[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 16331-16332]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  NOMINATION OF MR. THOMAS E. WHEELER

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Madam President, I rise today in support of the 
nomination of Tom Wheeler to be Chairman of the Federal Communications 
Commission.
  No one can question that Mr. Wheeler is a supremely qualified nominee 
to lead the FCC. He brings to the job a long and distinguished career 
in the communications industry. He was a pioneer in the cable and 
wireless industries, having been instrumental in the growth of both 
these critical communications sectors. As an entrepreneur, he built 
businesses and created jobs.
  This collective experience provides Mr. Wheeler with a unique insight 
into the challenges facing the Nation's communications regulator. And 
it affords him the experience to lead an agency that has the most 
challenging and complicated set of issues pending before it since the 
Commission implemented the 1996 Telecommunications Act. I do not say 
this lightly. The decisions the FCC will make over the next few years 
will shape the future of the Nation's telephone network, public safety, 
the wireless industry, broadcasting, the Internet, and consumer 
protection for decades to come.
  The Commission has before it a number of key proceedings to implement 
my Public Safety Spectrum legislation that became law last year. Not 
only will the agency implement a new tool for identifying spectrum 
through voluntary incentive auctions, the revenues from those auctions 
will provide critical support for deployment of the long-overdue 
nationwide interoperable wireless broadband network for first 
responders.
  Aside from that work, the Commission is examining the future of the 
Nation's voice telephone network, and what the transition of that 
network can mean to longstanding, fundamental tenets of communications 
policy like universal service, competition, public safety and consumer 
protection.
  The FCC continues to look at the future of media policy in an era 
when online video distribution looks to disrupt traditional business 
models and bring more consumer choice to the video industry. The FCC 
will need to conclude its work on the E-Rate program and update it to 
meet the next-generation connectivity needs of our schools and 
libraries. And finally, the FCC will have to implement a decision from 
the courts on the FCC's net neutrality rules and potentially on the 
Commission's underlying authority to protect consumers in the broadband 
age.
  I have absolute confidence in Mr. Wheeler's ability to guide the 
agency through its consideration of these far-reaching issues. This 
confidence comes in part from my strong belief that Mr. Wheeler agrees 
with me that the FCC must always have consumer protection and the 
public interest as its primary touchstones.
  Acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn has done an excellent job as the 
steward of the Commission over the last several months. I am proud of 
her accomplishments, especially her commencement of a proceeding to 
strengthen and expand the hugely successful E-Rate program, something 
our Nation's children deserve. But acting chairs of agencies can only 
accomplish so much, particularly when they have taken charge of an 
agency that lacks a full complement of its members. It is past time for 
the Senate to act on Mr. Wheeler's nomination and to put in place the 
President's permanent head of this essential agency.
  At its core, the FCC is a regulatory agency. Too many have forgotten 
that the agency's fundamental responsibility is the regulation of 
communications networks. These regulations

[[Page 16332]]

serve important policy goals. You cannot have universal service without 
regulation. You cannot ensure competition without regulation. You 
cannot have consumer protection without regulation. Given his 
experience and history, Mr. Wheeler understands the vital role of the 
Commission and the need for an active, smart regulator for the nation's 
communications markets.
  The Members of the Senate Commerce Committee have fully vetted Mr. 
Wheeler's nomination. And an overwhelming, bipartisan majority of the 
committee favorably reported Mr. Wheeler's nomination out of committee 
in July. At his nomination hearing in June, Mr. Wheeler ably 
demonstrated his knowledge of the issues the FCC will face in the 
coming years. Mr. Wheeler answered all of the questions for the record 
submitted to him after that hearing--including all 78 questions from 
Republican committee Members. And he did so in a substantive and 
detailed manner. And honest, thoughtful responses by nominees have 
always been sufficient for this body to move forward when they are 
eminently qualified for a position and capable of fulfilling their 
mission.
  It also has not been the practice of the Senate Commerce Committee to 
demand that a nominee to an independent regulatory agency like the FCC 
prejudge issues that might come before his or her agency. In fact, it 
was our colleague and former Commerce Committee Chairman Senator John 
McCain who, during consideration of a past Republican FCC Chairman 
nominee, said ``Just as it is not appropriate for nominees to the bench 
be asked how they will vote on a specific issue that is currently 
before, or likely to come before, their court; it is not appropriate 
for commissioners who have quasi-judicial responsibilities to pre-judge 
cases they must consider.''
  As Chairman of the FCC, Mr. Wheeler will be able to use the power of 
the FCC to spur universal deployment of advanced technologies, foster 
job growth and innovation, and protect consumers. This is an agency 
that oversees, by some estimates, nearly one-fifth of the U.S. economy. 
This is an agency that has raised over $50 billion for the U.S. 
Treasury through spectrum auctions. This is the agency that has, 
through smart policy, guided the Nation into the digital age. This is 
the agency that has wide-ranging authority over so many communications 
services that are a vital part of our daily lives. From broadband to 
wireless phones to television content to public safety communications--
this little agency oversees it all.
  Because we entrust the FCC with such great responsibility, we expect 
a lot from those whom the President chooses to run that agency. I am 
pleased to support Mr. Wheeler for Chairman of the FCC, and I call on 
my colleagues to do the same today. With all the important issues 
before the FCC, it is critical that the agency has a confirmed Chair 
and strong leader in place. I am confident, given Tom Wheeler's 
extensive experience and capabilities in the communications industry, 
he is the right person for this job.

                          ____________________