[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 132 (Tuesday, September 16, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S5632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FISCHER:
  S. 2817. A bill to assign the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy 
Analysis of the Federal Communications Commission the responsibility of 
bringing institutional focus to the important function of approving new 
technologies and improving regulatory certainty at the Commission; to 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, today I introduced the Helping 
Innovation and Revitalizing Innovation Act. It is a Federal 
Communications Commission, FCC, process reform idea called the HIRE 
Act. This measure seeks to make the FCC more efficient and accountable 
in processing new technology applications.
  Section 7 of the Communications Act requires the FCC to review new 
technologies and determine whether or not approval is in the public 
interest within one year of application--a deadline Congress imposed on 
the FCC in 1982. Part of Section 7 reads, ``The Commission shall 
determine whether any new technology or service proposed in a petition 
or application is in the public interest within one year after such 
petition or application is filed.''
  The HIRE Act would complement Section 7. Specifically, it would: 
require the FCC Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis to 
help facilitate attention and response to pending technology 
applications and licenses and it would require the FCC to report to 
Congress any time it fails to comply with the 1-year deadline for 
review of such applications.
  Right now when the FCC misses its 1 year deadline nothing happens. 
The notification clause in this bill would provide a backstop for the 
FCC to enhance regulatory certainty for innovators and consumers alike.
  Specifically, the HIRE Act would bring institutional focus to the 
important function of approving new technologies. FCC delays stall new 
opportunities for investment and job creation that are critical at this 
time in our Nation's history. FCC delays also deprive consumers from 
the benefits of accessing new technologies at lower prices.
  The senior Republican Commissioner at the FCC, Ajit Pai, has 
identified assisting new technology applications as a high priority. In 
a July 18, 2012, speech at Carnegie Mellon University, he said, 
``Bureaucratic inertia should not be a barrier to the deployment of new 
services or capital investment. Rather, the Commission should 
facilitate economic growth and job creation by making decisions in a 
timely manner . . . Entrepreneurs need an advocate at the FCC--one that 
will hold us accountable if we delay, rather than decide.'' 
Additionally, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 
IEEE, has encouraged the FCC improve its decision-making process for 
spectrum management.
  The HIRE Act is about improving the FCC's decision-making process and 
supporting job creation. It is a small, common-sense reform that 
increases government efficiency without increasing spending. I look 
forward to working with consumers, businesses, and those in the Federal 
Government who want to make our government more effective, efficient, 
and responsive. The HIRE Act is one proposal that would do that, and I 
welcome a conversation with others about this important issue.
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