention. One of the things that i saw on this tour that included your ist beautiful state is that every single challenge that we have that can be improved and enhanced icon activity. Every Single Community is different. Every Single Community has challenges and part of the challenges that cannot always be made. You need entities like ours. You need all of us to come together and say what can we do in a very targeted and are to bring conductivity to these regions. Thats the take away when i go everywhere that we need conductivity to make sure. You should not have to relocate in order to thrive and be giving communities. Is a force of reinforcement. It is rather hilly bear. They have a new role as chair of the Financial Services appropriations subcommittee. I wont bring up my Mental Health. E mr. Oreilly, one day we talked about in my office is the issue that could hold great promise in Rural America. There have been discussions on the regulatory space in simplifying and making it easier and more clarified for providers. Could you talk about thatu talkt briefly . Absolutely, the space between Television Channels within a market can be used for unlicensed purposes, wifi and we are further down the roaded which is very good. The software has been a little latina we should be furtheras md along. It has improved and made changes in the last two years to improve detectability to make sure there are false positives but still provided an opportunity and it is quite remarkable and is able to bring connectivity to bring things like the internet of things available and wearables and all the things that come from that. West Virginia University is using this whitespace to connect their two campuses to make sure students are always connected as they move back and forth. Thank you. Senator l. M you have to share with the other members what it is that shes done for the commissioners to make them so agreeable. T up is senator called the shark. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you to the three commissioners and all the work you do. Congratulations, chairman pai. I hope the president will beide dominate just a rose that were sold. Not only shes smart but her name is harder to pronounce than my own. Wed like to get that done. Broadband deployment as you just noted is the infrastructure challenge of our generation. Senator l. And i are two of the five or six cochairs of the broadband caucus and i recently wrote a letter to the president along with the cochairs signed by 48 senators urging the president to include broadband as part of any infrastructure initiatives. The mobile now act to pass the committee in january included provision and expand wireless coverage. Senator thune and i have pushed for the broadband reform. Why is direct federal support for the universal service fund critical to deployed broadband in rural parts of our country . Thanks for the question. You simply cannot build a business place for deployment. T. Places are improving kansas city are breaching your state currently it will be difficult to figure out away to lay fiber that is sub page a bipartisan basis. The i started my day with a number of people on the infrastructure issues and im glad the administration in the proposal we put out for aa trillion dollars in a structure on the democrat side include infrastructure. We are hopeful and something comes out it will include broadband. Im cochair of the 911 caucus. I know youve worked on some of these issues and senator nelson and i have announced they are putting a draft together and nexgen 911 at 1027 team. Could you talk about the importance of the transition . And provides us with more continuity. It provides us the ability that comes to the most stressful part, provides them with more certainty and more robust options when it comes to connecting with their publicic safety access point. 1600 of those and honestly are not created equal. We have to do what we can to bridge the particular gap when it comes to providing services and catch everyone up so the next generation 911 is truly a reality. Thank you. Senator lee is here and he and i worked hard antitrust subcommittee of judiciary andco weve heard from smal programmers that prevents consumers from being able to access content. Lets share the commission issued proposed will make it obvious emaking and i understand you dissented at least in part because of process concerns. What are your plans on moving forward and the proposed rulemaking clacks tamika of the comments closed a few weeks ago so the staff is taking what is in the record and at some point we have to sit down with them and figured out the appropriate way forward along with my colleagues. Do you want to add anything to that clacks tamika this is a great interes of go me. Ive heard from dozens of independent programmers who say that the clauses are unfavorable and unfair. They are limited by way of the viability of the business so im hopeful the chair man after careful review will move forward in this item because i believe they need our attention. I agree with the chairman. Thank you to all of you. Senator klobuchar next up we have senator markey. Thank you mr. Chairman. They fired the opening on Net Neutrality on that border and broadband Privacy Protections are the first victim. Yesterday senator flake introduced a resolution that would undo the broadband privacy rules by the congressional act and last week they stopped the implementation of the Data Security protections of the rules which could make subscribers Sensitive Information vulnerable to the regions and unauthorized use. This is a preview of coming attractions and congress or the fcc may take further actions to roll back the critical protections because Big Broadband companies dont want to give Consumer Privacy protection the attention which they deserve. They are uncomfortable and on complex and uncomplicated. They simply required the internet Service Provider to get consumer consent before using or sharing subscribers personal information. Number two, promote transparency by mandating that they tell the consumer what they are collecting about that and number three, ensure that they adopt Data Security protection and notify consumers if a breach occurs. Thats it. That is what the whole fight is about. Broadband companies dont like it. They dont want to spend money to give consumers the information. They would not as a result have to abide by those robust Privacy Protections. Commissioner clyburn isnt it true that Many Americans across the country dont have a choice as to their broadband provider so if they dont like the Privacy Protections that the Internet Service company is providing they dont have another provider to go to . There are few places that have options. And isnt it true they pay incredible amounts of money each month to have access to the broadband . So killing these rules would create an unregulated wild west where consumers would have no defense against the use of invasions against their privacy by their isp. The rules were on the books. Broadband providers dont like it and they are definitely in a situation where they think they can finally escape having a robust Privacy Protection in place. The headline every day warn us of what can happen with Smart Devices and the broadband revolution that makes possible in terms of the compromise of the information. This is just another example. Now, moving over to Net Neutrality, the Census Bureau reported that u. S. Broadband and teleCommunications Industry spent over 87 billion in Capital Expenditures in 2015. Meanwhile last year almost half of all Venture Capital funds invested in the country and went to words internet specific Software Companies. Yesterday over 170 organizations sent a letter calling on the fcc to promote Economic Growth and preserve competition by maintaining the open Internet Order. And i ask unanimous consent that the letter be entered into the record. We have hit the sweet spot with 80 billion invested by the Big Broadband companies and we have half of all Venture Capital going into the internet and Software Companies thats what you want. You want that kind of dynamic into the innovation and also the deployment of broadband. There is no problem that needs fixing. Commissioner clyburn has the open internet border really made broadband providers unprofitab unprofitable, is it really discouraging to companies from investinthe companies frominvesn their networks . The figures i have seen sa an investment is occurring. As you mention, Venture Capital money is flowing and according to an sec filing where you are to identify any issues or barriers when it comes to ars w particular process or action, theres no identification of the internet been in negative when it comes to investment opportunities. I will fight hard to protect policy rules on the books that i will fight hard for Net Neutrality. The 4 million americans whoe communicated last round of the open internet issues are dwarfeb by the number of people who ared concerned that competition taken f the books. Ive got another commitmenti since i was going to do cleanup. I will be submitting my question for the record and i would appreciate red answers to the questions. Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thanks to each of you for being here. Its an honor to be with you. This is my first sec oversight hearing as a member of the Commerce Committee sought by t daddy here. I wanted to begin my questions and remarks by sharing the words of a previous fcc chairman who served of course under presiden. Clinton. She said her vision for the future of communications must be a bold one. We must expect in five years there can be Communications Workers with minimal or no such regulation. The fcc would focus only on o those Core Functions that cannot be accomplished by normal markek forces. As a result, the traditional boundary separating the current operating bureau should no longer be relevant. In five years the fcc should be dramatically changed. Tell me what you think about the comment made by then chairman kennard and whether we have arrived at a place like the one he described. Thank you for the question. Tremendous credit for an early age and now the mission would have to adjust accordingly. He has impressions about how the marketplace when it just. It is long labored under silos where we regulate Certain Companies depending on how they are classified in what technology they use. Those distinctions become obsolete in the modern age. When figures a comment to make sure we keep abreast of the times but also making sure the a most efficient and appropriate way. If there is also an obligation as these reviewed to serve the people and as he said we need Market Forces that isnt always cut in the same direction. Thats exactly right. One of the things ive been focused on is to adjust the agencies an operation to make sure we give everyone of the commission and the professional staff the chance to do what they do that to defend publicublic interest. On the note, i was glad that my colleague brought up that issue earlier today and i look forward to working with him and other members of this committee and the senate to help move them forward. As you pointed out, there are some things to initiate the process. The administration has agreed on such a plan is a priority. Do you intend to initiate the process . That is one of the issuesthe raised. One of the thanks we are going to be looking out and obviously open to any suggestion for ways to improve operations. Meantime youre going to keep open on the Public Interest and keep defending the best way that we can. The fcc claimed its unprecedented and sweeping reclassification because broadband providers have the incentives and ability to eliminate. The openness of the internet, the extent to which it is open and in the course of its nearly 400 pages within this order the fcc fails to effectively prove that it was offering anything more than a solution in search of a problem. To refer to the added Service Provider that could or might potentially do to block the Application Services or content could you offer a gas . I cant give a number but its clear that these are prophylactic members that they viewed. There are several instances in which this happens and it looks even worse considering the fact the chief economist at the time called the order and economic free zone. Acm out of time so i suppose i can submit those for the record. Thank you very much. Thank you senator lee. Id be happy to get your questions into the record. Senator blumenthal. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you for having this hearing in thank you for being here. We are in an oversight hearing still have to forgive us for not being completely congratulatory and noncritical and i want to put in the record a number of materials including an article from the Washington Post daten february 11th in a letter from the Consumers Union written to our chairman dated march 7th. I want to ask you first with respect to the time warner at t merger, your standard is a different one for reviewing mergers. The parties have structured the deal to escape. Sometimes its great to escapeom your view but i dont want to use that pejorative. Could you commit to the committee with an analysis based on the Public Interest standard. The fcc would only apply to the merger i know that. Im asking you to do the analysis. You can say yes or no. Either hell do it very well. Can you prepare the Public Interest for congress . To submit to the committee. Only hesitation as they would be no facts before us. We want to be able to apply with any expertise on what the transaction would be. Id be happy to take it backu and what they are with respect to that. In the time so far the Trump Administration is in office, you unfortunately have wound rules and regulation. The transparency rules that ensure broadband consumers know which type of service. In set top boxes that would have saved money with privacy rules. You undermine critical programs like lifeline and e. U. Rate and backed away for rules that lower the exorbitant rates for phone calls as the number of my colleagues have remarked that im not interested in what you communicate that it has adopted the playbook to protect consumers and further the interests of big business. I would like to know from you what possible rationale therepos can be for enabling Cable Companies to continue profiting from renting cable boxes 20 billion a year in revenue rather than permitting them to all those boxes when they conceived by the every year for families. Those. Thank you for the question, senator. I believe as i think many millions agreed the right solution to the problem is not to double down on the technology in the set top box so in my view the fcc would have been better off looking forward to figure out how to eliminate hardware that adds cost and increases in convenience for consumers and increases the more ad space support of the concern i had withavewith the set top box pros one that was shared by the commissioner and others and that is part of the reason why we prefer to look forward to speak in terms of the regulatory approaches as opposed to getting my ear and some of the more intricate policy quagmires and the previous approach. So you are not willing to review your physician . We are always happy to based on the new facts and evidence that is placed before us. Let me ask you on Net Neutrality, i assume you are aware and will follow the obligation that you would have a new rulemaking procedure if you were to run. For any action as long as im the chairman of the will comport with the administrative procedures act and any other requirements that might be pertinent. My time is expired. Ihas expired. If i can engage inr round. Thank you senator blumenthal. Thanks for holding this hearing. I want to begin by thanking the chairman for some of the changes that youv weve made on how the commission operates so that frankly theres more transparency and openness in your process, things like releasing the text of an order before it is voted on i think that is pretty fundamental but it was always amazing that your predecessor didnt think that that was necessary. But i do think that its also Important Congress codify some of the changes and registration so they maintain and openness from one administration to the next. Are there any other process reforms that you are contemplating . Thank you for the question. First off, commissioner oreilly outlined several and we are certainly looking at some of those. I proposed a number going back to 2013 for example a very simple when creating an online dashboard any member member of s or member of the public could see how many complaints were pending at the commission or how many were free to attend and what is the meantime to those are the basic facts that would be helpful for people to go but theres a lot of things we can do and we are committed to them as soon as we can if we can spare the bandwidth so to speak. This is an important issue for you. Thank you for the question, commissioner. Its been wonderful in leading a number of efforts on the reforming of the internal process. There are more ideas i put together 25 and we probably have a good 17 to go and i have been creating new ones on a weekly basis my colleagues are trying to figure out how to invalidate issues sent to the staff to make decisions. They were goaded by commissioners and we would like the right and ability to go work on some of those without disrupting the process. Another idea i put forth is to include the sunset in the rules so that we would be forced to review the item. A fresh look at them every couple of years and better they stay on the books and theyve outlived their longevity and we have a couple of procedures to deal with what they are getting the full review of my opinion. Thank you, commissioner. We do appreciate you spending some time on that and we have had a discussion on this particular issue and i want to share some statistics with you that come from a range of sources the sec complain fcc coh industry groups, the department of commerce, we can go down the list. They give access to mobile Broadband Service. I question these kind of numbers and statistics. We have 100,000 square miles of their we have a county commission in a county called eureka and its also the state he also is a rancher. In a conversation with him, hes constantly carrying two phones along with him hoping one or the other has service. Other. If he doesnt have access, clearly that could become a problem. There were opportunities they could have called in a public where they didnt have access to the emergency crews and so i think those are a Public Safety risk. They raise raise the burdens tht prevent and find ways to access and to have access in underserved areas. You and i agree on this. Have been championing these policies and have written legislation and i will continue to do so as we go forward. You have any idea on what we can do to speed up the deployment of these areas . In response, one of the things that is critical in nevada would be speaking up for deployment on or adjacent because i know nevada is disproportionately constituted in the federal land and another thing would be making sure that the Business Case for it is easier and that involves in some cases another piece that could get fixed is the commercial marketplace to enable the wireless providers who are doing a terrific job of providing connectivity where it isnt economical to deploy. I mentioned i saw some of that and there is a Great Potential for me to be honest i dont care what technology is used to connect to folks we want to bring all of them to bear at the most fiscally responsible. Its to allow that money to be a channel to the existing progra programs. We have a pretty good program that we administer to allow the rural carriers and others to deploy some of these networks instead of having to reinvent a wheel or agency we can use the existing mechanisms for the professional staff that are terrific to get the biggest bang for the buck. Thank you to the commission for being here today. Thank you mr. Chairman and the commissioners for being here. I wanted to ask about media consolidation. Obviously weve been through this time period that if we needed an advertisement for why we need to diverse sources of media, this is it, so wanted to get your thoughts on the cross ownership owning newspapers and what direction we should be going. Thank you for the question, senator. In some cases it has been on the books for several decades so they have determined that they remain in the Public Interest and the current year. Would you say that you are aggressive or neutral or negative on taking sure that for the consolidation happens . Not to be glib but i cant describe an adjective. What i can tell you is i firmly believe our rules should match the reality of the marketplace we are in and that includes making sure that we take account of the state of the industry, Market Structure and the like to make sure theres a competitive vibrant marketplace that serves consumers. This is why im concerned because in march 2013 you voice support for pursuing a resolution of disapproval against the sec media ownershipy rules and urged furtherative consolidation and you call for a public vote on the sec media ownership rules that would have increased media consolidation. Now that you are the chair we really want to understand this and understand where youre going. One of the things what would help is because without a lot of dialogue as a committee and committee has changed over a long period of time as we watched this issue. The sec does have a Data Collection of information so that 2015 data about this issue has not been released. Will you commit to making sure that you wont do anything ahead of publishing this date and publishing it in 2017, before any changes are proposed in media and consolidation . To be honest im six weeks on the job and i havent yet had an occasion to look at that status of that 2016 Data Collection bua we have worked with you on that. What i can say is a stunning evidence thats in the record we know theres literally no evidence to support the newspaper, radio cross ownership and everyone has conceded that. The Third Circuit court of appeals has told us some of these regulations are no longer necessary. We want to make sure based on w whatever the facts are we take appropriate action. So there is called form 323, and fcc tool. Thats about data on ownership and we want to make sure people are complying with it and getting information, that we were getting information and that we are reviewing it. We definitely want to have many voices in the market and obviously we have a different thing thats going on here which is the entire transitioning out of the sector and industry and how it goes. Im always telling my of the reason why ma bell doesnt exist in more but the problem is everyone says who was ma bell . Has been that much transition young people. What we want to make sure were getting right is while we talk about the transformation of whats happening in theo newspaper industry that we dont confuse it with we must allow consolidation because if you alloyou areconsolidation then tb resources. We want them to flourish as you were saying on many platforms and not have a very hierarchical structure where one entity owns all the immediate and owns all the discussion. We want many resources and. Information. So if you will help us take the steps to ensure that these broadcasters are accounting for the ownership and chatted with us before you guys make a decision thats what we are after. And that they dont confuse it not to allow consolidation to then have resources. And then on many of platforms and then to zero the media and the discussion with the resources so buffets are accounting for the ownership that is what were after. We want to make sure we have accurate data as well. We will be happy to work with you. Thankyou to all the eyewitnesses to and who are here also new to the committee and some of these issues i appreciated very much. Chairman pai thanks for meeting with me prior to todays meeting. I am pleased on the National Level and if done correctly this will insure seamless communication of the wireless capabilities possible. But with the nikkei connectivity challenges i will take my aim mountains over western virginia. No offense. [laughter] but companies have been exploring alternatives and make the best decisions but once the state decides to opt out they will be approved by the fcc has set understand it you have this set the commission right now folks and my stay have raised concerns there only have one opportunity but if the sec declines then they have no opportunity to revise or resubmit which doesnt seem like a good way to move forward from my perspective i feel the state deserves to learn more they fell short in given a Second Opportunity to comply so what specifically will you do to ensure that states are given a fair shake. Thanks for the question in the generous hospitality extended during our visit. Been to facilitate interoperable liddy between the state network that choose to opt out. The fcc has the proposed rules to flesh out what they should be but as i read it does state once it makes a determination will not approve the application the decision is final but i believe personally the opt out states should have a full and fair opportunity. To make sure they have a fair chance to present their case so i hope they will have the opportunity to amend or modify as of plants conflict with the interoperable in the that we have got. Again a question to chairman pai ellen like to enter a recent opinion piece from michael cops that is urgent that chairman pai urges for the free press published on monday. But in this piece former commissioner cops says in my view anyone who has the privilege to serve that the fcc any preacher with a pulpit has the duty to speak out whenever Americans First mentor rights are at stake and you agree that is the quick. That is correct. And know your offical biography says your outspoken member of First Amendment freedoms so there over the course of months tense issues but it and to and asking if you agreed or not that the statement that if he is the enemy of the American People in this seems the declined to answer that i would like to give you another chance if youre not a spoken defender that should be easier eagle easy. Guys agree arabamerican has a full and fair opportunity to exercise and enjoyment of rights in the constitution i have specifically spoken out. So yes or no do agree with the statement . The results larger political debate but i do believe every enjoyment once those First Amendment freedoms granted under the constitution. But wish to answer had been a little different. Thanks for your time and testimony today with the work you do with this committee it is great to see you in your new position congratulations yes your appointment as chairman and renomination as commissioner is you have heard me discuss before we have to orphan counties that receive satellite broadcast instead of Colorado Television that the decision to have that modification. One step closer to accessing broadcast. Be another county, montezuma will file a similar petition for market modification i this want to know you will work with that request. Senator with the caveat that obviously any consumers that are forced to watch Denver Broncos football are burdened. But we will give a premium a pretreatment. I will remind you where the kansas water comes from. I will revise my remarks. [laughter] in the last question that they agreed that i have seen initial comments from of notice for small scale infrastructure critical to ongoing buildups with future growth of 5g Wireless Service will there be a thorough review would. Absolutely. To if many regions in my state to not have access to Broadband Service without any access and all i appreciate the time you have spent in colorado one of the most important rules for policy should be to close the divide. Those that could help whiff fiber and Wireless Service but do believe satellite could help quell. I do. A lot of Satellite Companies have been innovative to boost their speeds in reducing the only to see that allows them to be much more competitive vat is why and connect america we did not put the thumb on the scale like fiber to the exclusion exclusion of other. To the mall to be brought to bear and let the consumer decide the needs of the people. Same question you believe satellites could close the of whole question mike absolutely a want to make sure they have a chance to compete. I worry i thought it was tilted but if we want to have every Different Technology neutrality with the core principle of the commission. Digest one to echo what senator wicker said with feel miller Mobility Fund also to have a challenge process and closely watching of comments but thank you for the work that you did during your conversation and we can highlight that as well. Talking about to sell phones by a look at the map were i live in eastern colorado and i am only supposed to carry one phone but in eastern colorado area we need to of those as well. Commissioners thank you for being here and this is an exciting time that the commission and i congratulate the chairman on your new appointment and we look forward to work closely with you as you continue to implement innovative policies to expand competition and create an environment where jobs in Economic Growth can flourish. But my top priority is Economic Growth. Jobs and Economic Growth are consistently the number one concern. In my view the biggest regulatory threat is proposed by the open Internet Order ans the commissioners are well aware i have been outspoken i believe regulating the internet is contrary to the text of the law was the legal power grab and it is dangerous that the internet has flourished because this in an environment free of burdensome regulation allowing them to innovate without prior approval and i have called the Net Neutrality rule obamacare for the internet. And i will note the results have not been encouraging. In a 2015 oped entitled this is how we will ensure neutrality, former chairman wheeler wrote referring to a title to all of this can be accomplished while the encouraging investment of Broadband Networks to preserve those incentives my proposal will modernize title to to tailor for the 21st century to provide those Competitive Networks that necessary. Im always concerned when a Government Official is trying to determine how to regulate the profits and incentives of private companies. Butter recent Expenditure Survey shows of the 12 firms in the survey eight experienced a decline that was relative to 2014 last year that the isp was thus subject to common carrier regulation and a domestic decline by 3. 6 billion. 5. Six decline our regime reducing the investment of broadband looking over the interest of consumers. So what is your view on the open Internet Order and how the commission should deal with that . And i favor a free and open internet is so of the greatest freemarket innovations in history thanks to that bipartisan basis continuing thereafter and my concern is with the Legal Framework the sec adopted to regulate the internet and to move the extent is harming investment but the small ones as there is a number of declarations under penalty of perjury that they are holding back investment. That is my concern. Well want to have the maximize incentive to build these networks of the future. That is something we will strive to do. Dyewood encourage you and the commission to revisit that order and rescind in its entirety i believe you have the support of the majority of this committee and substantial support in congress and i leave if the internet will be regulated the that is a decision to be made by the United StatesCongress Rather than taking legislation designed for different context to be applied to the internet. Commissioner riley stated in a block posts that by some accounts the federal government currently occupies between 60 and 70 percent of all spectrum of the most valuable range of today 25 mhz and jigger hurts that comes to approximately 2,000 what steps can this committee take to incentivize the federal users and especially department of defense to make more spectrum available for commercial use blacks should they allow federal agencies to keep the proceeds from the incentive options . Action day consider spectrum these . Have to we get more vat into commercial hands to produce thousands more highpaying jobs . To make yes berger incentives have the proposed. I have argued that it is wonderful but to require significant from the proceeds i have advocated spectrum fees as a mechanism for the opportunity cost and by doing so makes them look at what do they really need to complete their mission . But we do want them to only will the spectrum that they need but then they put a cost on the spectrum. And that is the mechanism i would favor. Mr. Chairman, uh congratulations, it is good to see all of you. I just want to comment quickly pulled aside the of the ideal that talk about the independence of the agency of you and i could not agree more. Did think it is important man glad the topic has come up. You should not use as the example of independence of a lid blown negative attendant of the of whitehouse so when maya their colleagues said everyone to independent but dont use the Alliance Model spin make you to go live the time working hard on the election plan. It was apparent head you dugin with that. Is there anything you can mention to me or my constituents working on that issue . I know was not unanimous bet you were wellintentioned with those extreme challenges with future reference. At first i want to thank my colleagues even if we did not agree but we got across the market but i drive off the five off the market of the lower 48 i can see before you are quick san and been have you tried to you so topographic lead challenging is just mindnumbing with the complexity selene to make rules as simple as possible also showing those difficulties we have to do our best because it is a Digital Opportunity for. Any other commissioners . And with some of the other remote villages. Is scored the fact that telemedicine and the official record needed is to do that. You should not have to get up on the of plane sitting on the cockpit next to you the pilot and been and there are opportunities that our unique but for me that this it but my colleagues hit the nail on the head that i was willing to you projects and is not even in did comparison in such a. With very small dollars and that we should focus elsewhere also hell head but they are eating up into address the issues fell felice. Nine different of transportation revell fed tuesday did in addition to a lot of moves to make sure your conclusively with the department the vegetation . But to do that but if it but everybody agrees that is a good idea. You agree but what do we need to help you do that better put. That this say good question in to be candid Alliance Still getting my feet wet part of that was the liaison as my other agencies i have not seen an impediment to reach out to my counterparts but if we do and i will be sure to let you know the last thing we want is for agencies to steer in the same direction. You can get back to us on that you would see bipartisan support pdf. We are attempting to heal ourselves and that there are no aubers to those of Services Better so vital to our community. And then to have greater access to some right beans and in ilo that Net Neutrality cells scraped. Really it is for the neighborhood or a dozen People Service seems the government will require the bridges open to the community. If no buyer is asian and wine Million People who can come out of their property and walk over the bridge. Is and that similar that they do not allow for example, a company to invest billions of dollars in the pipeline and they would to move the distant. I think that all of us free they continue to be upgraded. But talk about privacy rules leahy but bewildered but the different rules to a lot did reverses opt out of the did collection been in use. When i am relieved talking about is the Data Collection that has allowed that is basically free to consumers select the principles and with the expectation of privacy. But then to provided class period if we hit we have an extensive collection mechanism at the commission. They are not reviewed often not now there are 73 million hours a year, and 800 million annually for those just collection but we talk to small rate of return carriers. We have 100 filings a year and thats not one person in the office find something. That requires a consistent portion of the resources to answer Different Things to the commission. That keeps them from serving their customers, providing new services. Thats extensive and we should look at these more often and extensively. I suggested a proposal to create new task forces that the administration has put forward. That would be something that would be very valuable to look at and deployed for this particular purpose speed if its not in the record i would ask unanimous consent to put in record. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator johnson. Senator schatz i think has some questions for the record. Just request to submit in the record, a letter to the committee from the Leadership Conference on civil rights raising concerns regarding the sec recent actions on lifeline media ownership and a few other issues. Appreciate that. We were included in the record without objection. Thank you, senator schatz. We will keep, i want to submit, for the record a letter signed by 18 organizations including representatives from both the tech and Telecom Industries supporting views of the congressional review act, repeal the broadband privacy rule. We will submit that and would say we will keep the hearing record open for two weeks and if there are questions members want to submit, feel free to do that. We will encourage upon receipt witnesses submitting their written answers to the committee as soon as possible. And particularly queue afar for this hearing from any questions of chairman pai that might be relevant to his nominations will. Plus with that this hearing was adjourned. Thank you. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] i dont know that they can have legally authority. Im guessing again that if they wanted to, its probably their prerogative. I suspect its going to be largely doj. [inaudible] well, i mean, my understanding is the democrats are going to continue to submit for their nominee, but theres been no official i guess [inaudible] submitting nominations to us. We hear names batted around as you probably do as to the republican might be but at this point it is still i think largely i hope we get them soon. The sooner we can get the process rolling, the more quickly we will be able to get a whole commission what you think is important. Like you said, i hope it happens soon. [inaudible] well i mean, no. Its mostly just kind of come its a lot of speculation and the echo chamber out there and some of you are also reporting about [inaudible] we just dont have anything official yet. [inaudible] ideally it would be nice, yeah. Ideally, if we could get them all moved at the same time. To me that would be the best way to kind of fill out the full complement. Spirit should they move quickly on Net Neutrality . You know, i think theyre going, i would expect them to move quickly. I dont know, its how you define that. Im guessing that they will begin a deliberative, thoughtful and probably somewhat systematic way, start to roll that back, move back from that position. But again, youre right. Thats just, i suspect that chairman pai disagrees strongly, as many of us did with what the sec did in the last couple of years, and i think now that theyre in a position to do something about that, i think they will. Ou def [inaudible] you know, i think that, i think again, it remains to be seen. I think theyre going about things in a very thoughtful way. But to the question about how that impacts what we do, i dont think it hurts for the sec to move because that puts additional pressure on congress and helps make the argument with it all along and that is whenn your subject to the political winds in the city, youre going to get this kind of changing policy. Its not a good thing. What the investors out there need, i think what we want to see is certainty. The best way to achieve that is through action by congress. I think action by the fcc good, could spur theater and maybe get democrats more interested. We were close to something a couple years ago, after the order came out, before the court case was heard for pretty serious negotiations with the democrats, and id like to commence those again spewing you indicated you would love to start before the fcc negotiating. What changed your thinking . You meet on title to . The order of how this should go about. I would love it if we would theoretically, i would love to see congress decide if legislation is the best solution and the best course of action to give the certainty we are in favor of. But i dont see that today, at the moment, but like i said, we continue, we are available and as soon as the democrats are interested in talking to us about codifying some rules that would provide clarity for the future, we are very interested in getting that underway. [inaudible] well, i mean, i think it will be hard to get democrats on this committee, democrats are generally, interested. Would it be fair for the at t time warner deal potentially be approved without a Net Neutrality condition . Thats a good question and i dont know if thats, i guess the question for the doj. Previous deals at some of the restrictions attached. In this case i just dont know. N everyone of these i think would be considered heavily based on its own merit. Would you be open to a Net Neutrality condition on the deal even if the rules are repealed . If Net Neutrality goes away . [inaudible] well, i guess i would say that, and again, these are legal issues but i think what you want to have at the end of the day are settled rules that everybody plays by and a level plain field. So thats kind of what we would hope to achieve, and that negotiation im sure they will probably look at what [inaudible] thanks, senator. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] anyone working at any hedge fund whos involved in shortterm trading, meaning every day to come and trading in and out of stocks, all of those people want edge. That is a common term in industry. They want edge. Theres this white edge, that useless for the purposes. Theres a gray zone and then theres black edge which is clearly inside information. Sunday night on q a new york staff writer sheelah kolhatkar talks about the insidertrading case against Hedge Fund ManagerStephen Cohen and his firm and safety capital in her book black edge. That to kind of central characters at the heart of the story, theyre very central characters in my book are these two former Portfolio Managers for colon funds, matthew is one of them and Michael Steinberg is the other one. He is currently serving a fairly lengthy prison since although his case is on appeal and mr. Steinberg was convicted but then his conviction was later overturned after an Appeals Court made a rolling, made it much harder to convict someone for insider trading. Sunday night at 8 p. M. Eastern on cspans q a. Cspan, where history unfold daily. In 1979 cspan was created as a Public Service by americas Cable Television companies and has brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. Next, a Supreme Court oral argument in hernandes versus mesa, a case to determine whether a family in mexico can