Gov performance

In letters to 11 whistleblowers on Dec 2, the US Office of Special Counsel (OSC) — an investigative and prosecutorial government body — revealed that it had found “a substantial likelihood of wrongdoing” at the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees four media organizations: Voice of America, Middle East Broadcasting, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. With help from the Government Accountability Project (GAP), which represents more than 20 current and former staffers at the USAGM, 11 whistleblowers sent specific complaints to the OSC over the last few months.

Federal Communications Commission policies geared towards improving rural broadband deployment have failed in meaning, money, and mapping.

I welcome the letter from Chairman Pallone and Chairman Doyle. Historically, the [Federal Communications Commission] has honored the transfer of power from one Administration to the next by pausing any controversial activity. I urge FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to follow this past practice in order to ensure an orderly transition of agency affairs. I look forward to continuing to work on the routine and consensus matters currently before the agency.

House Commerce Committee leaders wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joseph Simons demanding that the two commissions stop work on all partisan or controversial items currently under consideration in light of the results of the presidential election. “We note that you have previously welcomed calls from congressional leaders for the FCC to ‘halt further action on controversial items during the transition period.’ We hope you will respect this time-honored tradition now.”

The Federal Communications Commission has a program, known as the high-cost program, to promote broadband deployment in unserved areas. Although the performance goals for the high-cost program reflect principles in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, not all of the goals are expressed in a measurable or quantifiable manner and therefore do not align with leading practices.

The Trump administration has undercut democracy activists in Belarus and Hong Kong by abruptly ending funding to a US internet freedom organization that provides technological tools to evade censorship and surveillance, according to cyber experts and lawmakers.

Superior Court Judge Shana Frost Matini ruled that Michael Pack overstepped his authority when he fired the board of an agency that helps dissidents and journalists in repressive countries and sought to replace it with his own slate of directors, including himself.

The Federal Communications Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the US Agency for International Development to promote secure and open 5G networks in the developing world. Under the agreement, the FCC and USAID will promote open, interoperable, reliable, and secure Internet and digital infrastructure and advance interagency coordination on network security in developing countries. The agreement affirms the following goals and objectives:

On Sept 17, the House Communications Subcommittee held the hearing Trump FCC: Four Years of Lost Opportunities.

In 2017, the Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported that FCC’s ability to deter and detect alleged Erate program fraud has been severely limited since the program’s inception due to a lack of certain controls. Also, as recently as February 2020, a number of E-rate program participants pled guilty to defrauding the program by billing for equipment and services that were not provided, and obtaining more than $2.6 million in program funds to which they were not entitled. GAO was asked to review fraud risk management in the E-rate program.