Bill Introduced To Boost FCC Tech Expertise

Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) introduced a bill to boost the Federal Communications Commission's technical prowess.

The bill would allow commissioners to appoint technical advisers and require the National Academy of Sciences to study the FCC's technical policy and policymaking decisions and the personnel available to inform those decisions. The FCC Technical Expertise Capacity Heightening (FCC TECH) Act would allow commissioners to appoint an electrical engineer or computer specialist to consult on technical issues. In a joint release outlining the bill, the senators suggest it is needed to combat an ongoing problem, or what they called the "glaring technical deficiencies at the FCC, which left unaddressed could continue to hamper American innovation and competitiveness."