it's a matter of what does the marketplace look like. >> amy schatz? >> do you think the merger can get done? >> absolutely. it's my hope before year end. they think i application is filed in late february or march. you probably know better than i. we should be able to get it done in the time frame. this is large and complicated. but i see no reason why the fcc can't get this done by the end of the year. >> okay. so a separate issue involving wireless competition. it involves a company called bite squared, which is tried to build a new wireless across the country. they got an approval from the fcc earlier to use satellite air waves they had purchased and used to build a ground-based network. they've had a lot of concern that has been come up in the gps, because the air waves are close. they are suggesting that this is going to cause a lot of interference and because of the fcc, gps devices across the country are going to be get knocked out. do you think this is something that the full fcc should look at? >> right now i want to make sure the scientist a

also joining us for this half-hour discussion is amy schatz who covers telecommunications issues for "the wall street journal." commissioner, let's start there, what's it like to be the lone republican on the fcc? >> guest: over 90% of what the fcc does is not only bipartisan but unanimous. so it's probably one of the least partisan pieces of washington, d.c., you can find. so the party label doesn't always mean a whole lot. i've been there i guess the second longest with commissioner copps having been almost 10 years. i've been there over five years. that you choose some institutional memory to work with, but i think commissioner baker left, i don't member when. >> host: is their movement for another republican commissioner? >> guest: i don't know. all i know is what i read in the newspapers. as well on the democrat side. those would be paired up so that it's easy for them to travel through the confirmation process. but i don't have any firsthand knowledge but one would hope that's going to happen and it would happen sometime in the fall. >> host: let's talk about some of the issues

also joining us of this half hour is amy schatz who covers telecommunication issues for "the wall street journal." commissioner, let's start there. what's it like to be the lone republican on the fcc at this point? has it made a difference? >> well, first of all, over 90% of what the fcc does is not only bipartisan but unanimous, so it's probably one of the least partisan pieces of washington, d.c., that you can find. so the party label doesn't mean a whole lot. i've been there, i guess, the second longest out of all the commissioners with commissioner cox having been there almost 10 years. i've been there a little over 5. so that gives you some institutional memory to work with, but i think since commissioner baker left, i'm trying to think if i've cast a dissenting vote, maybe i have, but i don't remember what it was at this point. >> has there been movement for another republican commissioner? >> i don't know. all i know is what i've read in the newspapers, and i understand that maybe there has been as well as on the democrat's side. >> to replace mr. cox? >> correct. those would be p

amy schatz, you, too. >> thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> next the california funeral services for former first lady betty ford. then we will show you the eulogies from michigan. first lady michelle obama, three former first ladies and former president george w. bush were among the invited guests at the funeral in palm desert, california, tuesday. betty ford died july 8 at the age of 93. this is an hour and 25 minutes. >> i am the resurrection and the life, saith the lord. he that believeth in me, though he were dead yet shall he live. whoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. i know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. though this body be destroyed, yet shall i see god, whom i shall see for myself, and my eyes behold as not a stranger. for, none of us live to himself and no man dieth to himself. if we live, we live unto the lord and if we die, we die unto the lord. whethe

amy schatz, you, too. >> guest: you, too. >> ahead on c-span2, aol ceo tim armstrong and arianna huffington discuss the merger of the two companies and impact the internet is having on journalism. >> next remarks by aol ceo tim armstrong and arianna huffington on the merger of their companies. and have the internet has impacted journalism. former cnn ceo and "time" magazine editor walter isaacson also takes part in this forum. from the national press club, this is an hour. >> good afternoon and welcome to the national press club. my name is mark hamrick and i'm the one in the fourth president of the national press club. we are the world's leading professional organization for journalists, committed to our professions future of programming, events such as this while working to foster a free press worldwide. for more information about the national press club, please visit our website, press.org. please visit press.org/library. so we have of our members worldwide, i'd like to welcome our speakers today as well as those attending today's event ahead table includes guest of our speakers as well