with our stimulus money is really what we're discussing here. people who have nothing it seems to me should take priority of to me should take priority of people who have@@@@@@@ @ get involved with a nonprofit

called common sense media that focuses on helping to improve media. i share concerns with patients on indecency, number one. number two, the sec's job is to enforce the law. congress has been clear. the supreme court recently rejected a challenge to the law. >> let me ask you on media ownership, when i first came to the senate, i was a person who believed that a newspaper should not have too much television presence in a market because i think more media outlets are a good thing. since i came to the senate, the technology world has exploded and i no longer think we need to police that. and now we have the most

incredible situation, which i don't think any of us ever anticipated in our lifetimes that major newspapers would be on the brink of bankruptcy and not having that avenue for news coverage for the citizens of big communities is now a viable possibility so my question is, the fcc still does have rules and i think it's important that you look at that and determine if really we ought to be doing everything we can to keep newspapers alive in order to have the most outlooks for people who like to get their news in different bayways. >> senator, very early in my career, i worked on a newspaper in college and then i re-established the oldest newspaper at the college that i

went to. my heart is filled with respect for the role newspapers play in our society and our democracy. later, i spent time in the broadcast industry where i learned it's special business, plays a special role in our country and also it's a hard business, especially in these times. it's a unique business. it's our universal medium and source for news and information. consolidation is still something that needs to be paid attention to. but at the same time, it wouldn't be right for the sec to ignore the changes in the marketplaces that are apparent and the struggles in the various parts of the traditional media business. congress has required the sec to look at its ownership rules. when congress asks the fcc to

look at its ownership rules, it expects it to look at data, understanding the marketplace, understanding thef the principles, understanding the importance of having broadcast outlets and the importance of having newspapers, understanding concerns about excessive con sl dags and run an open, fair process to make smart policy judgment about the right thing to do. >> do you know when that review is up? >> i believe the next review is scheduled for 2010, and i apologize if that's the wrong date. >> i didn't know either, but i would hope you would set it at a higher priority than just waiting for a review period to come up. we have to do something to help newspapers in my opinion. >> i agree with that, the sec has had rules in place.

that situation that comes to the commission should be taken seriously. it would be wrong for the agency to ignore the real problems that exist in the marketplace. >> thank you. senator pryor? >> thank you. i would like to pick up where senator hutchins finished off. she was talking about newspaper ownership of broadcast media. i would like to ask you about the minority ownership of broadcast media. we've made progress in that area. i would like to ask you, do you think it's a good public policy that we should encourage more minority ownership of broadcast media? >> my understanding, senator, is that's the policy of the communications act, to ensure

the widest possible dissemination of licenses and to pursue diversity in ownership. it's been a value that's been widely shared for a long time. and the dat thata that i've sees not leave one with a good taste about ha wr we stand now as a country on that. >> do you have ideas what we can do to try to make ownership of broadcast outlets more possible for minority interests? >> i think the first thing possibly is to make sure that we understand what's actually going on out there. i've been told that the data with respect to ownership now is not satisfactory and there's work that can be done to understand that. second, i think this is an area that lends itself to the sec

running a process that's open and that's creative and looking for ways that are stublly permissible and that would actually work but that lead to a wide dissemination of licenses in diversity and ownership. >> yeah. i just think that policy goal of a more diverse spectrum is a national goal that we should continue to try to do and i would be glad to work with you on how to get there. >> the second question is about broadband going out to reerl areas. this morning, this committee had a hearing on inez tenenbaum and her confirmation process. and she had real good ideas about how the cpsc can better communication dangers and recalls and safety and all this stuff to the general public. but one thing that struck me is most of her ideas -- not all, most of them dealt with pple

having broadband capability so they could receive this type of formation from the cpsc. i would like to ask you about the broadband technology and opportunity program in the stimulus package. do you know much about that? and do you have a sense about how that's going to be administ administered? >> my understanding is it's the commerce department and the agriculture department that have the grant-making authority, the sec as i understands it has p s responsibilities to consult with those agencies as they put together the plans for distributing the grant. >> is your understanding the sec is involved in that process? >> my understanding is there's been consultation, yes. >> and is it -- are you happy with what you hear on that? or do you think the fcc is going

to be more involved and is it going to get to unserved areas? >> senator, i don't have any access to nonpublic information. from what i've heard publicly, i believe that active, healthy consultation processes are going forward. i think these kinds of activities are ways to demonstrate how government can work together collaboratively to pursue a common end. the fcc is the expert agency around communications and our communications infrastructure. it's more than appropriate the fcc play a consultive role and it's something i would want to jump into if confirmed and work with you to understand ideas that you might have on the grant program. >> and lastly, i would like to ask you about something that's important to you as a parent and me as a parent and others in this room, parents and grand parents. we passed the child safe viewing act. i don't know if you know the

history of that. are you familiar with that? >> i have some familiarity, but please -- >> basically when the v-chip bill passed way back when, i think '96, in i'm not mistaken. there was a requirement the fcc would continue to look at technology and see if this idea could be improved upon. then a act that we passed recently in the last year or two basically mandated that the fcc do some -- open a case on it, basically. and i want to thank acting chair copps because he's done that. i understand you near a comment period right now. maybe even the second round of a comment period. given your background and all the things you've done, do you think it's time we review the v-chirp and not just the

technology but the v-chip system that's in place. >> it's something that i've been concerned about. it's a challenging thing to think about. i believe in the power of technology to help drive solutions here. this is a set of issues that shouldn't be ideological. this is about being sure that parents are empowered to make decisions about what their children see. and i have great hope for what technology can do to help parents here. exactly what the ideas are should come out of a healthy process out of the fcc. i hope it's creating great

ideas. i would like to see what kind of incentives we should survive. >> mr. chairman, thank you. >> senator begich. >> thank you very much. i will also be very interest ed in how you proceed. zo someone asked me what kind of shows have i watched recently. they started to them me about a sitcom they were watching. if it's not pbs, i have no clue unless it's a newscast. so i'm very interested as you proceed as the chair of fcc. you and i talked briefly about this and how important it is for

our state, a very rural state. and i would like to describe here in this committee extreme rural as other people talk about rural states, the distance and the travel and the complexcy of the transportations of the climate conditions, create unique situations. i know there's talk of reform. alaska, 100% tribal which gives it special considerations. i wonder how you feel about that policy and how tribal lands is recognized in how alaska fits into that. that and the reform itself of the usf. >> sure. senator, the principle of the universal service is a core principle of communications

policy as you know that goes back to the beginning of the communications act that has been reinforced many times by congress, and that is a priority of mine. i would like to see us have as much success in universal services and communications over the next 75 years that we've had over the last 75 years, extending communications infrastructure and the benefit of communications to all americans. and i defer to your knowledge of alaska, of course, but i think historically, there's been successful universal service in alaska eni would like to see it in the future with respect to all the vast country that we have. >> let me -- and i appreciate that, because it's been very successful and useful. tribal lands incorporate tribal lands, different from reservation lands.

sometimes we have to continue to point that out because our land claim settlement was much different than the traditional reservation settlement. i know i said in my statement, i didn't give you a chance, you nodded yes. i am looking toward to you coming to alaska. i just wanted to echo that because this will give you a chance to see the value of that program. >> good, i would like that. >> let me also point out, in alaska, the issue of how we provide broadband we have some concerns by satellite providers. and currently, they're concerned they will be excluded from a broadband plan. the cost is part of the equation, how do you see that and will you -- in the broadband plan, keep that all in consideration? in alaska, satellites are used to get a more costly connection that may not be able to be done by land. >> that's not an issue i'm very familiar with.

i'm glad you raised it and i would like to make sure i have a chance to work with you on it and make sure it gets the attention that it deserves in the fcc's workings on the national broadband plan. >> excellent. i can tell you they're very concerned just because again, the vast distances, the uniqueness of the lack of access to the infrastructure satellites become part of the equation after how we deliver broad bapd. the good news is 70 plus percent, weert highest connected state in the country. it's unusual in its own way because of this relationship we have with satellite as well as on the ground. let me, if i can, and i know you're a big, big supporter of e-rate. and again, for us, it's more of a statement just for the record as our discussion occurred privately, and that's the importance of e-rate and how we deliver when we have no child left behind act that says you must have a certain type of teach we are a certain credentials teaching kids at certain levels.

and some cool skools, we may only have 10, 15 people. and to have all that specialty is impossible. so e-rate and our education capacity of telecommunications is powerful. we can go from one hub and teach in 30 different villages at the same time. i just want to reemphasize the importance of that, but also hear your support on the record. >> yes. i was privileged to see the early days, it's a great accomplishment and it's -- thinking about broadband going forward and the opportunity it creates for all americans, education is a great example, a way to give children everywhere access to the best information, the best teachers to allow children in rurlt areas to have the same opportunities as children to live close to

universiti universities. i'm very excited about the opportunities for education and broadband and the next generation of e-rate. >> very good. my time has expired. thank you. i think you're going to be an incredible chair. mr. mcdowell, your reappointment is going to be a plus. i know you've ben a big proponent of alaska issues. you've seen it, you've been there. we'll work on the chairman together and give him that great experience of alaska. not the fish, the telecommunications. but again, thank you both and i look forward to working with you on alaska specific. thank you. >> thank you. before i call on senator can cantwell, i have to make a committee announcement. i am not pleased by the way

that -- this was my fault so i take full responsibility for it, that people made their statements then left. some happily came back. and for that i applause them. but it is wrong -- i mean, this is a mammothly important hears for a nomination and a vote to follow. we cannot have it that people come in and make their opening statements, get into their opening statements the questions they're going to ask anyway and then having done so leave. this is an embarrassment to you, it's an embarrassment to me, it's an embarrassment to the united states senate and to this committee. soo from now on, there may be very rare occasions, but we will not have opening statements except fra the chairman and the ranking member and then we will go directly to the witness.

and that will be the order. i now call on senator cantwell. >> mr. chairman, will that be the janikowski rule? i thank the chairman and i agree. i'm hear to ask questions in person and i think it is an important hearing so thank you for your statement. mr. genakowski, the diversity of media, i don't know if any of my colleagues have asked about that so far but i've supported technical changes required to expand the number of low-powered fm stations. and these are important because they develop local content and they are important to the very community interests. i certainly opposed media consolidation, particularly that with the cross ownership and i don't think it's the way we're going to save newspapers. i think there is an important role for police education and

government. the peg channels. and their service. and peg channels provide an outlet for people and communities to create and distribute their own television programming. but i'm concerned if the -- i know you are working on a rule making. but if the translators get priority and fill all the available frequencies, even if congress were to allow low-powered operations to operate, it wouldn't be meaningful. so i'd like to understand what you think we can do to make sure that we are keeping that diversity of voices and having low-powered stations. >> senator, yes, we -- we spoke about this a little bit about the- why dissemination of spectrum licenses, diversity of ownership is, i think, in the communications act. it's an important principle and priority and it's something i look forward to working on. the issue that you mentioned, i

think, are examples of there are creative ways to tackle these issues that constantly need to be looked for. i think your leadership on the lpfm issue is an example of that. i'm not an expert in that. i look forward to learning more about that. but making sure in connection with overstanding uses of our spectrum looking for ways to put more spectrum to work, to think about why dissemination of licenses in connection with that all seem to me to be high priorities and something i look forward to working with you and the committee on. >> okay. another area is opening up broadcast wide dspaces. the commission took a conservative response in opening up the wide space, but it was a start. will the office of engineering technology make sure that this is a priority issue so that we

can have sufcient resources in work with the industry to test and make sure that we are answering any of the technical issues that might come up? >> senator, i think the answer is yes. i'm glad you are mentioning another example of creative use of spectrum to advance the overall goals of the communications act. i am energized by what's been happening in the country around mobile. we're seeing incredible innovation. the number of americans who have mobile phones has increased dramatically. i think the current number is about 270 million americans. but more important, the number of americans who have smart phones, who have mobile phones with advanced applications on them is increasing. i believe that we have an opportunity for the u.s. to lead the world in mobile. some of that will require the ongoing creativity and the ideas of the sorts that you mentioned

to take full advantage in this country of the opportunity that spectrum use allows. >> okay. >> and question about, obviously, competitive markets for broad band service. is there -- if there is a competitive market for broadbann band service where consumers could purchase it from multiple independent providers, would the discussion over neteutrality change? >> well, i think that the -- in a market of unlimited competition, it might change. the goal, as i see it, of the net neutrality debate is to preserve the internet as the greatest platform for innovation and small business creation that we've ever had. more competition, more consumer choice would, of course, help achieve that and that would be an excellent thing. >> but, obviously, not -- i mean, the concern is not to

artificially segment off parts of the population and giving them a higher cost. so you see more competition in broadband services? >> competition is clearly a goal for the fcc, the communications act and something i would hope to pursue and promote at the fcc. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. are there any other questions? >> i do. i wanted to ask one last question. we talked in my office about the so-called fairness doctrine. and as i understood it, you said you do not support reviving it or policies like it directly or indirectly through localism and that sort of thing. and i just wanted to have, for the record, that i am correct in stating your position or if you would like to restate it. >> senator, i don't support reinstatement of the fairness

doctrine. i believe strongly in the first amendment. i don't thing fcc should be involved in censorship of content based on political speech or opinion. >> thank you very much. thank you, mr. chairman. >> senator? >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. genowchowski. i just -- i don't want to spend much time on that because i have some other questions. but i just want to get your commitment that you are willing to work with us on this. just estimates again, 90% of broadband instillation is digging up the roads. if we can do it at the same time we have an open road because the federal highway projects, we could save a lot of money. >> yeah, senator, i'd love for the fcc to be a resource for you and senator warner in this idea and others. we're thinking about the communications infrastructure for the country, for, you know, for the next several decades. and some of it is a real infrastructure issue. and if we can be -- deliver the best bang for the bucks for

taxpayers by laying broadband lines at the same time we're building highways, i don't see why we wouldn't want to explore that. >> another quick area, just the e 911 area. i'm the co-chair of the caucus. i'm a former prosecutor. i did that for eight years and saw firsthand some of these interoperablity issues. the good when we had our bridge collapse in our area, right in the metropolitan area had done a nice job of interopera bility because of our sheriff and others and i've seen difficulties in our rural areas because of that. it seems that's one of the areas of our nation's information infrastructure that may continue to elude us, absent some federal action and federal investment in terms of making our emergency services more interoperable. is it interable? that's a trick question. interoperable. do you think that's something you would be willing to work on? >> very much so. my wife and i were not very far

from the world trade center on 9/11. most of my family was in either new york or washington. none of us should be satisfied with where we are on public safety. leaders on this as one of your colleagues mentioned earlier, the 9/11 commission urged the country to do something about public safety interoperablity and we have to do it. it's just not acceptable that firefighters and police officers arrive at the scene of an emergency and can't communicate with each other. and we have a new opportunity now that we need to seize, i think, as quickly as possible around mobile broadband. now that we're through the digital transition, their spectrum available for advanced mobile public safety applications for our first responders, i don't think we can move too quickly in tackling that. and it's something i look forward to working with you on. it's very important. >> we had a horrible shooting of

a police officer once before we got better communications. the emergency personnel had seven different phone services and walkie talkies and trying to talk to each other while pursuing a suspect who had killed this cop. and it was a nightmare. so that's something i will never forget. i just came from a judiciary hearing on competition in the wireless market and text messaging and things like that. and senator rockefeller and i and others have a bill that we will most likely introduce in some form this year about cell phone competition. and my view is this has come a long way from the days when the movie wall street and gordon gecko had a cell phone the size of a brief case and we now have 270 million americans, 18% of americans don't even have a land line and yet while there have been some vast improvements with early termination fees and others, there are some huge problems with dropped called and consumer knowledge about what they are buying and if it really works in the areas they want to