Policymakers

When communications attorney Robert McDowell started feeling a little under the weather in March, he chalked it up to seasonal allergies and related bronchitis and got the usual antibiotic from his primary care physician. Then his symptoms worsened. It wasn’t seasonal allergies. After a trip to the hospital and back home again, the former Federal Communications Commissioner was re-admitted with what turned out to be COVID-19-related double pneumonia.

House lawmakers will now have to email-in bills, amendments and other floor materials — a push to protect members of Congress and their staffers and adhere to public health guidelines during the pandemic. “Staff must electronically submit all Floor documents — including bills, resolutions, co-sponsors and extensions of remarks — to a dedicated and secure email system, rather than deliver these materials by hand to staff in the Speaker’s Lobby or Cloakrooms,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced.

Rank-and-file lawmakers in both chambers insist the day to day operations of Congress — hearings, markups, press conferences, caucus meetings — should continue in some form while the House and Senate remain out for weeks in order to prevent the spread of the virus on Capitol Hill. But congressional leaders have staunchly resisted modern technology that could allow members to vote remotely.

Next Century Cities sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission urging the agency to collaborate with mayors and other local officials on broadband deployment. As residents are forced to work, access virtual classrooms, obtain medical care, and more from their homes, local officials have been working tirelessly to ensure that every resident stays connected during the national coronavirus (COVID-19) shut-in. Next Century Cities asks the FCC to consider the following points. 

Media industry, take note: As of the past week, a Federal Communications Commission action item is now circulating that could spell some structural changes within the FCC, specifically within its Media Bureau that deals with TV and radio issues. “If adopted, this proposal would consolidate the Media Bureau’s Engineering Division with the Bureau’s Industry Analysis Division,” an FCC spokesperson said. For the coming fiscal year, the FCC requested funding for 131 full-time employees for its Media Bureau, a number that’s been dwindling in recent years amid the changing media landscape.

I congratulate Mike O’Rielly on his renomination to serve as FCC Commissioner. Commissioner O’Rielly is incredibly knowledgeable on communications policy matters and has contributed so much to the work of the agency. Moreover, he has been a valuable colleague and friend. I look forward to continuing my work with Mike and wish him well in the confirmation process.

President Donald Trump has sent to the Senate his nomination of Michael P. O’Rielly, of New York, to be a Member of the Federal Communications Commission for a term of five years from July 1, 2019. 

Berin Szóka, president of Washington-based think tank TechFreedom, is stepping down as its president after tweeting that it would be “poetic justice” if President Donald Trump died from the coronavirus. He will take an indefinite sabbatical to write a book on tech policy. Shane Tews, a longtime member of the group's board, will lead the organization in his stead. The move deals a blow to one of the tech industry’s staunchest defenders in Washington, where Szóka has served as its combative and outspoken leader for nearly a decade.

This Public Notice serves as notice that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, in consultation with Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, has appointed Working Group members to serve on the Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States (Precision Ag Connectivity Task Force or Task Force).

As the number of reported COVID-19 cases in the US increases and the World Health Organization has classified COVID-19 as a pandemic, the Federal Communications Commission, effective immediately, will no longer allow visitors into our facilities, absent special permission from the Office of Managing Director. No visitor will be granted such permission unless there is a clear operational necessity.