direct over $100 billion in federal funds to curb opioid addiction and baltimore's acting police commissioner, fire chief niles horde discuss the opioid crisis from the perspective of first responders. washington journal spotlight on the opioid crisis live friday morning starting at 7:00 eastern. >> supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh continues to meet with senators on capitol hill. follow the confirmation process on c-span leading up to the senate confirmation hearing and the vote. watch anytime on c-span.org or listen with the free c-span radio apps. >> federal communications commission chair ajit [ai said he worked to block the acquisition of the tribune media company. donald trump was critical of the fcc on twitter for the decision calling it disgraceful.

chairman named chairman by the president says the house committee hearing on communications and technology. >> subcommittee on communications and technology will come to order. i want to thank our witnesses for being here. we appreciate having you before us today and i recognize myself for five minutes for the opening and welcome to this hearing on oversight of the federal communications commission. today's hearing marks the first time the fcc has appeared before the subcommittee having been reauthorized by congress so i'm delighted to welcome the recently reauthorized commission here today. this reauthorization effort

reflect bipartisan bicameral support, the fcc and important work it carries out each day to enhance public safety, technology and alerts, strengthen national security, increase broadband deployment and fostering competition and innovation in the communications marketplace. i hope today demonstrates the importance of being reauthorized as each of the commissioners articulate how that action and if it's the organization. we can deliver the same bipartisan accomplishment former colleagues at the end cia. the sec is charged with many important tasks, one of the most critical roles revolves around public safety, from working to ensure that alerting technologies warn the public of impending emergencies to aid in the restoration of

communications networks and services following emergencies the fcc is responsible for making sure our communications system are there when americans are in need of life-saving information. this work is furthered through the nation's 911 service platform. with this year being the 50th anniversary of the first 911 call, we in congress have been working with the fcc and in tia to improve the country's 911 systems and facilitate the transition to nexgen 911 services. i am looking forward to hearing more today about the fcc's work to advance public safety before, during and after emergencies. the fcc has worked closely with the subcommittee and our shared goal of promoting broadband access and closing the digital divide. we all agree on the importance of bringing benefits of

broadband to all americans and this is especially true in rural america. and a number of bipartisan provisions for members of the subcommittee and members of the full energy and commerce committee that will help the fcc in removing federal barriers to broadband deployment, and funding broadband, just last week in a hearing on world broadband we heard from a variety of stakeholders about the impact of that legislation. i look forward to hearing more on how the fcc has begun to implement legislation. i look forward to hearing the commission's recommendations on how we can improve connectivity for communities that are in desperate need of improvement to their education and healthcare services. it is the committee's primary role to conduct oversight of all the programs and policies

overseen by the fcc and i remain focused on key priorities so we can focus the work of this commission. i yield the balance of my time for an opening statement. >> this is the most important responsibility we have on this subcommittee and certainly we believe it is incredibly important that the commission which does such fine work is responsive to our concerns. i commend the commissioners for your work. it is my honor to work with every member of the commission. i want to continue to do so in as strong a capacity as possible and moving forward we have to make sure we work in bipartisan cooperation on the issues so important to the american nation. i yield back the balance of my

time. >> at this time i recognize the subcommittee's ranking member for five minutes. >> thank you for holding this very important am a long overdue hearing and thank you to the witnesses for finally after tween 9 months coming before the committee once again. in a 9 months since our last hearing the fcc has continued to expand its track record of anti-consumer, anti-small business, and ionization policies. it seems that almost every opportunity the commission has chosen corporations over consumers and failed in its duty to uphold the public interest. in december of last year the commission voted to donate net neutrality protections that are supported by the vast majority of americans from all sides of the political spectrum. the comments regarding the, quote, chicken littles who were concerned should take a look at the public opinion polls that show the vast majority of his own party as opposed to the commission's actions.

these protected consumers and entrepreneurs and innovators. i'm happy to say the senate has already passed a resolution restoring these rules and we hope we have a vote on our own bipartisan resolution here in the house. the rest of the commission's agenda has been no better. they propose getting the lifeline program which is an essential communications tool for millions of americans including veterans and seniors. the commission made a series of decisions for consolidation among broadcasters from eliminating the main studio rules reinstating the uh is discount and proposing to change congressionally established national ownership. it seems in each of these actions benefit broadcast corporations and the public worse off. the chairman claimed he cares about broadband deployment but

the commission must burden major wireless carriers with reporting with wireless service deployed and posed as part of mobility fund, a bizarre and onerous challenge process that requires rural providers to hire people to walk through cornfields and backyards trying to prove communities don't have wireless service and if those companies can't afford to send people out the commission will assume these communities are connected. how does that help 24 million americans without access to high-speed broadband? in the same vein, how does making changes to the cbr span to make it less accessible to rural wireless providers deploying broadband in hard-to-reach communities and the committee's shared goal of closing the digital divide? it doesn't. this commission's reckless action on broadband data services and comparable retirement were so corporate friendly that the white house's

advisor for telecommunications recently said they remain, quote, concerned that streamlined regulatory requirements placed on federal department and agencies that rely on services subjected this continuance in the untenable position of losing access to critical national security and public safety communications functionality. how does this for the convenience of carriers above the national security and public safety needs? that is besides the impact policies have on schools, libraries, hospitals, small businesses and competitors that rely on these services. what about america's privacy? wireless carriers have been sharing real-time location data of hundreds of millions of cell phones with third parties without consent from their users including sharing information with law enforcement agencies that use the data to illicitly the cup

americans location data without a warrant or due process and we don't even know the scope of the problem because the commission was asleep at the wheel. the commission is now investigating but how are you so in the dark on an abuse that was widespread industry practice and with confidence can this committee that the commission will take appropriate enforcement action against carriers who have so recklessly shared location data without our consent. again and again the commission has failed in its obligations to uphold public interest and have instead repeatedly sided with corporations over consumers and in waiting 9 months to do this oversight hearing this committee has been complicit in the commission's action by turning a blind eye and been derelict in response abilities to provide oversight for this agency. i am pleased the commission issued a hearing designation order for the sinclair merger and in doing so acknowledged

the near universal concerns of sinclair's honesty and candor but i'm externally concerned the president has weighed in on this issue. i hope you can usher us the president's tweet last night will not cause the commission to change course or affect the proceedings of administrative law judge. thank you and i yield back. >> the gentleman yields back and the chairman of the full committee is recognized for five minutes. >> i want to thank you for your leadership on these topics, specifically i want to thank you for highlighting the emergency alert 911 services and the minority on the reauthorization and the first time in 28 years, i think that is the last time you were here to testify before us, mister chairman. the commission's everton

wildfire and hurricane, emergency alert with location accuracy, key priorities for all of us. we reauthorize the fcc for the first time in two decades and appreciate the commission's input on our work and thanks to the hard work of everyone on the committee we incorporate provisions from 18 bipartisan bills that now form the act that is now law. we tried to work together when we can on these issues, 18 bipartisan bills, 57 on opioids, all of it bipartisan. i look forward to hearing about the fcc's progress in employing support in law such as broadcast, the commission is doing good work on that and provide an extra billion dollars and fixed some of the issues that were there to make sure translators and fm radio

stations, their equipment moved so we can free up that spectrum and i know under your leadership and others successfully pulled off the biggest reverse auction in history. you brought to our attention the issue involving the illegality of funds that came to the commission, you couldn't put them anywhere legally even though your predecessor did so we fixed that and that was important to take care of. i thank you for coming out to my district last month. we traveled around, i want to commend the commission for the decision to lift the on the medicine piece, that made a huge positive difference for our rural clinics when you at 171 million at $171 million over the. you heard firsthand when you were out there meeting with the

clinic, a small isp, and the taste for what the largest congressional districts are even though we never got out of one county but we were there all day. commissioner o'reilly and i had conversations about the challenge facing radio industry which i have some experience. colleagues say i have a great voice for radio interface for too. they are not nice people. radio was my original story and my father's as well and it is an important part of the country's framework and fabric of sharing information and entertainment and sharing the same fate as newspapers which never gained the benefit of crossownership relief under the commission for 15 years. entities captured by regulations from another time seemed trapped in his constant time warp, regulations of the 70s and 30s somehow worked for

the present day or beyond. wanting to take us back to the regime of the 1930s. we discuss the changing media landscape as well. another sector edge providers argues disrupting which is great news and another example i put the call out a year ago inviting the ceo of the greatest innovative technology companies to please come here and share before this committee their concerns and recommendations on a wide range of topics. the rhetoric around these issues has become like watching an old television show waiting to get the main program. we listen to the same old falsehoods and report privacy and net neutrality protections and the reality is all we have done is restore bipartisan equilibrium and regular tory framework of three years ago, mom and pop startups found their way through light touch regulatory framework we know as facebook, netflix, you name it

grew up in a framework, not of the 1930s where we regulated telephones. and critics speak out loud. be fearful, if you are conservative what your views been on. i'm sorry for what your family has gone through. where you are on the right or left, somewhere here we have to get back to humanity where we are not shouting at each other and threatening each other but instead trying to work out our differences. we do that a lot in this committee and we will continue to. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. >> i recognize the ranking member of the full committee for five minutes. >> the seneca medications commission is an independent agency created by the congress. the responsibility to protect

consumers, advance competition, and enhance public safety to work in public interest. the oversight committee, our duty to ensure commission's actions to advance those goals. unfortunately the majority of the committee is unwilling to follow through to hold quarterly oversight hearings, my first oversight hearing in 9 months and only the third this congress. the commission has acted contrary to its core mission with a series of partisan votes, the agency dismantled protections for consumers and initiated numerous proceedings designed to benefit big corporations to the detriment of working-class americans in local communities. the most high profile and controversial decision was the you nomination of the sec's net neutrality rules, safeguards that protect consumers, protect small businesses and protect free speech.

elijah cummings -- ajit pai is ignored comments from individuals and businesses supporting net neutrality. it is not surprising chairman ajit pai's older faces massive consumer opposition, public outrage from startup companies, working families, educators, healthcare professionals, veterans and so many others at townhall's and community centers have driven congressional action. in may the republican-controlled senate passed legislation that would reinstate net neutrality. ranking member doyle is championing that legislation in the house, it is not too late to stand with the american people and restore net neutrality and i urge speaker ryan to bring this up for a vote and bipartisan members signed a petition to force one. sadly the sec disregard for consumers is not in their. when other agencies are separating children from their families at our borders and violence is schools is commonplace, the trump sec wants to rollback rules that limit advertising to children

and require educational programming for kids. this doesn't make sense. if the agency was serious about focusing on consumers it would help parent searching for education and shield children, not make them easier targets for big business. in another example of siding with corporations over consumers, ajit pai's changes of the media ownership protections undermine competition and diverse viewpoints in favor of corporate consolidation. the commission rightfully acknowledges sinclair's proposed merger and related divestitures violate the law, the rollback of media ownership rules opens the door for the next sinclair. universal service critical of the most vulnerable populations have been undermined under ajit pai's leadership, the proposal for the lifeline program is an egregious example. adopted this proposal to cut phone or internet service for 8.3 million people, single mother struggling to get by,

veterans searching for jobs, they are at risk of being left behind. the sec should be looking for ways to help the struggling participants in the economy and community. the commission has worked to update the emergency alert system, advance next-generation 911 and implement the sandy act, to make security a priority. the agency retreated from the efforts of previous administrations at a time when cybercriminals, are more aggressive. they connect businesses, consumers and government agencies in these networks drive the modern economy. the same networks provide a target for cyber attacks like criminal gangs and nationstates. and promoting public safety the sec should work with and encourage companies to develop

best practices, address vulnerabilities and prepare for cyber security attacks. since the sec is shirking its responsible be sure congress should conduct more oversight in the future. i want to thank the chairman and commissioners were appearing before this today. >> the gentleman yields back. and opening statements, i remind all members pursuant to committee rules, all members opening statements will be made a part of the record and we will try to get through our opening statements before votes are called around 1:40. i want to thank all of you for being here today. today's witnesses have the opportunity to give their opening statements. it will be followed by a round of questions from members. our panel today includes ajit pai, commissioner o'reilly and commissioner rosenwar's law. it was submitted on time. we will go in order of

seniority which is the tradition on the subcommittee. i began with you today, chairman ajit pai, you are recognized for five minutes. >> members of the subcommittee, thank you for holding this hearing. i appreciate this chance to update you on sec work. before i do i would like to thank you for vital assistance. the act of 2018 originating in the subcommittee contained a host of provisions that are having a positive impact on the sec's work. the technical problem involving deposits. with this fix in place the sec is moving aggressively to hold auctions and substantial amount of high band spectrum into the commercial marketplace. we are commencing the 28 ghz auction held by an action of

the 24 ghz band. the second half of 2019 we intend to hold an auction of 37, 39, 47 ghz band. these options will make 5 ghz of spectrum available and advance america's global leadership in 5g, next generation of wireless connectivity. none of this would have been hospital without the subcommittee's leadership. the sec has benefited from subcommittee support carrying out our top priority, closing the digital divide. yesterday the sec kicked off its face to reverse option which will provide $2 billion over the next decade to bring broadband to unserved areas across rural america. later we dedicated $500 million in additional funding to assist small carriers deploying broadband. we proposed over $1 million to restore communications networks

in puerto rico and the virgin islands following devastating 2017 hurricane season. we boosted telemedicine's promise by extending funding in rural health care program by 43%. $171 million. funding aside we are modernizing our cutting through the regulatory red tape and making it easier for broadband providers to invest in next-generation networks. we have exempted small cells from the federal historic preservation and environmental review processes that were designed for traditional cell towers. we updated our business data services regulations. we reformed our network transition rules to make it easier for companies to upgrade fading networks of yesterday to more resilient networks of tomorrow. we are making it easier and cheaper for providers including competitive entrance to get access to utility poles with one touch makeready rules proposed by broadband deployment advisory committee and returned to the successful regulatory framework under which the internet flourished

from 1996-2015. our policies to promote broadband deployment are working. according to a recent study, in 2017 more commercial buildings in the united states added fiber connections than in any year since at least 2004. according to figures released today weren't network investment in the united states increased from $1.5 billion, to $3 billion in 2017 reversing declines that occurred in the last two years of the prior administration. this increased investment is having a tangible and positive impact on american consumers. i will give you one example. a small internet service provider based in springfield, vermont, the company reported recently because of recent policies it, quote, committed $4 million to purchase equipment and services to upgrade voice roaming and wi-fi calling to all vermont world subscribers and simultaneously began rolling out faster mobile growth will transition to 5g.

it is quite optimistic about the future, current fcc, significant reason for our optimism. in short we are on the right track and i am confident we will see more positive results as more policies take hold. i'm also pleased by the bipartisan cooperation we have seen at the fcc. this year for example, 6% or one in 16 of 100 votes have been partyline. there will be times we disagree but my hope is the debate will be based on facts and grounded in reality. i will close on a personal note. i love this agency. i have worked at the fcc most of the past 11 years, first as a staffer and then as an appointee. it has been a tremendous honor to lead this commission over the last 18 months. a major reason why is i get to work alongside and have gotten

to know the fantastic staff, those who raced to hurricane hit areas to help, make technologies available to americans with disabilities, and come us hours to represent the country abroad and more. as for me, the issues i faced are challenging, decisions i made have not always been easy but so long have i had the privilege serving as chairman of the fcc to follow the law and call them like i see them. chairman blackburn, ranking member doyle, members of the subcommittee, thank you for holding this hearing and look forward to answer your questions and continuing to work with you and your staff. >> mister o'reilly, you are recognized. >> members of the subcommittee, at the outset, thank the cosponsors on the subcommittee

and chairman and ranking member for the leadership, under ajit pai's leadership the commission has made great strides with unlawful activity. to eliminate this practice. today i would like to highlight some critical issues that have been a focus of mine. i firmly believe the ongoing problem by states and territories must end once and for all. and real consequences for public safety and in need of critical emergency assistance. the commission at ninth annual report to this committee which relied on self reporting by states and territories, $130 million away from enhancements towards unrelated purposes. and instead of being labeled a diver, would rather not submit

necessary paperwork. it failed to respond to the commission data collection inquiries but sufficient public record information supported a finding, substantial diver of funds for nonpublic safety purposes. and they clarified reported die version or made commitments to prevent reoccurrence, illinois, new mexico, oklahoma and puerto rico but every state or territory has been a success story, i suggest additional federal actions such as legislation, a recalcitrant straight like new york, rhode island and guam go to shading the state is not actually worked. taking every necessary and appropriate step to write all-americans the opportunity to access broadband services.

the commission efforts, with other federal agencies. in the consolidated appropriation act, additional 600 million broadband pilot programs to be administered by the utility service and an additional broadband funding is considered part of the senate and house farm bills, efforts to provide new federal money are commendable. there is potential for certain products in particular a significant possibility it could be used in areas that have provided in competition with those that currently receive subsidy or buildout plans requiring them to write service in the future. the program could be used to allow providers to serve favored institutions in costly nearby areas. federal funding should be targeted to addressing the 14 million americans without any broadband today. i humbly suggest only the proper direction from the right

leadership such as the subcommittee can prevent a bad outcome. congress concludes the farm bill this fall, i hope you consider additional safeguards including strict prohibitions on existing programs, alignment of speed requirements and to focus on the truly unserved. turning to spectrum policy the commission has been hard at work showing sufficient spectrum is available for wireless services. i recognized years ago there was a need for solid play for wireless carriers to offer services to mystically and internationally. 3.4 do gigahertz band is an attractive option for this purpose as it provide significant continuous spectrum and the largest operators are receptive to reducing spectrum footprint using a market-based spectrum reallocation approach. and representative gottfried and matsui recommends to the commission the 6 ghz stand is

necessary ingredient to address the need for more spectrum and must be part of the final rules. i want to thank the subcommittee for the hearing and to answer any questions you may have, thank you. >> the gentleman yields back. brendan carr recognized. microphone please. >> chairman blackburn, ranking member doyle, mystical sting wish to elizabeth of the, thank you for the invitation to testify. i had the honor of working with you and your staff as a commissioner for nearly a year. it has been a rewarding and productive time. i'm proud of the work the agency have a compost and i commend the subcommittee on its own notable achievements identifying additional spectrum and enhancing public safety through the sandy act, encouraging broadband deployment including the precision bag act. i focus on work we can do to

bring more broadband to more americans. this has meant working closely with my colleagues at the commission but also spending time outside dc to see firsthand how our policies impact communities across the country. over the past 11 months i have visited 17 states, benefited from perspectives gained on the road, a townhall in chelsea, michigan, roundtable in stanton, nebraska or families that want better faster broadband. i spent time with construction crews doing the hard, often gritty work that goes into deploying broadband networks. in arcadia, indiana, susan brooks introduced me to two hoosiers, mark and scott, brothers. they run a small fixed wireless provider. they are a scrappy bunch having climbed everything from barns to grain elevators to attach the antennas needed to bring broadband to indiana's farmer.

similar efforts in communities across the country and it underscores why the work of the summit committee and the fcc is so important. we want every community to get a fair shot at next-generation connectivity. one year ago i noted the challenge we face in extending american leadership in wireless as we move from 4g to 5g networks. .. networks. i testified about the need for the fcc to focus on two things, spectrum and infrastructure. the commission has made substantial progress on both. i want to focus on the second part on infrastructure. i appreciate the chairman asking to lead the efforts on wireless infrastructurin wirelessinfrasty taken several steps to ensure the regulatory structures are ready. as you know the networks are going to look very different than the deployments of the past and the regulatory framework that worked for the 100 towers won't work for the new small deployments so we're working to

modernize the approach from certain procedures designed for those large towers. this step is expected to cut cot about 30% of the total cost of deploying small souls. this can help with the business case for thousands of communities particularly rural areas that might otherwise miss out on the next that might otherwise miss out nextgen connectivity. in one place where increased deployment will payoff is healthcare. for years the fcc has been supporting broadband deployment to healthcare facilities but this new trend in telehealth. it's towards connected care everywhere.ev the delivery of high tech high quality care is no longer limited to the confines of connected brick-and-mortar facilities. with remote patient monitoring and mobile healthlt applications we now have the technology to deliver healthcare directly to patients regardless of where they're located. i saw this two weeks ago in the mississippi delta which is ground zero for the country

diabetes epidemic. the delta is a place were connected care isec already makg a a difference. it's worth i'm met miss annie. she noticed the first signs of diabetes when she woke up one morning with blurred vision. after cingular progress with traditional care options she signed up for remote patient monitoring program. she showedwe me the ipad, the bluetooth enabled blood glucose monitor that you use to track her care on a daily basis. she can check her blood sugar levels and an app gets her instant feedback include the step she can take that day to stay healthy. withth this technology her leves have gone down and she said she's never felts better. research backs up her results. showing significant cost savings and improved outcomes with connected care. so we should align public policy in support of this movement in telehealth. that's what i'm glad chairman pai asked me m to lead the new telehealth initiative which will consider at our august meeting.

the connected care pilot program aims to provide up to $100 million to support connected care deployment, focus on low income patients. i look forward to working with all stakeholders aski we seek, establishing the program. chairman black burn, ranking member doyle, members, thank you for holding the steering. i welcome your questions. >> gentleman yield back. ms. rosen were purcell, your recognized. >> good afternoon, chairman black burn, ranking member door and the other members of the subcommittee. thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. i believe the future belongs to the connected. no matter who you are or where you live in this country, you need access to modern communications to have a fair shot at 21st century success. int the federal communications commission. it's been nine months today since we last appeared before

you for an oversight hearing. nine months is a long time, the equivalent of a school year so let me offer the equivalent of a quick year-end report. too many americans still lack access to broadband. let me put a number on it. right now, 24 million americans do not have access to high-speed service. that's not acceptable. we need to do better. too often during the last nine months the agency acted at the behest of corporate forces that surround it shortchanging the american people. you can see that with the rollback of net neutrality and see it with our efforts to foster the deployment of new networks that the failure to fully engage those who need a voice in our policies in the cities and towns that should be our partner in the process, the tribal communities that are entitled to the government to government consultation and the department of commerce which

just expressed concerned about how the rush to reform could harm national security and public safety services. likewise, you see it in the proposed reforms that undermine our lifeline program and the populations that rely on it including those served by domestic violence shelters, military veterans, homeless youth and the residents of puerto rico that are still recovering from the storms and grave humanitarian crisis. too often procedures for short t for good governance requires. the mapping practices for broadband do not accurately reflect the state of connectivity on the ground. the claim that the agency suffered a distributed denial of service attack following the report from the net neutrality plans is not credible. in the meantime the agency has ignored the fact that this public docket is flooded with fraud including half a million comments from russia and

2 million individuals with stolen identities to. so many people think washington is against them. it saddens me when this agency proved them right. the report cards to not only look to the past, they also offer a night in the future and take on what is possible. there is a desire to extend the reach of broadband service and lead the world in the wake of his deployment and to bring the opportunities of the digital age to more people and more places. i see the same everywhere i go in the last few weeks i've been in rural new mexico in urban new york they visited schools that lack broadband at home and struggle with likely schoolwork. there are 12 million children in every state across the country with this problem.

they fell into a catholic a gae coolest part of the digital divide but i also saw they are trying to address this gap so every student has a decent chance of success experimenting with school buses, looking at running out hotspots in libraries and exploring public wifi in their communities. they deserve support and plan to address the gap so no child is left off-line. i still believe it's within our capability to produce one is as a. when i last appeared before you nine months ago i alone expressed concern about how the agency had bent and twisted so many of its media policies to serve the business plans of this one company. this change for me agency adopted an order designating the

transaction and i want to thank my colleagues and fishermen for the effort to reach consensus on this matter with me close by saying thank you and i look forward to any questions you may have. thank you for your testimony and we are now going to move to questions and recognize myself for five minutes of questions. something we are focused on in the emergency alert and the 911 systems. it's a good solid bipartisan initiative to help the resources bringing those to bear during an emergency and it's primarily the

tool in the resiliency in the aftermath of hurricane harvey and the widespread use of the alert. how will the addition of opening up the wifi access point and emergency in addition to the location information to reach those in need of emergency. >> thank you to eat up a loan for your leadership. we want to move the critical information. if it could help introduce even

more detailed granular information about where the caller is in combination with gps information and cellular b. access points can give a textured view to the 911 call centers and help them to pinpoint where somebody is to be able to dispatch quicker. additionally a lot of companies are thinking very forward for example apple released bracket sos and one of my chairs talked about the fact they could use things like this to accurately and quickly target people in a situation of need. >> looking at states and localities, do you think this is going to help to encourage that? when you think about needing the help quickly and responders that are working diligently to get

resources to people, one of the things is we worked on this issue with next gen to make certain that it is more reliable and widely used. >> i will give you an example of why that is so. i visited the office of communications that handles the calls that come into the district. every year they get approximately 10,000 emergency calls because the caller is near the border. imagine the access points that could allow responders to know when they received a call we are getting the call from the district we don't waste a precious seconds to figure out which jurisdiction needs to get that cold that could save lives in a pinch.

>> commissioner, i want to come to you on something as you know i've worked for years on the privacy issue. inquiring about the reports of the unauthorized disclosure of the wireless subscribers and i'm pleased that you all are in this getting this as well as we are all concerned about protecting the consumer privacy. and on this broad topic, last night i received a letter from our friends on the electronic privacy information center and to quote from the letter it says it is clear they have the ability to enact internet privacy rules. the fcc has the authority to regulate companies such as facebook and google through ancillary jurisdiction. do you agree with that

assertion? >> no i don't. >> do you believe section 706 telecommunications act or any other provision gives the authority to also regulate to providers? >> i do not believe it gives th2 fixed wireless providers regarding the ban and noted and i quote without the licenses we will have no ability to acquire the spectrum on this van. that would be an intolerable outcome that would harm the mobile broadband businesses and

inhibit our ability to grow, but worse it would harm the millions of consumers for whom the spectrum is the key to the high-speed access. i would note your parents are served by way of wireless and you refer to the good work in indiana that serve serves ms. bs district. both of these were part of the companies that sen sent you that letter so i would like to ask each of the commissioners and this is just a simple yes or no question will you commit to maintaining the census tract licenses in this oh still looking at the issue,

undecided. >> we haven't reached the endpoint. we're in theea sixth or seventh inning. >> okay. chairman pai, i mentioned many stakeholders including the federal government are very concerned about your plans regarding the discontinuance of service and changes to the bds market. could place our national security and public safety operations and an untenable position. are you concerned in addition to

the potential loss of service that some bds customers are telling us they had their bills increased by 175%? i'm kind of concerned that if not only putting the carriers interest over the publics but isn't endangering our public safety, our national security and leading toy huge rate increases for people to have this service. how do youdo respond? >> sorry, congressman -- [inaudible] i was thrown off therefore -- >> is that a phone ring? >> it is mr. olson trying to play with new technology -- [laughing] in the technology committee. >> the gentleman apologizes. it is accepted and mr. doyle, your reclining at times. >> thank you, madam chair. >> we can address some the

concerns we are hearing about the bds market. >> and i'll try to address this in turn. we certainly welcome the submission, , part of reason whh we have an open comment process to take public comment period the letter is quite supportive of our approach unless we do want to take those concerns into account. with respect toer bds overall te price increases you described are preciselyar the reason whatt was important to us in the bds order last year to preserve authority as well as the ability of private companies to complain directly too the sec under section 208. we will adjudicate any complaints about prices growing that might be a violation of our rule. thirdly if you look at l the overall gist of our approach, the notion ist, price regulation deters fiber deployment come for two different reasons. number one, if you're an owner of that infrastructure and there's heavy price regulation you have less incentive to build out infrastructure. similarly if your competitor,

you be less likely to build infrastructure over yourly own. why would you? the sec has put a finger on the skill. our goal is reservedpr that ability about unreasonable charges while promoting an incentive to get more fiber at. the result speak for themselves. if you look about opening statement for the first time over 50% of mid-to large size commercial buildings in the transfer connectedec to fiber. we want everyone of those buildings to be connected with fiber. we think this light touch market approach thats start with in the late 1990s is a right way to go. >> let me ask you one last question, chairman pai. you are aware of chairman whitens letter to the fcc. on may 18 senator wyden calling you to recuse yourself an investigation based on your password representing them. have you recused yourself? >> i have not in consultation with the office ofe general counsel. >> did you get an>> opinion from the fcc as to whether or not you

should recuse yourself? >> yes, i did. >> thank you. >> mr. walden, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, madam chair. i appreciate again the commissioners being here and i believe we've sent a letter as well to the companies regarding the same issue. we all care about privacy and about data location issues. something we've been pursuing for some time. van. the national public radio commercial broadcast companies depend on it for content distribution to about 100 million households. that's obviously a lot of people in every state, every congressional district. oncongressional district. one of the challenges to ensure non- interference with downlink system of the exact locations of hundreds of thousands of unregistered received only station. what's the commissio commissiont identify the location of these stations to ensure that protected harmful interference and what steps is the commission seeking to balance these goals

to ensure we win the race to require more spectrum and protection of the broadcasters and cable companies depend upon? >> thank you for the question and i think you put your finger on the two that we need to pair in this proceeding. we try to address the concerns identified by the need to figure out where the stations are in a few different ways. for example we reduced th reducs required to file some of these records and extended timeframe by 90 days, so i believe october 17 is when the deadline is for reporting. we recognize that some of these entities are smaller and might not have the resources to compile the study requiring that the traditional rules so it's important to streamline the process to allow them to get as much information as they can into the record. we are confident steps like this will enable us to get a robust level of cooperation and enable us to make a fully informed

decision about the appropriate disposition of the band. >> as the heard from many members on both sides of the aisle, we need to do more as a country to connect each other with high-speed data and broadband connections. what can you tell us about the work the fcc is doing today to close this digital divide and what should we look forward to going forward and what do you need from us ask >> i don't want to use the remainder of your time but i will say is with the two critical tools in the toolbox we have that is modernization of the regulations and the widest distribution of the funding we're making major steps towards closing the digital divide in the program that started yesterdayesterday for the first broadband option with a $4.5 billion mobility fund that will start next year and some of the initiatives that may appear

smaller but i can tell you on the ground in places like pendleton oregon and ohio they are not small, the telemedicine is one of the things the american people understand especially in the communities where it's hard to attract those like my parents that work on wireless. it's difficult to get them the only way some of the folks in the communities get adequate health care is through telemedicine and use all the response for yourself as did i at the clinic in oregon when they heard the news we were proposing to increase by 43% of the budget for the health care program. they broke out into applause and recognized this as a lifeline for some of these communities. the big cities and districts and there's a lot of smaller towns that would never see a specialist and i'm proud of the steps we've taken. we've done a lot for the rural areas making it easier to build a tower in the areas where lay

fiber in places there may not be the case for deployment and i think often about some of the visit i've had including your district in oregon where they told me some of the steps we are taking to make it easier to gain access to the polls and get more spectrum those are the tools that are necessary for the companies, the ones that don't make the headlines that nobody knows about, those are the things that will help them close the digital divide. >> i think for us to spectrum and infrastructure are the critical input and i outlined the steps we were taking to move quickly and having just come from a couple conferences where i can tell you my counterparts were envious and interested in how quickly we are moving the united states is in the lead in terms of the spectrum leadership in the service infrastructure, the commissioner has done a good job in leading the efforts and we need to think progressively about how to modernize the regulations in the world of a

few sparsely populated cell towers is fading away. the hundreds of thousands being deployed is almost here so our regulatory approach needs to be as nimble as the industry we are seeking to regulate. >> thank you for your communication and counsel. >> mr. colón is going to ask us questions and then i will move to recess the subcommittee until we have returned from the votes. you are recognized for five minutes. see this for the administrative law judge for the review despite the wishes of the president and i've long had serious concerns about this including the agreement used to try to hide the scope of the transaction that's why the ranking member and i wrote two weeks ago asking

them to review how these affect diversity and competition. however, last night the president said and i quote it's unfair they wouldn't approve the sinclair broadcast merger this would have been a great and much-needed conservative voice for and of the people liberals can fake news, nbc gets approved much bigger .-full-stop sinclair, disgraceful, "-end-double-quote. the only thing i find distasteful is that they try to undermine the integrity of dedicated journalists wildly simply trying to amplify his message at the expense of local news across the country. so what we just ask yes or no if i can ask you do you agree with the president, yes or no? >> i stand by our decision.

>> i think the hearing designation orderlie order leave fact that the law as applied in our view. >> i do not agree. let me ask these questions and i know we only have three minutes or so, given the sinclair merger will you commit to ensure a cona comprehensive and thorough review is conducted by this insulated from the president or anyone reporting to speak on his behalf, yes or no? >> we already issued the hearing designation order and my understanding is it is in the purview of the administrative law judge under our rule. >> but you will ensure that a thorough review is conducted? >> those are the issues that have been referred, yes. >> if anyone discusses or has discussed the merger with you or anyone at the fcc will you commit to disclosing that in the public docket yes or no?

>> yes except we have the rules because this i is no way restricted proceedinnow a restrn what information we can put on the record. we would be happy to accommodate to the extent that we can. >> the president cites the need for a conservative voice and that is what is disconcerting to me because i don't believe that they are supposed to make decisions based on what is conservative or liberal or democrat or republican. do they consider conservative or liberal viewpoints as part of the merger review in other words do you care what there is a conservative voice or not? >> i stick with the answer when i testified as a nominee for every transaction before me we will apply the law and reached a judgment that is in the public interest. >> i just hope we are not looking at this from an ideological point of view.

the hearing designation order that was unanimously voted to approve the post they may have engaged in misrepresentations or lack of candor. whether a licensee is lying to the commission i's allegation ty have had their licenses revoked for making misrepresentations began to you without commenting on the preceding will the commission conduct an inquiry into the lack of candor regarding the licenses they hold either now or at the time of the renewal yes or no? >> we've referred certain issues i can't comment under the advice of the general counsel on anything having to do with that in your question is inextricably linked to some of the issues. >> so the answer is no. >> would you like to add

anything on that? >> we have raised issues about the candor of the company through the misrepresentations they made in the context of the transactions and i think those are serious issues of character qualifications to the extent they've been identified as a problem here we should be open to investigation in other contexts as well. >> the gentleman yields back end of thinto the committee stands n recess. >> the gentleman yield back. the committee stands in recess. >> [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

>> c-span, which history unfolds daily. in 1979 c-span was created as a public service by america's cable-television companies and today we continue to bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court and public policy events in washington, d.c. and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. >> here is some of what we are networks thursday.

>> sunday not on q&a constitutional lawyer david stewart on his book impeached, the trial of president andrew johnson and the fight for lincoln's legacy. >> it's a scandal. it's a terrible, the chapter on johnson, i won't speak the on that, the chapter on johnson should be expunged from every library in the country. it focuses on edmund ross who is credited with casting the single book the saved johnson's tail. and it calls the vote the most heroic moment in american history. i think it was bought, that his vote was purchased.

and saving johnson i think was not a heroic moment. >> david stewart sunday night at eight eastern on c-span's q&a. >> next a conversation with the previous and upcoming flu season and the progress being made trying to develop a universal influenza vaccine. we'll hear from the director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases dr. anthony fauci who spoke at the national press club. >> the fluid flu vaccine are probably the last thing on your mind but i but i have some bads for all of you. we're just a few months away from the start of flu season. according to officials the is just with one of the most severe flu seasons in more than a a decade driven by a nasty bug that tends to cause more hostile a station and death, particularly among the elderly. as the world marks 100 university of the spanish flu