[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2982 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2982

  To require the Federal Communications Commission to reorganize the 
bureaus of the Commission in order to better carry out their regulatory 
                               functions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 17, 2005

   Mr. Wynn introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Federal Communications Commission to reorganize the 
bureaus of the Commission in order to better carry out their regulatory 
                               functions.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``FCC Reorganization Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Communications Act of 1934 grants the Federal 
        Communications Commission permission to organize ``integrated 
        bureaus'' and ``other divisional organizations'' for the 
        purpose of assisting the Commission in its principal workload.
            (2) The Federal Communications Commission originally 
        created and organized its bureaus at a time when individual 
        companies offered single, discreet telecommunications services.
            (3) New communications technologies enable a single company 
        to offer a variety of services (such as cable companies 
        offering video, voice, and data).
            (4) The organization of the Federal Communications 
        Commission's bureaus based on the type of technology is an 
        obsolete model and is no longer relevant since new technologies 
        provide multiple services.

SEC. 3. REGULATORY FUNCTION AND STRUCTURE OF THE FCC.

    Subsection (b) of section 5 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 155(b)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Staff Organization.--
            ``(1) Authority to organize.--The Commission shall--
                    ``(A) except as provided in paragraph (3), 
                establish and maintain the bureaus required by 
                paragraph (2); and
                    ``(B) organize the remainder of its staff into--
                            ``(i) integrated bureaus based on the 
                        purposes of the regulation to be administered 
                        by such bureau; and
                            ``(ii) such other divisional organizations 
                        as the Commission may deem necessary.
            ``(2) Required divisions.--Except as provided in paragraph 
        (3), the Commission shall establish and maintain the following 
        bureaus and divisions:
                    ``(A) Spectrum management bureau.--A Spectrum 
                Management Bureau with responsibility for all issues 
                relating to electromagnetic spectrum, including 
                spectrum allocation, spectrum interference regulations, 
                unlicensed user regulations, and other general spectrum 
                regulations.
                    ``(B) Government affairs and consumer education 
                bureau.--A Government Affairs and Consumer Education 
                Bureau with responsibility for all issues relating to 
                government relations and consumer education including 
                consumer affairs and outreach, consumer inquiries and 
                complaints, information access and privacy, policy, 
                reference information center, and consumer 
                publications.
                    ``(C) Economic regulations bureau.--An Economic 
                Regulation Bureau with responsibility for all issues 
                relating to economic regulations, including 
                intercarrier compensation, pricing regulations, and 
                media ownership regulations, and the Universal Service 
                Fund/E-rate program.
                    ``(D) Public interest bureau.--A Public Interest 
                Bureau with responsibility for all issues relating to 
                public interest programs, such as Disabled Services, E-
                911 regulations, and requirements under the 
                Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act.
                    ``(E) Broadcast content bureau.--A Broadcast 
                Content Bureau with responsibility for all issues 
                relating to broadcast content, including broadcast 
                decency and child-friendly television.
                    ``(F) Licensing bureau.--A Licensing Bureau with 
                responsibility for all issues relating to licensing, 
                including spectrum auctions and license renewal
                    ``(G) Enforcement bureau.--An Enforcement Bureau 
                with the same responsibilities such Bureau had on the 
                date of enactment of the FCC Reorganization Act.
                    ``(H) International bureau.--An International 
                Bureau with the same responsibilities such Bureau had 
                on the date of enactment of the FCC Reorganization Act.
            ``(3) Periodic re-examination.--The Commission shall, at 
        least once after each 5-year interval after the date of 
        enactment of the FCC Reorganization Act--
                    ``(A) re-examine the organization of the bureaus 
                established under subparagraph (A) and (B)(i) of 
                paragraph (1) to determine whether such organization 
                continues to meet the requirements and needs of the 
                Commission; and
                    ``(B) carry out any reorganization that the 
                Commission determines to be necessary to meet the 
                requirements and needs of the Commission.
            ``(4) Bureau staffing.--Each bureau established under 
        subparagraph (A) and (B)(i) of paragraph (1) shall include such 
        legal, engineering, accounting, administrative, clerical, and 
        other personnel as the Commission may determine to be necessary 
        to perform its functions.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION.

    The amendment made by section 3 is effective 18 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, except that the Federal Communications 
Commission is authorized and required to take actions to begin 
implementation of, and compliance with, such amendment on such date of 
enactment.
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