Sens Snowe and Kaufman want more expertise at FCC

Sens Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Ted Kaufman (D-Delaware) Monday introduced a bill aiming to boost the technical resources and expertise at the Federal Communications Commission.

The legislation would require the National Academy of Sciences to do a study to examine the technical policy decision-making process and the availability of technical personnel at the agency. "It is critical that we include engineers in our nation's technical policy and decision-making, at the FCC and across the government," said Kaufman. "Professionals in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics have always been our nation's problem-solvers. I am pleased that this study will explore the implications and offer recommendations for addressing the decline of engineers in this important agency." The study would address the FCC's technical policy decision-making process, current staffing levels and recruiting processes for technical staff and engineers. The bill authorizes $1 million over two years to conduct the research.