Commissioner O'Rielly Statement on Biennial Review Public Notice

I am pleased that [Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler] has initiated our statutory responsibility under section 11 to review our telecommunications regulations, and I hope my colleagues will vote quickly on this rather clean procedural step to get the process started. My staff and I have been at a loss as to why the Commission has failed to conduct this important task since 2012, despite the requirement that it occur biennially.

Given that the Commission has already missed one opportunity to minimize our burdens for telecommunications carriers, it will be particularly important to seize this moment to really scrub off the cobwebs. To expedite the overall process, I’ve asked that we shorten our internal review from four months to two. It shouldn’t take individual Bureaus and Offices more than eight weeks to thoroughly examine rules under their purview and recommend candidates for elimination. With a little cooperation, this could be the most significant execution of section 11 to date.