Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today, along with Senator Warner, to reintroduce legislation that provides greater technical resources to the Commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission. Such resources are essential to making sound regulatory decisions and being a more effective technical agency--especially in this era of rapid innovation in the industries under the Commission's jurisdiction. Specifically, the FCC Technical Expertise Capacity Heightening or ``FCC TECH'' Act would allow Commissioners'' to appoint a staff member--an electrical engineer or computer scientist--to provide in- depth technical consultation, and commission a study by the National Academy of Sciences on the technical policy decision-making process and the availability of technical personnel at FCC. The study would include an examination of the FCC's technical policy decision-making, current technical personnel staffing levels, and agency recruiting and hiring processes of technical staff and engineers, and make specific recommendations to improve these areas. Over the past several years, I have shared the concerns voiced by the technical community and even some Commissioners themselves about the lack of technical resources and expertise at the FCC. Such concern is warranted.…”