Policymakers

The head of the National Urban League is calling on the Senate Commerce Committee to favorably report Democrat Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society]'s Federal Communications Commission nomination to the full Senate and to work actively for a vote in that body.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is still looking to hold a confirmation vote for FCC nominee Gigi Sohn sometime soon. Although Chairwoman Cantwell had hoped to hold a vote in January, a spokesperson said "because the [Senate] recess [a planned January 17-21 "state work period"] was moved to next week," the Chairwoman is now hoping to "have something confirmed at some point next week."

Federal Communications Commissioners Nathan Simington and Brenden Carr have used their positions as leaders of a federal agency to dehumanize and disrespect the immigrant community. At the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), we believe that no human is illegal and that every person deserves dignity and respect. As such, we condemn the Commissioners’ comments and statements following the release of the Affordable Connectivity Program rules and call for higher standards of morality, empathy, and humanity from those who sit on the FCC.

It remains an open question as to when the Senate Commerce Committee will schedule a vote on Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society], the long-time public interest advocate and net neutrality supporter picked by President Joe Biden to fill out the Federal Communications Commission.

Federal Communications Commissioner Brandon Carr released an extraordinary statement worth reading. Carr is taking exception to the final rules from the Treasury Department concerning how communities can use the $350 billion in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The commissioner is asking states to somehow intervene in the way that cities, counties, and towns elect to use these funds.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the appointment of a diverse group of leading technology experts to serve as members of the Technological Advisory Council (TAC). The TAC will hold its first meeting on Monday, February 28, 2022, beginning at 10:00 am EDT via video conference and will be available online. The advisory council provides technical expertise to the FCC to identify important areas of innovation and develop informed technology policies.

Senate Commerce’s top Republican, Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS), is calling for a new hearing on Federal Communications Commission nominee Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society]. He wants to dig into ethics questions after obtaining and reviewing the terms of the confidential $32 million settlement that broadcasters struck with shuttered TV streaming service Locast in 2021 (Sohn was on the board of the Sports Fan Coalition nonprofit, which ran Locast).

The Federal Communications Commission alongside the Department of Labor, Department of Education, and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced the members of a cross-agency working group that will collaborate to identify the current and future needs of the telecommunications industry workforce, including the safety of that workforce.

Comcast's hiring of a new lobbyist is part of an attempt to "torpedo" President Joe Biden's nomination of Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to the Federal Communications Commission, according to advocacy group Free Press. "Comcast just hired a lobbying firm to try to torpedo Gigi Sohn's nomination to the FCC," said Free Press.