>> good morning. the commerce committee will come to order. this morning we have an executive session to vote on several nominations followed by hearing. after the executive session at the hearing will be to consider four individuals for the role of the federal communications commission and the department of commerce. during the executive session will be voting on nominees who will fill key position of the federal medication commission, federal trade commission, department of commerce as well as several coast guard promotion. both have responsibility to expand connectivity and to promote protection of consumers online. this money would be voted on the nomination of jessica rosenworcel to be the commissioner of the federal communications commission. confirmed chairwoman rosenworcel will continue to lead agencies important work to ensure every american has access to reliable affordable broadband. having strong leadership at the helm of the fcc to ultimate on broadband investments cannot be more important and i and k forward to her confirmation this morning. next we have alvaro bedoya who has been nominated to be a commission of the federal trade commission, the ftc is a responsible for protecting consumers from unfair and deceptive practices especially online and for enforcing the nation's antitrust laws. mr. bedoya has the experience and expertise in privacy that the commission needs at this critical moment. he has bipartisan support from all the sitting commissioners and the chair of the ftc and has experience working across the aisle. mr. batory also has the support of privacy and civil rights organizations, consumer groups completing privacy academics, former ftc officials. i know he has worked both closely in his prior to pass the hill. i look for to working with him on the committee's important privacy agenda. we also vote on the nomination of jainey kumar bavishi to be the deputy noaa administrator it when he strategic leadership and help at know what to execute broad climate and cost resilience investments we outlined in a structured investment and jobs act. bipartisan infrastructure built. we help soon the build back better program. she will be critical in helping with the implementation. we will also be voting on arun venkataraman is the nominee to be assistant secretary of commerce and director general of the united states and foreign commercial service at the department of commerce. confirmed he will play a key role in helping small and medium-sized enterprises compete in foreign markets. this is a very important for our economy and for small businesses who need to have increased health and access to foreign markets to thrive. finally would be voting on several coast guard promotions. i now turn to my colleagues ranking member senator wicker for his opening remarks. >> thank you, senator cantwell and thank you all for your attendance in this executive session to vote on nominations of jessica rosenworcel for term as commissioner at the sec, mr. alvaro bedoya, the commission at the ftc, ms. jainey kumar bavishi to the assistant secretary of commerce of oceans and atmosphere. mr. aaron venkataraman to be assistant secretary of commerce and director general of the u.s. and foreign commercial service, and numerous coast guard position i will vote to support ms. rosenworcel for another term as sec commissioner pictures expense and qualified by this position and assert to terms on the commission and having chaired it for the past ten months. although i disagree with her support for overly restrictive regulations, she is well-known to the members of the committee and has the reputation for being responsive and engagement i want to stress again how important it is for our chair of the fcc to provide strong leadership in timely production of accurate broadband coverage maps. these maps are absolutely critical to ensuring the fair and productive distribution of the broadband funding approved in the bipartisan infrastructure package. and let the record reflect there were a course of a men's all-around the dais on that statement. i also want to report -- support ms. bavishi and mr. venkataraman to the important roles at the department of commerce for which they been nominated. i will not vote to report the nomination of mr. bedoya to be commission at the ftc. i remain concerned about the frequency with which he has publicly expressed divisive views on policy matters, rather than a more measured and unifying tone. town. there has been a troubling trend of politicization at the ftc which is different from how it has been in previous years. and i.t. mr. bedoya would not bring the cooperative spirit -- i fear that -- that we need at this time. i'm pleased the committee will advance a number of men and women today for will earn positions in the coast guard, and i hope they will be approved quickly by the full senate. i am disappointed that the dedicated black officer candidates for the rank of rear admiral, over half, have been left off today's agenda even though the committee has had ample time to review their strong records. i hope these deserving individual will soon be considered and confirmed so that they can assume critical leadership roles in the coast guard without further delay. senator cantwell. >> thank you, senator wicker and i so appreciate all my colleagues attended this morning. i know it's a busy time of your and your committee committee obligations so i will turn to senator wicker for a motion. >> madam chair, i move that the nomination of jessica rosenworcel of connecticut to be commissioner of the federal communications commission. that is p.m. 1322 and p and 1024 the nomination of jainey bavishi to be assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, the nomination of arun venkataraman of the district of columbia to be the assistant secretary of commerce and director, general of the united states and foreign commercial service departments. and the coast guard promotion included in pn 1219, 1282, 1283 and 1294 be favorably reported. >> is there a second? all those in favor say i. all those opposed, no. the motion is agree to. >> could i be recorded as in no on the nominees but not on the coast guard? >> so noted, senator scott will be -- and senator lummis as well. thank you. >> madam chairman? if i can be recorded as a no on -- >> senator blackburn will be voted no on ms. bavishi. >> madam chair, i just want to make sure that jessica rosenworcel is also confirmed because that was in the motion. >> it's the presidential designation so she is so designated. okay. can i have another motion? >> yes. [laughing] [inaudible] >> thank you. the nomination -- [inaudible] >> the nomination of alberto vettori to be a commission of the federal trade commission. i move that it be a verbally comp that he be favorably reported. >> is there a second? >> second. >> there's been a request for roll call vote. the clerk will call the roll. [roll call] [roll call] [roll call] [roll call] >> the committee will report to the floor of the senate. that concludes our markup for this morning. so we will now turn to hearing. i again thank our colleagues for their attendance today. thank you for helping us get these important nomination filled, and we look forward to working with all of them. now we will turn to our hearing this morning. our hearing is a very important set of nominees so i want to welcome them and their families to the dais. thank you so much for being here. first we will consider the nomination of gg sans to be commission of the federal communications commission. ms. sohn welcome to you and your family who i understand is joined you today. the pandemic demonstrator essential broadband is to participate in our 21st century economy and fcc's critical role in helping our country be competitive. if confirmed ms. sohn will help lead the fcc's effort to address the lack of broadband connectivity in a country due to gaps in broadband infrastructure and a lack of affordable services. as commissioner she will also be responsible for supporting the diversity and health of local broadcasters, that they continue to reflect the interest of the communities and i look forward to hearing how she intends to support broadcasters in their continued important role, if confirmed. she is also responsible for coordinating with ntia on federal spectrum sharing policies to protect incumbent use to promote innovation and she has a decade-long of experience as advocating on important telecommunications policies. she was cofounder of public knowledge before becoming a senior advisor to the chairman will of the fcc and she's currently distinguished fellow at georgetown institute for technology law policy. senior fellow and public advocate at the institute. or if confirmed she will also be the first openly lgbtq plus commissioner in the history of the fcc and she will also consider come would also -- i'm sorry. will also consider the nomination of alan davidson. thank you for being here to be assistant secretary communications of information at the department commerce. today it is important more than ever to the critically strong role at ntia as the agency leads the largest broadband investment in our nation's history. finally bridge the digital divide. both by calling senator wicker and senator klobuchar worked tireless on legislation try to enhance the role of this at ntia, so we look forward to having a robust discussion about what leadership role ntia can play in broadband. infrastructure investment and jobs act will ask ntia to increase and implement programs that at the store closer look for to asking ntia, mr. davidson, , about those efforts of what we can do particularly on issues of digital divide and costs. i also, with a vote of chairman rosenworcel, mr. bedoya this morning today's hearing, ms. sohn and mr. davidson for getting closer dividing these agency that tools they need to do the job? >> will consider the nomination of jed kolko to be undersecretary of economic affairs at the department of commerce. welcome to you. the undersecretary for economic affairs is responsible for providing economic analysis to submitting national economic indicators, serving the administer as the department premier statistical program and including in that the beer of economic analysis in the census bureau. these bureaus and others in the department provide important critical data to our nation come to our agencies and the private sector institutes, every thing from science, climate, weather, economic indicators trade and telecommunication. mr. kolko has been chief economist at indeed since 2016. before that chief economist and be of analytics at truly a. soy brings private sector expense as well. he's also had numerous research position was work as folk some ways to incorporate proprietary into research that is accessible actual for a wide range of audiences. to help our economy thrive the department needs leaders who will set high standards not only for data integrity but for accessibility as well. policymakers and business should be able to easily access data to develop the department of economic analysis in the census bureau to make good policy and business decisions so i look forward to ask you about that at the drinker and finally we will consider mr. viquar ahmad to be assistant secretary for administrative chief financial officer of the department of commerce. i'll come to you, mr. ahmad. he says executive administration chief financial officer serves the department financial resources and human resources. it's a critical role on the annual budget, and managing the billions of dollars basically allocated to the infrastructure and jobs act as an example so you are extremely qualified i believe for this role. multiple leadership roles and u.s. government over the past decade including managing endorsing the 70 billion budget for the department of homeland security and its agencies, caresses his deputy chief financial officer for the is house of representatives. i look forward to your confirmation. so thank you all for being here and you willingness to serve. now turn to our ranking member senator wicker. >> thank you my friend, senator cantwell, and i do agree this is an important hearing to consider nominations of this gigi sohn to be a commission of the fcc, mr. alan davidson to be assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information, mr. jed kolko to be undersecretary of commerce for economic affairs and mr. victor ahmad to the assistant secretary of commerce for initiation chief financial officer at the department of commerce. i look forward to being introduced to family members, ,f they are in attendance today. these positions are vital to the nation's economy and it is essential that the committee give careful consideration to qualification of individuals have been nominated. ms. sans has been an active participant in the telecom sector for her entire career -- ms. sohn dash of including her tenure on the staff of former fcc chairman tom wheeler. many members of the committee have had the opportunity to engage with her over the years on public policy issues under consideration by congress and fcc. i would agree she is knowledgeable and determined, and a determined advocate. i am concerned about a record of expressing hyper partisan views on many critical matters that come before the commission. and which made come before the commission again in the future, such as net neutrality. the person who fills the fifth seat on fcc should be committed to promoting a cooperative environment to which our nation's most pressing telecommunications challenges can be resolved. i look forth to hearing from ms. sohn today about her qualifications as well as her goals and strategies for furthering the work of the fcc. mr. davidson is the presidential nominee to be administrator of ntia. he has numerous professional accomplishments in the private sector and also predecease earned at the department of commerce during the obama admissions director of digital economy and senior advisor to the secretary. secretary. he has been nominated to serve at a pivotal juncture, which of course senator cantwell has pointed out. the ntia is poised to distribute $48.2 billion in broadband funding around the country. i'm eager to learn more about his vision for leading this agency and rapidly deploying regulatory and staffing structure that is needed to implement the infrastructure investment and jobs act. mr. kolko has worked as an economist for major corporations and if confirmed would bring the experience this expense to the federal government. mr. ahmad has served as deputy chief financial administrator for the u.s. house since 2017 and his grants also include service and other federal budgetary and financial management positions. he proves he worked at the department of commerce -- he has not -- he will have much to learn about its priorities and oversight of key programs including the development of the next generation of noaa satellites. i'm interested in how mr. kolko and mr. ahmad plan to maximize their goals in the department of commerce. i want to thank each of you for your witness to serve and yield back to my chair. >> thank you. ms. sohn come welcome. will ask each of the witnesses to provide an opening statement, hopefully keep them within a five minutes so we can get the q&a and submit longer statement for the record. welcome to you. >> thank you, chair cantwell, members of the committee, senator wicker i'm honored to be nominated by president biden to be considered by this committee for a seat on a federal communications commission or its been a privilege to meet with many of you over the past few weeks. i'm delighted to be joined by my wife, laura, our daughter, my mother-in-law, and my brother, all behind me. i want to does my mother who can't be here today whose love and support of the reason that i am here. my parents raised my three brothers and be in a middle-class household on long island where i was are more likely to play sports and watch my beloved nets and jets than talk about policy. the radio was always on in my family kitchen were reports from the front line of the vietnam war, watergate and of the critical events of the '60s and 70s resonated. it was there i learned the power of communications networks to inform public discourse and promote democratic values. my love of local broadcasting and especially radio led me to boston university where he studied communications law and policy. after school and private practice i started what is bent over a 30 year career of public -- advocating for policies that ensure modern communications networks are available to everyone regardless of who they are or where they live. the past two decades i worked towards the goal of ensuring every household in the u.s. has robust and affordable broadband internet access. while much of my career has been spent in the nonprofit and academic sectors i also spent three years as counselor to vent chairman tom wheeler. i think the important experience of working inside the agency and balancing the competing equities of the sec's numerous stakeholders. it was hard work but it was the most formative experience of my career but it helped me understand different tools needed to be an effective policymaker. if i'm fortunate enough to be confirmed by the senate here are some of the values i will bring to the fcc. first and foremost pragmatism. i've always been a strong advocate for the public interest but it also demonstrated a willingness to reach out and sit down with people who disagree with my position to try and find common ground. i have done so whether someone is a different political party or from industry, and even when doing so was put me at odds to some other communities. second, integrity and transparency. i am always willing to listen and respect positions different from my own. you always know where i'm coming from and my door will always be open. we may not ultimately agree on the policy outcome but you won't be surprised by my position. third, competition. markets work best when there's vigorous competition. it is the surest way to make certain broadband is available, affordable and open to a diversity of viewpoints. federal policies that promote competition are always superior to heavy-handed behavioral or price regulation. which is why i've always supported policies that lower barriers to entry. finally, free expression. freedom of speech is a lifeblood of our american experience and it's always been at the core of my work. i'm proud the sum of the most conservative television networks are supporting my confirmation because i work with him for years to get access to cable subscribers after operators refuse to carry them. i've also work with communities of color and the lgbtq+ community to ensure access to the voices on different platforms without interference. i've always believed that democracy works best when voices of all kinds speak and be heard. i've been asked why after a long career i would want the seat on the fcc. my answer is simple. if confirmed i would be serving on the commission at a critical time for our country. thanks to the work of congress, over the past year, there are ample resources and bipartisan support to make enormous progress in closing the digital divide in both rural and urban areas. these resource of help the poor networks everywhere and allow for low income households to afford and adopt broadband which is essential to full participation in our society and our economy. it would be to honor of a lifetime to help the fcc and congress attain that goal. if confirmed i look for to working with congress, members of this committee, chairwoman rosenworcel and commissioners car, starts and simonton to achieve universal connectivity in the united states. thank you. >> thank you very much, ms. sohn. mr. kolko come welcome. i look forward to your statement. >> chair cantwell, ranking member wicker, members of the committee, thank you for welcoming here today and considering my nomination for the position of undersecretary of commerce for economic affairs. i'm grateful to president biden and sector armando for the conference in the end if confirmed i would ever think i can to live up to that promise. i would also like to thank members of your staff for substantive and aspiring meetings. i've been blessed with decades of support, family, friends, mentors and colleagues. my parents nurtured my love of numbers from the start. my first trip to washington, d.c. at age 13 my family indulged an unusual extra stop in addition to visiting the lincoln memorial and other classic spots. i made a detour with the government printing bookstore. there i found the washington souvenir i wanted most, a recently released book of summary tables in the 1980 census population. for decades later i remained in awe of the richness of american infrastructure i know how essential high-quality data are to economy and society. i'm eager to get back to america this way i can. helping preserve and improve the integrity accuracy and value of our countries data. if confirmed i would have three priorities as undersecretary economic affairs. first would be to support commercial activity and a con as we emerge from the pandemic. businesses and in many secte expecting difficulties as the economy recovers. clear, timely data and analysis about consumer spending and trade in the labor market can help manage these unprecedented economic conditions. second would be to encourage economic development across all regions of america. even before the pandemic when unemployment was at record lows much of america did not share in the national economic prosperity. regional inequality has widened even as other inequalities narrowed. more complete local economic and social data can highlight which places are most in need and what strategies to spread economic success more widely. third would be to support and enhance our physical infrastructure. technological advances of introduced new opportunities but also new challenges for collecting supporting and analyzing logistics. having technical experts and other use digital agencies are extraordinary. as i know firsthand from years of getting helpful answers to my arcane technical questions. i eager to work closely with them and trust their guidance. i would approach these priorities in the spirit of careful innovation and the utmost integrity. my career has been primarily in the private sector, solving innovative ways to combine data and widely accessible research. as chief economist at indeed and julia my q&a did activity that became leading indicators during the covid-19 pandemic and the great recession housing crisis. earlier research i was one of the largest private-sector consumer survey efforts. as a board member of the national association for economics understand important government data are, business and have the private sector can help improve public data and analysis. throughout my career i've help myself and my teams to the highest level of data scrutiny and integrity both internally and in our policy worker i strive to set high bar for asking the most important actionable questions in writing the data drive the answers here if confirmed i promise to work closely with this committee and with career staff at the department to check in our data infrastructure and advocate for american economic resilience and prosperity. thank you so much for the chance to appear here today. i look forward to your questions. >> thank you, mr. kolko. senator wicker and i are admiring your ability to focus on that data. in your hobby there. so thank you. mr. davidson. [inaudible] >> and members of the committee for this opportunity to speak with you today. i am honored to be president biden's nominate for assistant secretary of commerce and ntia administered at this historic time for the agency and this historic moment in its work to connect all americans. thank you as well to secretary raimondo for her support for my nomination for i would also like to thank i wife melissa who is here today. we are joined by our children. they are a constant reminder of the importance of this work and they constantly keep me humble as our children will do. when i was a computer science student at mit fuel of this would've imagined the digital world today. the web did not exist. the internet was mostly a nonprofit network of universities. mobile phones with the size of a brick, literally. but even then we had a strong sense that computers and networks were changing the world and we had questions about that impact. with these technologies connect us or divide us? with a concentrate power or provide opportunity to all? fast-forward to today. the unit did, in fact, change everything. modern networks created digital revolution and are now essential that we work, how we live, how we innovate. those technology, those questions about technology still remain. they have been the animating force of my work. i have spent my career devoted to the idea of technology must serve human progress. for 25 years as a computer scientist, a lawyer, public interest leader and an executive i have sought to build and ship digital technology that connect people and make their lives better. in these roles i've had a chance to lead organizations, manage high performing teams and build coalitions in pursuit of a positive vision of the future. it is a continuing sense of purpose that brings me here today. i believe we have been given a historic opportunity as noted by the chair and senator wicker, and thanks to the bipartisan support from congress, to connect the unconnected, close the digital divide and power american jobs and competitiveness. if confirmed i will focus on three top priority. >> the versus closing the digital divide. the internet is now a critical part of american life. as the pandemic has made clear people need broadband to work, to learn and to connect. far too many american households in rural, urban and travel communities are still without affordable high-speed internet. congressional infrastructure funding has created a once in a generation opportunity, close to the digital divide and connect all americans. this will be my top priority in the coming years. my second priority will be ensuring access to specter. ntia serves a critical role in ensuring most effective and efficient use of this scarce resource. include meeting the needs of federal users, , while also supporting advanced wireless technologies to realize the promise of next-generation services and connected devices if confirmed i will work towards a coordinated national approach to spectrum use in planning to meet the demand for spectrum now and in the future. third nti has important role to play in building a better internet. ntia has a statutory role and efforts to bolster cybersecurity, protect privacy and advocate for america station a free and open communications around the world. for three decades the internet dash of offering access to information, , connection with mary, and economic opportunity but today's internet also faces security risks, eroding privacy and threats from authoritarian regimes. we can and we must do better. these are ambitious goals. because of technology is growing role in our lives these priorities are about far more than communication policy. they are about creating jobs for americans. they are about maintaining america's global leadership and technology. they are about competing better on the global stage and improving equity here at home. if confirmed i will continue to do what i have done for my entire career since leaving mit. build networks and technologies with intention, , with responsibility and with the ultimate goal of improving lives. thank you for your time and i look forward to your question. >> thank you, mr. davidson. mr. ahmad, welcome. >> thank you. chair cantwell, ranking member wicker and members of the committee, i'm honored and humbled to be here today as resident biden's nominate for the assistant secretary for administration and the chief financial officer of the department of commerce. i want to express my gratitude to president biden for nominating me to this important role and to secretary raimondo and secretary grace for the confidence in me. if i'm confirmed it would be an honor to serve as part of their leadership team. most importantly i want to thank my family, especially my mother. are boundless love, support, guidance and grid made every thing possible for my siblings and me. the love and support of my brothers and sister, nieces and nephews has been a constant source of strength which i'm grateful. i'm also appreciative of friends, mentors and colleagues have played in my growth. i never imagined i would one day be here as a presidential nominee before this committee. it was never my intent to embark on a career in washington, d.c. upon completing my undergraduate studies of univision texas austin the dena michaels asked if i'd be willing to go to washington, d.c. to draft an opponent the framework for program which eventually led to the creation of the bill archer fellowship program, which has been wildly successful since its creation 2001 over 1500 talented young leaders from all backgrounds and walks of life have participated in this program and prepared for high impact careers in the public and private sector. i was deeply honored when former congressman and then chairman of the house appropriations subcommittee on labor, health and human services and education, chairman ralph, offered me a role on his staff to advise them on drafting the subcommittees appropriations bill. he set an outstanding example of being open, listening and treating to all constituencies with respect. they had a strong friendship which enabled congress to enact considerable funding for education, national institutes of health and workforce improvement programs. i witnessed the power of amazing relationships and bipartisanship coming together to deliver for the american people. my two decades of service in public administration and financial management leadership role in both the legislative and executive branches of government has provided me with comprehensive experience and resource planning, budgeting, internal controls, policy development, and leading and managing organizational change. i've been a key contributor in developing policies and advocating -- and allocating resources to successfully address the demands of our nation's most critical and rapidly shifting financial requirements including funding for national disasters, cybersecurity, workforce training and multibillion dollar national security acquisitions. the work done by the talented, committed and hard-working agency staff in finance and administration is rarely front stage but it is essential to operational success. should i be confirmed i will lead and partner with a dedicated public service at the department of commerce to effectively carry out our work. my top priority if confirmed would be to help the sector, the deputy secretary and other senior leadership put forth the best budget to support the department of commerce strategic needs. second, i believe we must provide evidence to congress, the public and our agency partners who are good stewards of public resources. finally, if confirmed i look forward to the efforts to ensure our human resource focus is on recruiting, developing and retaining a well-rounded cadre that understands not just how to do a job but how very functional expertise plays into the overall mission. i'm so profoundly grateful for the opportunities this country has given me. public service has been my way of conceiving to the well-being of our nation, to strengthen educational opportunities, healthcare, workforce investment in the safety and security of our homeland. if confirmed i look forward to advancing our common mission to build stronger american economy. thank you so much for allowing me to appear before the committee. i look forward to your questions. >> thank you very much. mr. ahmad, going to start with you since you're going to be in charge of major new investments in supply chain security and domestic manufacturing. how would you make sure those are well spent and free of political influence? >> thank you so much for that question. if i am confirmed i will make sure all of the funding is spent in accordance with the law. we will provide expenditure plans and we will make sure all of the monies are managed in a cost-effective manner. >> thank you. one of the issues, senator wicker and i very much believe that broadband is an important public policy. i think it's safe to say we probably have written the law the way, the infrastructure package senator wicker and i were writing it, one of the issues is this issue of the actual mapping. you represent a panoply of interest here, mr. ahmad, making sure resources are spent. mr. kolko, knowing what this means. mr. davidson your role and obviously ms. sohn at the fcc. i will note that when chairman rosenworcel was your in front of the committee for her hearing when asked about the broadband map, how would you describe it quick she said it reminds me of what someone else said they think. mr. davidson, it's going to be hard for me to want to move forward on your nomination if we don't get confirmation from both you and the secretary of commerce that you understand the digital divide aspect of this. we have mapping that's hn presented to our committee from the private sector that already shows that 70% of the problem is on affordability, not necessarily on access in hard to serve areas. we want to do both but we need her that there is a commitment to having accurate mapping and to actually have this resource go to that community. because if the majority of the people are lacking the resources, it's not about whether connectivity is just down the block. it is about what ever going to do about affordability. so ms. sohn i will start with you and then mr. davidson, if you can address mapping problem and what you think needs to be done about it. >> so the fcc's maps for many years have been very inaccurate. they have only measured who has connectivity in a census block. and if one person, one household could get connectivity and the census block, and everybody was deemed to have it. to congress and thanks to senator wicker and others on this committee we now have broadband data act which requires much more granular maps. it's good to you that the fcc just gave a contract to the broadband service location fabric which tells you where broadband can be, and now we've got to go and get the information, excuse me, the fcc needs to get information from the carriers about where they do deploy. so look, as the infrastructure bill requires the maps be done before in serious money is given out, so it's going to be, if i'm confirmed it's going to be a very, very high priority for me to try to get those maps done quickly. >> mr. davidson? >> thank you for that question. first of all i will just say the maps are going to be essential and for the reasons you said. if we're going to meet the goal of connecting all americans, that means both riding them with access and also making sure they can afford to get online will need to have a good understanding of where we have service problems. this has been, as ms. sohn it, a huge ongoing problem. i would associate myself with the comments of chair rosenworcel at her hearing. maps have been a problem for years. we have known it. we need to fix it and we have this problem where one person in a census block has service and we count everybody, that could be thousands of people come huge areas particularly in our world parts of america. so i would just say if confirmed i would be committed to working on this. we absolutely need those maps in order to proceed in the right way with the finding fue been given at ntia, and appreciate your raising the question. we have to be looking at the whole picture here. >> i'm going to follow up for the record in more detail because i think what problematic about the solution is it somewhat lopsided as it relates to the resources and what really is going to take to solve the problem. if you are solving for access in some of our hard to serve areas, i'm sure there's enough money. if you're trying to solve for the issue of digital divide, i'm not sure there is. so i think we don't want to subsidize expensive broadband. we want a solution that really will help us deliver affordable broadband. so anyway, mr. kolko, just quickly for the record. i'm sure that when it comes to business bureau data you will work to make sure that this most accurate and accessible we need for policymakers to solve the problem. .. >> it's really going to be your choice, 48-foot towers and very much needed in on this is particularly the heartland of america. and we talked about speed, the been getting accurate results quickly for a long time and we needed the vaccine, our military compass come up with warp speed, and this warp speed to fitzpatrick and maps rated. >> i think that one of the things that the chairman will definitely be working on and i will work on it with her is getting everybody around the country, a lot of states have this already. i'm getting localities, the crowdsourcing were brought up and it is in system just really the third step in the first step is fabric which warsaw has now the second is getting the information of the board of the providers in the third is the crowd sourcing. >> can you give us idea of how long that will take so we can bring the connectivity with us $48.2 million. >> i'm not sure because i'm not privy that the information that the fcc has right now so not sure if you become a billable site as a person said over and over again, you can't make the policies without a map and of them confirmed, that would be one of the things that would dedicate myself to and have the woman would work on this maps. >> let me switch to price regulation and you mentioned in your verbal testimony and written testimony, competition markets work best when there is bigger competition, policies are always superior to having the price regulation. and as i'm sure you are aware, it's been one of my concerns with the so-called net neutrality and i don't know if anybody on this committee were really with the settlement was really what is blocking this. or a light touch regulation, the kind of regulation that gave the united states a leg up in the covid-19 pandemic braided and they had shut down in the slowdowns and we really had no problem in that regard and evenh there was a quantum leap in internet usage and in the zoom calls and things like that and we had investments my view because of the light touch. i have been talking about this for a long time and i'm a big boy, i have been around the block and some of you and you said that i had spread net neutrality this info and saying just what i said disinformation, so how was i spreading disinformation for this net neutrality. >> while there was a tweet and is during the consideration of this act and i believe what i was referring to was the question about whether broadband investment went down during the time where there was title to net neutrality and whether it went up after the repeal and that was what i was referring to the do disagree actually think about the title to and evidence shows that title to a net neutrality had help impact on investment. and if you look at the fcc follies, the board had actually said the title to really had no impact on investment. i agree with you generally at light touch is better but what i am concerned about now is in 2017 the net neutrality rules and segregation brother printed that we have no touch. and the net neutrality debate which is been going on now for 20 years is really more about oversight. and it's really much broader and it is about whether broadband which we all agree is an essential service has some government oversight right now it doesn't have any. >> what went wrong during the four years. under the repeal, basically the title to. >> so what went wrong wasn't so much again about the - though there was one study the northeastern used university that showed the providers at all times of day work selling the traffic it regardless of the reason for the most part, that was another problem. the problem was lack of oversight. and if you would allow me to give an example, the first 2018, when firefighters were fighting it and the largest fire in california, the complex fire. the broadband provider was trundling back there from the band and there place for the firefighters could go to get relief and actually were arguing for seven months until finally the struck a deal to pay think double the money and so they had no recourse in the congo to the fcc because i didn't have authority and so there's more of a matter of who is going to protect the competition and protect the public safety. >> can you and i agree that particular example could be addressed without title to rate regulation and could be agree with that pretty. >> rate regulation, absolutely. >> as the chair did in her questioning, but i will get back at another time thank you pretty. printed. >> thank you all for being here and for your service and we appreciated your comments about protecting competition in the journalism. and eventually, the chairman, and a new outlook including many, nothing partisan about this, the journalist and i appreciated your comment about that goal being of heightened importance the pandemic and put in particular, can you tell us about how you would protect in the chair and senator cantwell other local journalist and ability act. one example of that and your thoughts rated. >> i want to say first that there vital to the lifeblood of every community and they alone among communications platforms are dedicating to serving local communities. local news, local journalism so i think that is critically important. i would like to see will first of all i also support cantwell the bill and the payroll tax credit and i think that is great and obviously that was in the jurisdiction of the fcc and i would like to have the fcc have more point and there's a incubator program that will start to believe in 2018 and also in 2019, and is intended to help more minorities get access to radio and i think that it would be great too bad that, number one because that would like to see this if i am confirmed i don't see any reason why, i think that we need more opportunities for the voices that are not normally heard. to actually be heard on broadcasting because is still the place where people get local news and information. summa, very faithful listen to radio i spend a good part of my life in my car we traveled by plane and some of my colleagues do, we go by car and i will join you in strengthening those things are very important and let me ask you and i'm going to questions for the record. in the chairman, and i hope that you will be a supporter for this call but senator blackburn and ninth with the support of the chairwoman senator cantwell have a number of hearings and simply revelation to quantify the number of the platforms and also on the issue of privacy and instagram. and i would also note that october, they issued a very negative impacts in the repeal of the fcc, broadband. their deep problems, i don't think you need to tell anyone on this panel, with both big tech in the violations of the privacy rules. and never has been working on various bills and so i would like to have you and the importance of this privacy practice. what congress to be doing what you should do through the fcc and for me. >> thank you senator, the privacy first of all the information had a personal information is abuse we can have economic impact and even have discipline impact so i have been a huge supporter of congress passing this consumer privacy bill and if i am confirmed i will love to work with you or anybody else on doing that. but the application of not checking the five basic whether it be on the big tech platform or they are enormous and the harms have already been shown it one of the things was in the fcc's report was shown the bounty hunters were getting some of the information. and sometimes i find people should be found a lot of times they find people that should not be found so actually, physical harm so i would love to see this move forward and they have the opportunity, which would take some time, i think that would be very well. >> there's other week go by where there's not a new revelation of private data is being used that are harmful or unexpected going into do better in this area and i know you been a leader in that area for a long time the most import thing we can do is passing of privacy bill for the united states, i know that this is something women working on and if confirmed i can bring the senate to the resources there to support that effort and thank you. >> thank you chair. i'm afraid am i going to have questions and you may not get many today but i will tell you how much i appreciate you mentioning and having to serve with him in the house, a great leader of that committee that you work on and you are great part of that team and i am glad you are willing to serve in this job. were talking about the local news and local radio so let's talk about low caste a little bit and you are on that board, they built their business model on streaming local television to the internet generally without obtaining the consent of the broadcast tv station or the copyright holders there was a lawsuit near the board actually after the lawsuit started and at this point i think in august, it was a determination that low caste would settle. $32 million settlement, do you want to talk about that in your decision to go on the board and if this impacts your feelings with the very same local broadcasters that sued the company that you brought the board up printed only five minutes predict i've talked about this a lot to be as brief as you can clearing this up for me. >> is a nonprofit service that provides local signals through streaming to folks who couldn't get them and a lot of copywriting exemptions, an exemption for nonprofit. i thought it was a good thing for the local broadcasters and through the net works pretty i was a reviewer these were yours for example the baby could not get this programming in the role of low income folks that also use the service. so i thought for the public interest, for the consumer perspective at this was good food. >> but the judge did not agree. sue met with the judge said they were not entitled to the exemption so it was literally within days that decision coming down we shut them down and probably will know more. >> and you don't think this will have an impact on your local broadcasters. >> i don't believe it will in your local broadcasting, the supporting i would like if confirmed to sit down with them and explain what i take to get from them ideas about how i can help local broadcast to be more competitive and resilient and more diverse. >> and use that they sued them, no problem with them either printed. >> i don't have any problem with them and i have no hard feelings and wouldn't biased me in any way i think very seriously allegations of bias have been working closely with the officer government ethics to make sure that i've no conflicts and i have no predetermined biases, just because they broadcast, no, that would not and if i'm confirmed i have to set my bias even if i had one, have to set those aside and look at the totality of the record and look at the law and my colleagues conferred with the salmonella view and make a decision. >> i have a list of comments here about "fox news" and are you biased against them. >> so you're referring to my tweets are now pretty famous and i understand the concern for some and anyone who knows me knows that i'm direct but they were made in my role as an advocate and they were made in the context and i think it's very important, context hearings and media reports. maybe the town was a little sharper maybe i should doubled and over a little bit but again sparkman, essentially as a public interest advocate. >> and you think they're the only news agency that is state sponsored propaganda printed that is your quote by the way. >> i know i just wanted to complete my thought in my opinions of the public interest advocate will have no bearing on how i behave if i am confirmed in a bidding government before and the values that are important to be a policymaker, the responsiveness of the transparency and integrity's what you will get from me if i am confirmed with. and said some things that were too sharp but they will have absolutely no determination it and how i would rule on proceeding with any of those pretty. >> i wish i had more time but don't so. >> thank you very much chair cantwell and mr. david senate i know you appreciate the unique conductivity challenges the hawaii fate this is because with the most isolated populated place on the planet. i need your commitment and the staffs commitment to work with me in my office but as broadbent need and you may know that the context is that the negotiations around the bipartisan infrastructure bill were unnecessarily contentious around definition because people couldn't picture in their minds i the difference between the terrestrial infrastructure and connecting it which happens to be an island chain so do i have your commitment to work on these issues including the equitable treatment of the 50th state. >> you absolutely do and i appreciate from our conversation that about how important that hawaii is to make sure that we fulfill this promise to connect everyone in america. the beauty of the program is that every state will have its own plan i look forward to work with you to make sure that we have the right information. >> one more question on the broadband conductivity, i've heard directly from native americans leaders about the disproportionate impact and covid-19 as head of their communities but you did provide historic levels to continue to be supporting the tribal governments in the native hawaiian community and will you commit to canceling of coordinating with native communities on the deployment of these respondents. >> i absolutely will. >> and scientists under nice to see you. earlier this year, with other members of this committee wrote letters to verizon t-mobile and asking if for commitment to protecting consumers before the carriers shut down three g networks and you share our concerns by the three g shut down and enter excellent at summarizing so could you please summarize the problems for consumers and what you could do about it as a commissioner. >> sure sinners got a basically the carriers what to stop there to gina three g and in some cases four g transmission because they want to move 5g which is important, it will be transformative technology we want that to happen however, there still 13 to 17 percent of americans still rely on 2g or three g so shutting it down to senate without this medication, holding a lot of people without the ability to call an ambulance or the families or do anything about it so this seems to me to be a problem that could be resolved through some negotiations and there is a petition pending before the fcc right now that was submitted by the alarm industry because that is in the think of the alarms so there's serious public safety implications about shutting down 2g and three g. >> is also potentially catastrophic and fixable that my worry is that everybody assume it will get fixed because of would be preposterous to leave millions of americans of the basic conductivity their lives depend on. and yet here we are without a solution so i'm hoping we can work together on confirmation. >> this for ici collaborative skills and negotiation skills could come into play because it seems to be an issue that can be resolved with play. >> thank you the american community survey primary source of data on the nation's changing socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, do i have your commitment challenges facing including additional resources may be necessary. >> yes, i can work with you on improving resources and challenges braided. >> thank you pretty. >> i just want to thank you for your leadership on these important issues and i think that again that the infrastructure bill on the data recognizes these issues. i think people are regarding broadband and at the same thing, like get back to you, not just tolerate it, were going to get the plan for places like alaska. >> thank you madam chair and thank you for being here today. i noticed that you tweeted that fcc subsidies can be harmful enforcing companies to free speech you've also said that whenever you hear somebody complained about broadband networks translate that to competition. when his standby those statements. yes printed although i do support within the eye - the notion that the money to go firt building where there is nothing and then and only then should underserved areas be served from a big supporter of them and i worked on it for several offices here and so did tweak those things prior but i like the framework right now predict. >> thank you for clarifying and appreciate that and after congress passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill, cover secretary talked about transparency and oversight and there were needed the state broadband proposal and she said we need to make sure the money is used in the buildings and wondering if you agree with her. was revisited in our conversation, when week but earlier you also spoke about the redundancy about the building and i would ask you if you would confirm that to us here at the hearing. >> i confirmed that. >> thank you very much and you are often competition conversation to municipal broadband and previously expressed concerns to former fcc tom wheeler, about the actions on the broadband because of undermining state laws and you were his counsel at that time. did you advise them of that order. >> i probably did but i don't really have the specific recollection but i think it's important to know that right now the fcc can do nothing about this municipal broadband and as you know we did try the state laws of north carolina and tennessee that prohibited the new builds of the municipal broadband or extensions of already builds networks and they said we did not have the authority braided. >> do you regret that. >> no, have supported them for a very long time and is actually, things are kind of changing notice so much the cities and towns providing their own service, which are now saying is middle mile being built in commercial entities that have open access networks and feminine a lot of places where you basically the municipality in the the middle mile in these commercial broadband providers providing service in the really results in enormous competition. >> do you believe that the fcc should be able to get paid but the broadband policy should be pretty. >> so it fcc preempts state law they do not have the authority and actually think, the last three or four years, i've been working about with the state to try to get them sort of ready for what mr. davidson was about to give them in terms of money and i think that the fcc needs have a better relationship of the states and if i'm confirmed, one of the things i would ask is i could be a liaison do those days because i really form very good relationships with them and i actually agree with you that in the past, we have not outreach to the states and make them partners to be more adversarial. my correct that there is a committee that brings the states together and smite understanding from some members of our public service commission in the state of nebraska at this committee even though it is there, it doesn't mean to and it doesn't do anything. would you be interested in looking into that and possibly from your comments, working go with states to be able to have that communication and more formalized matter through this committee pretty. >> i'm assuming you're talking about this board and absolutely no was chairman onto the inter- government advisory committee and work with them very well a lot of times including republican friends who signed a letter on my behalf so would be delighted to do that. if the share fiber confirmed and she wanted a joint - i would be honored pretty. >> nebraska is one of the few states of the law printed form universal services and was very proactive on that and it worked well. so that's why you have concerns about comments on preempting state laws. the foresight. >> i would be happy to clarify and thank you. >> will lead with mr. davidson because you mentioned a segue to his job which will be overseeing the distribution of of the state broadband wedding billions of dollars and all of that on both sides of the aisle has been frustrations in her save the money is gone out from the state some federal government and it does not get done and that is one of the reasons that i talked with the secretary about this position would allow us to take that fondness and could you talk about the number one that i got when i was talking to people who are very excited about these grants including yesterday with the president in minnesota pretty what is your plans to getting the distribution of the funding going. >> thank you and i would say this is incredibly important and gives us an opportunity to connect everybody as you mentioned it. and we have been given quickly to figure out it carefully and i think the plan there first and foremost is going to be working with the states many partners in the state and i think there is a lot in gia can do to help them to have the states be a partner to work with. in funding from congress i think that would be a top priority getting this moving. >> executive think you will start to hear about the timetables what is happening very excited about this. and i start by just putting on the record it some of the the consumer association and support printed. >> and you were talking about your work with the state and you've also worked on a variety of issues, broadband competition and innovation and can you talk about how you've worked with colleagues on the opposite side of the aisle on these types of issues. >> yes senator. thing is really important and obviously i am a supporter but in i believe it was in 2012, 2010, we were waiting for the fcc to act on net neutrality and is taking a very very long time rated so i was asked along with other public interest groups to consider legislative compromise there are some republican offices involved as well and they were supportive and bill was not perfect but all acknowledged organizations in a run at the time, decided to support it. in the night before the news we get out there we were supporting this, i called my colleagues and i told them that we are going to do this and you know you're not going to be happy about it. but this is what were going to do and think some of them are not happy about it to this day but if he is a demonstration of willingness to work with folks that you don't necessarily agree with like nothing was happening to get done in the fcc was frozen for whatever reason. actually cause them to finally move. it's time about making progress i'm not interested in doing ceremony are my morals, august of done with great opportunity. >> as you look at what we can get done, two things of follow-up on here. one is under talk a lot about broadband any talk about how hugh would work with world providers in areas where they might not have any broadband now more likely very much so with the broadband printed. >> so, they specifically said that the fcc has to provide technical assistance and it requires them to work with the fcc itself only 150 people and i think it would really help them provide technical assistance braided and the carriers could get money from the state so i fear is like a virtuous relationship and i hope that we will get the opportunity i know we will make sure that these unserved areas are served and that the rural providers that need help, the complicated process like multi grant process and providing the assistance they need. >> we talked about that 911 caucus and we have still work to be done upgrading our 911 system you. can you very briefly talk about how we can modernize the systems. and we have to have the resources to make sure the people in the rural areas and low income areas also have 911, not just people in the rich area so i worry about that 911 divide as well. >> thank you very much and i really appreciate your willingness. >> chairman thank you very much and those who don't get asked questions are played by that or feel left out. and consider it a compliment i think, i appreciate all of your willingness to serve and confirm that i am grateful and i serving this committee committee and the also an appropriate for the department of congress and i look forward to working with you in both of those capacities. mr. davidson want to start with you, because they indicated that the center chairs none the appropriating for him tia and need your commitment that you work with us on their budget funding issues. i don't think you have a choice and that when it comes to spending the dollars that congress provided, part of the senators in the infrastructure bipartisan plan. i'm very interested in having the opportunity in conjunction with the senators to have conversations with you on the implementation of the execution. >> that's absolutely epic i look forward to talking with you more that. >> i remember the days that i'm always griping because there's no charges that the fcc and also what i considered a lot of difficulties which numbers did not communicate with each other and i assume that you remember what i'm talking about and you work hard to avoid that circumstances. >> when i was at the fcc, and always reached out to my republican colleagues and i did not just have lunch with the commissioners that although. it's important to me, they are not personal policy differences so i will do that. >> i appreciate your answer local broadcast journalism in particular the fcc would have jurisdiction over and i want to make sure that what you said was the truth in regard to no hard feelings and no bias and consequences to that lawsuit and you confirmed that and i appreciated that you did. we've allocated lots the funding to new broadband programs in many different agencies and there is some thoughts that the universal service fund, what is the role now. we had a conversation. and the questions that i raised twist on that i would grace with you, what role do they play, you've talked about the right to expand where the revenues come from or the reform. but with all of the money congress is granting for the broadband, what now predict. >> that is a great question what is great about that question in as that they answer because it requires the fcc i think over 30 days of the programs the signing the bill to start a proceeding and to look at how all of the money of the $65 billion, how that will impact the universal service fund and i think it is really really important and i think they have to submit a report within nine months, that lays out the options for whatever might be left. it is entirely possible and again i don't want to prejudge budgets entirely possible that after this money spent we don't need to see that for lifeline is different. and i think at that process and process in the provision is so important predict you don't do that in just say is the universal service over here so i look forward from confirmed it to participate biggest thing that will be super important predict. >> your answer reminds me that and i'm assuming that you would know and this content in the coordination with asked for commitment from the fcc and the public commissioners were here that were coordinating and including the developments and for others to make certain that we do this in a smart way to mrn important guideline of the infrastructure jobs act related to the broadband and underserved areas i'm sorry, the unserved areas. the goal was to prevent overbuilding of existing networks and i'm an advocate for that for a long time and i'm seeing the consequences have spent money in which an my view is not the place that should've been spent and we place restrictions on particular the usda, the manners and the restrictions were some what the same contrary to my desire and the bipartisan infrastructure bill but i want to hear from you that you will do everything you can to ensure that the intent of congress in providing those resources of the unserved areas is where the money will go. >> i appreciate that question and edition quite clearly out of framework and human commitment of confirmed, to follow that framework faithfully. >> can you explain mr. davidson what the privacy is in the role as new indicated that i think in your testimony the ftc, is to set rules and unfair data collection and practices that made hundred may damage consumer privacy in your written testimony you mentioned the importance of them building better internet including a first when it comes to protecting privacy and what you telling me. >> will certainly, it's about privacy and is extremely important and i do believe they do have statutory role and the information policy and also tell them places in the various statutes of him tia and then finally i would just say they have a history here in providing you said in recent years analysis before takeover listening session so i think there is work that we can do with the policy expertise and support the administration. >> thank you. in 2015, the sec approved the open internet order was put into place the neutrality's and protections in the broadband is a telecommunication service under title ii of the communications act and the trump era, and that neutrality and they eliminated the commission's rightful authority to protect the broadband users from a public safety digital divide and yet the ongoing pandemic is of no doubt that today the broadband is an essential utility now more than ever. and now more than ever the need to commission with the authorities to oversee the broadband and do you believe that the fcc has the authority and needs to reinstate the net neutrality and to restore the classification of the broadband is entitled to service and as the chairwoman stated in front of this committee. >> yes, i agree. >> is going to be difficult for us to pass legislation or on trying to move. so i do think that is very important for us as these commissioners to the notion that the fcc follows that act and the coronavirus pandemic has also highlighted the hit. it. we know the children that without the internet. and i was playful in creating the emergency conductivity funded now providing $7 billion in conductivity funding and the allocated $6 billion and or receive more than $6 billion in funding and has more than 3 billion thus far the program put simply, has read 210 million students receiving devices. and having the internet at home in which they need and unfortunately the emergency conductivity funded - and you believe we should provide additional funding and the builder, back, better act hard. >> yes absolutely congratulations by the way that. >> and new variance will only further about what is happening. [inaudible]. and providing access. do you think we need a permanent solution. >> yes, one thing that i would like to see fcc do and support if confirmed would be a reinterpretation of of this way of law to permit the funding to go to homes. my daughter is in back of me for a year and a half, her classroom which is what the law talks about being funded, conductivity and classroom was her bedroom. and sometimes it was the dining room table we usually the bedrooms of in my opinion has the authority to reinterpret the law and a belief held by the court to say that the classroom is pretty much anywhere but certainly the home. >> thank you and i agree. it is essential for the children. and i could compete against the school superintendents for my daughter or son because i could take my books home and you can't take the maximum. that's what we need the internet here today so we thank you for your historic education and you are an expert we need experts. thank you for your service and mr. david some, she was talking about the needed to have essentially paranoia competition in order to avoid the relation but we know the competition fall short in this result, more americans, they've not really received the broadband which is what your job is going to be so on the question of municipal broadband, as you have implemented this to billion-dollar deployment program, when his your goal in terms of making sure that they get the utilities get the resources they need. >> i think you for the question and this is an incredibly important moment for us make sure that we are breaching everyone and i think that we really need all of the above approach to how we will connect particularly in rural american municipal broadband has played a big role in some places and i think that makes it quite clear that it can be for some states will be an important part. >> and you commit to helping them pretty. >> yes and bring the resources here pretty. >> and finally a report from finances to project that see level rise will rise during the next 15 years and it would you commit to working to make sure that the funding goes to make sure that the climate change does not have devastating effects. >> yes and so incredibly important for this program that the will be working on it and help address this issue in it, for the broadband with the effects of the climate change. >> and this is just another word for saying that the infrastructure bill and what are we talking about. >> thank you. i think we have senator blackburn and peters and sullivan predict. >> thank you, one of the things i said many times that we need to have an inventory spectrum that's held by the federal agencies while the congress supported is doing history of federal agencies, but we need to know what spectrum is in one hand what they're using those bands for an than we need to recruit the spy, and this is their jurisdiction and we will you commit to working with us to get this done pretty. >> i do commit to working with you to get that done. >> thank you so much. in the need for getting this done, and let me ask you for a yes or no to some questions. and this administration decision to have the title to rules in any way to stop the fcc from executing gives broadband deployment ever, yes or no. >> it is not been arrested a very thin. the answer is no. >> no and it has not impeded and he said he supported title to the regimes plus from various what they did in 2015 is it worth that the future fcc does and forbear and impose more rules on the internet. >> sorry about that, yes they could. >> do you support the broadband rate regulation. >> no, that was an easy one. >> will that is good because the past you have but hasn't helped helped encourage the investment in the broadband network. >> when you say internet relation are you talking about the broadband providers. >> i am talking about the providers regulation of the internet government control of the internet, are you going to get more private investments to continue expanding the networks and are you going to get less. >> i believe it has no impact. >> i was you are wrong about that because look what is happened by networks being able to get out there and expanded the broadband and there are a lot of counties in tennessee, 95 counties but they partnered up with state land and partnered up with federal grants and it partnered up with sea legs and electric powered co-ops we have very rural standings that are close to having it fiber across the entire county. so it does have an impact, private sector brush. the infrastructure bill that was recently signed into bill to underserved areas, overbuilding existing networks and ignoring the rural areas from the cities and do you believe this will close the digital divide. >> i support the framework that unserved it must be served first and then and only then after the states proven to them that the unserved is there first and then we spend money in the underserved. >> one of the downfalls the obama era was the overbuilding of network and existing networks in the cities in the rural areas were left behind and they did not get the money and that is what we have as much disparity as we have existing right now and we need to be encouraging that investment into the network. so when you work for tom wheeler, he led the efforts to have the broadband privacy rules into place, the rules that congress later struck him as average of fcc authority and he recently said there was no real oversight and broadband carriers going on so do you believe the ftc has some ways fallen down on his job as a consumer privacy agency. >> i don't believe so but i have to admit though not been filing with the sec are doing lately. >> as we have debated for many years, this is their jurisdiction, not the fcc jurisdiction in he needed one regulator and one son have rules for the entire internet eco- system and okay, the fcc were to reclassify broadband as a title to service, would you support them once again attempting to enact broadband privacy rules. >> i would prefer of the congress had a comprehensive consumer bill and i know senator blackburn, you've been a leader in that regard for the chairwoman it undertook such a proceeding i obviously would participate in it and obviously she would be have to reclassify first but i prefer this would be comprehensive private villa been very very clear and that. >> you were on the board of directors of the streaming services shut down right about the time that this pirating of the content. it was shut down for pride and can pirating shut down and i would like to talk to you about content and it seems like you are not being consistent in your value of protecting intellectual property of create tours and as you know, we transmission is an issue that has been debated a fan i know were going to continue this conversation about protecting content. my time has expired and thank you. >> senator peterson by the wife and happy birthday. >> thank you and thank you for recognizing me into each one of our nominees congratulation on your nomination and willingness to serve in these positions. michigan has broadband problem that certainly can't be addressed by one-size-fits-all, is a situation all across the country that is why cosponsor broadband financing innovation act which supports public-private partnerships that were to connect the families and communities and probably one of the examples in my state is northern michigan university educational access network that provides broadband connections. and i would like you to talk a little bit about local partnerships of how important they are in your mind, should we continue to focus on this and if so when he recommended we do do to make sure these partnerships continue to provide these very vital services. >> thank you, i think the localities are critical inputs to getting the digital divide closed and again the broadband infrastructure bill, requires states to bring the localities into the conversation and they just can't spend the money without talking to local officials and i think that needs to continue and i think that is very very important and dealt with an awful have mayors that care deeply about this issue and i think we need to continue to support their efforts get broadband into their communities. >> as chairman protecting critical infrastructure is one of my primary jobs and critical infrastructure socially telecommunications, protecting them from cyber attacks and compromise upon is a natural disasters that hit and wipe out the services and this year the communications security reliability and interoperability counsel and taking important steps of homeland security but by allowing them to cochair for the first time and certainly make that, as long overdue and we appreciate that. how can dhs and fcc better coordinate to improve the security of these networks and create increase resiliency and in particular. >> that's a great question and i can't say that i've thought a lot this joint work dhs. i do think that maybe perhaps what could happen in what we have with the fcc in the chair in the administrator, they are required to me twice a year maybe we could have something later. >> were going to u.s. senate live and bring you live coverage of, and to congress continuing defense authorization act in a bill that puts the policies for the fiscal year 2022 and lawmakers expected to consider amendments and a final vote is possible later today you're watching live coverage, on "c-span2".

Related Keywords

Tennessee , United States , North Carolina , Nebraska , Alaska , Washington , Congo , Togo , Michigan , Warsaw , L67 , Poland , Connecticut , Americans , America , American , Alan Davidson , Gigi Sohn , Jed Kolko , Aaron Venkataraman , Dena Michaels , Alvaro Bedoya , Tom Wheeler ,