From left: FCC Commissioners Mignon Clyburn, Chairman Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly appeared before Senators Tuesday afternoon. Photos by Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers
The FCC’s budget request for fiscal year 2018 is $322 million, a more than five percent decrease from this year; if approved by Congress, the agency would also have 100 fewer full-time employees as the administration works to reduce the size of the federal workforce. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) said during a hearing Tuesday afternoon on the FCC’s budget that “while the agency’s funding is offset by fees that does not minimize our duty to ensure that the agency is operating effectively and the funds are being spent responsibly.”
Several Senators on the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee asked how the FCC can do its job with fewer resources and people. Chairman Ajit Pai said despite having fewer employees now, the agency has doubled the amount of items it gets done in public meetings compared to a year ago. “We’re doing the best we can to meet our core responsibilities within constraints.”
Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said the FCC is being pushed to do more with less. “When employees are forced to work unpaid overtime to get the job done,” it can speed burnout and turnover, she said. She also noted that 362 FCC employees are eligible for retirement now, roughly 20 percent of its workforce.
The Commission’s upcoming move to a smaller space set for late 2019, will have a negative impact too. Commissioner Michael O’Rielly said he knows “several seasoned agency professionals” who will choose to leave rather than move. He described the new location in Northeast Washington as hard to access by major roads or Metro.
Pai assured lawmakers that broadband deployment to rural areas remains a core goal of the FCC. After Clyburn and O’Rielly said the agency desperately needs updated mobile coverage maps, Pai told lawmakers efforts are underway to address that.
Several lawmakers pressed Pai to assure them the broadcast repack will go smoothly, even if the $175 billion set aside for repack reimbursements is not enough. Pai said the agency awaits data from broadcasters, due July 12, on repack cost estimates. That data will be aggregated to get to the “real number,” he said and if the budgeted repack funding is not enough “we’ll come to you,” — meaning he’d ask Congress for more.
June 22, 2017
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