September 2017

Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel says her agency needs to do more to help restore phone service in areas affected by the recent string of devastating hurricanes. "After Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy @FCC held hearings to address network recovery. Why won’t agency do it for Harvey, Irma & Maria?” she tweeted. “These are people struggling to make phone calls in the United States. @FCC must study networks in disaster. Stat.”

Critics say the agency is responding slower than to previous hurricanes and are laying the blame on FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. In 2012, the FCC announced that it would hold agency hearings within weeks of Superstorm Sandy, which battered the Northeast. “Frankly, I think Pai is worried … that hearings will point to problems the FCC needs to solve through regulation,” said Harold Feld, senior vice president at Public Knowledge.

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) took to the Senate floor to oppose the nomination of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai for a new term on the commission, citing network neutrality. Sen Cantwell said Chairman Pai had moved the FCC away from its key public service mission, including net neutrality, which she called one of the most important issues of our time. She told her colleagues that in the information age, making sure the internet remains open is key. She also said that the vote on Pai's nomination would happen on Oct. 2. She said Chairman Pai was trying to clog the arteries of one of the fastest growing economic opportunities in America. "I am not going to vote for someone who is going to clog the internet."