[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 14 (Monday, January 30, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S152-S153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO COMMISSIONER MICHAEL COPPS

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Madam President, I rise to honor Dr. Michael Copps. 
At the end of last year, Dr. Copps retired from public service--though 
not from public life.
  For those of you who do not know him, I want to take this opportunity 
to tell you about him, the life he has led, what he has done for this 
country--and what he has done for all of us.
  After earning a doctorate in U.S. history from the University of 
North Carolina, Dr. Copps headed south to the Big Easy. He taught 
history at Loyola University in New Orleans. It was there that he met 
his wife Beth.
  Academe had its pull. But so did Washington. So in 1970, he convinced 
his wife to pack up their life and move north to the capital. He heard 
the call of policy and politics and told her that after he got it out 
of his system, he would head back to university life.
  He never did head back to the halls of the academy. But his keen 
mind, calm demeanor, and dedication to the public interest have taught 
all of us about what it is to lead an honorable life in public service.
  He started in Washington in the office of Senator Fritz Hollings. He 
eventually served for over a dozen years as Senator Hollings' chief of 
staff. He is well known and well loved by so many who served in the 
office of the South Carolina Senator. I know that Fritz Hollings too is 
proud to call him a colleague and friend.
  From the Halls of the Senate, he headed on to industry. He took on 
policy operations in Washington for a Fortune 500 manufacturing 
company. He also worked at a major trade association.
  With the election of President Clinton, however, he again heard the 
call of government service. He first served as Deputy Assistant 
Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce. During his tenure, he 
fostered public sector and private sector cooperation to strengthen 
American industry. He led the U.S.-Russia Business Development 
Committee's oil and gas working group. In this role, he pushed 
successfully for the removal of an export tax for U.S. companies 
shipping oil out of Russia. He negotiated power, chemical, and 
automotive policies with China. He built partnerships involving forest 
products, agriculture products, and electrical power in Russia, 
Ukraine, and Turkey. He assisted generously with global automotive 
negotiations and trade promotion initiatives.
  Five years later, he was nominated and confirmed by this body, for 
Assistant Secretary for Trade Development at the U.S Department of 
Commerce. Again, he served nobly. He worked with the private sector to 
expand commercial opportunities for U.S. businesses in the global 
economy. He oversaw a reorganization of trade development within the 
Department, creating a new office focused on information technologies 
industries. He also advocated internationally for the creation of 
independent telecommunications regulatory regimes, transparent legal 
authority for telecommunications, and investor-friendly climates for 
information technology.
  He did all of these things at the Department of Commerce with his 
characteristic force, impressive analytical skills, and customary 
grace.
  But it was only sometime after his tenure at the Department of 
Commerce that I really came to know Dr. Copps. That was when, in 2001, 
he was first nominated, and later confirmed, for the role of 
Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission. He brought to 
the role the same energy and enthusiasm that he displayed at the 
Department of Commerce. He brought the same sense of conviction, and he 
brought the same belief that through expanding the stakeholders in any 
dialogue, we can enrich our conversation, grow our economy, and enhance 
our public life.
  His accomplishments over the course of his two terms at the agency 
are too numerous to mention. So I will dwell only on a few.
  First, as the Acting Chairman of the agency he led the national 
transition to digital television. He was the man in charge of keeping 
the television on, as our Nation's broadcasters ceased sending signals 
in analog form. His calm, clear focus, and ability to marshal public 
and private efforts to manage the transition kept millions and millions 
of households with access to television news, emergency information, 
and entertainment.
  Second, he called early and often for policies to support broadband, 
understanding well before others that broadband is the great 
infrastructure challenge of our age. It was here that his eye for 
history served him especially well, as he analogized between broadband 
networks and the railroads that criss-crossed our country more than a 
century before; between opening ports to new markets and opening 
communities through new communications networks; and between the need 
for our interstate highway system and the need for new broadband 
byways. He called for a national broadband plan well before it was 
popular to do so. He reminded us that rural Americans must not be left 
on the wrong side of the digital divide. In fact, he tirelessly 
pressured to expand service to the historically underserved--from rural 
areas, to Indian Country, to those with disabilities, and more--
believing that access to communications technologies strengthens our 
economy and our democracy.
  Third, he was an early champion of the open and free Internet. As our 
lives migrated online, he saw the risks posed by the control of both 
connectivity and content. He gave early voice to basic concepts that 
grew to become network neutrality.
  Fourth, and finally--he has emerged as an important voice on media 
policy. He has never shied from asking the hard questions about our 
media institutions. He has criticized media concentration for diluting 
the diversity, localism, and competition we need in our information 
sources. He has worried for all of us that with the shuttering of 
newspapers and thinning of journalism's ranks, we are doing great harm 
to the public's need to know. He was not blind to the great 
informational promise of the Internet, but instead a realist about its 
near-term journalistic limitations. Without an informed citizenry, he 
reminded us over and over again, we risk what is essential for 
democracy. His zeal for this issue was anything but academic. He took 
to the road and held countless hearings outside of Washington--giving 
thousands of people across the country the opportunity to speak about 
the changes in our media landscape, and the information they need in 
their communities.
  As part of this, he also pressed for less indecency in the media, and 
less coarse content on our airwaves. His media policies had fans and 
also detractors. But both uniformly respected how he took on these 
issues and how deeply committed he was to his cause.
  Simply put, they do not make men like Michael Copps anymore. He 
represents the best in public service. So as Dr. Copps turns in his 
badge and turns

[[Page S153]]

to spending more time with Beth and their family of five children, I 
wanted to come to the floor and congratulate him on his 
accomplishments. His has set an example for all of us. This one-time 
history professor has earned his place in history. I know I am grateful 
for his service to this country. I am also grateful to call him a 
friend.

                          ____________________