Good morning. Welcome to the subcommittee on communication and technologies. Well, good morning, everyone. And welcome to the subcommittee on communication and technologies hearing on accountability and oversight of the federal communications commission. I am glad to welcome our witnesses back before the subcommittee. I know it has been serve months since we had you before us and i know that you have all missed the warm welcoming atmosphere of our hearing room. But despite that passage of time, many issues that were of concern to us then still remain unresolved today. For example, i asked about the investigation into phone carriers selling the realtime location of nearly every american. Mr. Chairman, you told me that even after more than a year had passed, we still couldnt tell whether this practice had stopped. Couldnt say whether the impacted individuals had been notified. Couldnt tell us if members of congress and Law Enforcement had their locations sold or tracked. In june of this year you told senator blumenthal that you were wrapping up this investigation and would have recommendations shortly. That was six months ago. And we still dont have them. Chairman pallone and i wrote to the chairman in november asking for an update. And we got a response yesterday saying that he now expects an answer from the Enforcement Bureau by the end of january. And the chairman says he will share those results with us as soon as practical. We will be interested to learn when that will be. Looking at the utility two it seems you immediately realized that the data you collected is garbage and that you need to go back and do it all over again. Everyone has been telling you that for years. Instead of gt aing decisively folks in Rural America will have to wait even longer to get broadband as you finally collect the data that you need. At our last hearing seven months ago and the hearing nine months before that members brought up these same concerns. And here we are with you just yesterday announcing that you were kicking off another lengthy rule making process to try again to fix this process. And stamping your new plan 5g doesnt change the fact the communities where these funds are desperately needed have been waiting years and have to wait even longer because of a bungled process. Add insult to injury you arent even taking action against the carriers that submitted the faulty or fraud len data in the first place. Whats the incentive in the future to provide accurate data if they know they are going to get a pass . Where is the justice for the people in the communities who have suffered because of this . Mr. Chairman, i would remind you you are charged with protecting and serving the American People, not the telecom industry. Shifting gears and on a more holidayspirited note, i am pleased about chairman pais recent comments about the t band. This spectrum is used by First Responders around the country. The value of selling this band will not even come close to covering the relocation costs. In allegheny county, it would cost upwards of 250,000 the relocate the spectrum. I think we need the repeal this mandate. I makes no sense to me to go forward with it. Regarding c band i am pleased you have finally come around to see the benefits of a public auction. For all the discussion about the need for speed this this debate, you unfortunate low have been moving at a glacial pace. Questions of the commissions Legal Authority remain, and threats of lawsuits on those grounds still hang heavily over the commission. I along with subcommittee elevator matsui mr. Johnson and mr. For thor introduced the s band act. Similar legislation has been introduced this the senate. I believe Congress Must pass legislation authorizing an auction in this band and resolve the commissions authority to ensure a fair and transparent auction and capture auction revenue so it may be used to pay for Rural Broadband next generation 911 and closing the divide. If we want address thats challenges the federal government needs to provide funding for it. The c ban auction presents our last best chance to do that. I stabbed ready to work with my colleagues in the committee and in the senate to address these problems swiftly. We need Real Solutions real protections for the American People and accountability from our federal regulators and industries that they oversee. I want to thank all the witnesses for being here today. I look forward to your testimony. With that, it is my pleasure to recognize my good friend mr. Latta the Ranking Member on the subcommittee for communications and technology for five minutes for his Opening Statement. Thank you mr. Chair than. Thank you to our witnesses. I appreciate that you are accessible and willing the travel across the country the so how the fcc is affecting companies and consumers. This past year commissioners both came to my district to speak on Rural Broadband and talk about telehealth a few years before chairman pai came to a town of less than 700 people to meet with a packed room of Telecom Providers to discuss rural call completion. It helps to put our work in perspective. Again, i appreciate the work all of you do. Thank you for being again with us today. At the hearing in may, the chairman and i expressed the need for Real Solutions to address Illegal Robocalls made to the American People. Idea we passed legislation out of this chamber that provides strong Consumer Protections to combat robocalls. But this problem will only be solved with a multipronged approach. I want to thank chairman pai and the rest of the commissioners for their work thus par in pushing the industry to curb fraudulent robocalls. I also want to thank the commission for injecting urgency into the 5. 9 giga hertz band they have long recognized the value of the spectrum for advancing Vehicle Safety and wireless innovation and the chairman proposes to start the discussion to modernize the band. The ongoing uncertainty have hampered the expansion of wifi services. Our focus should be putting an end to that uncertainty propel automobile safety and unlock licensed use to help expand wifi services. I look forward hearing how we can advance and protect incumbents. It is important that wifi is important to our economy and our everyall communications land ska. I am also interested to see that the fcc is looking at the six giga hertz band for unlicensed opportunities. At the same time we must be aware of the Critical Services already in the six giga hertz band. We expect and encourage the continuation of analysis and testing as they do with every band to ensure incumbents are afforded protection. It is important that industry and the fcc Work Together to find a position that allows the spectrum to be used as efficiently as possible. The commission has made many advances in reducing red tape for infrom straur. More work remains. In july a letter with nine of my colleagues on the subcommittee encouraging the fcc to clarify rules on the 5 cap on franchise fees. Which franchises have stretched. Part of the solution can be found by improving the underlaying maps. I am pleased that this committee reported favorably hr 4229, the broad ban data act to the house floor which i worked on with my friend, the gentleman from iowa, mr. Loebsack. But the maps are only the beginning to closing the Digital Divide. Last year mr. Lobe zack and i included our agriculture connectivity act in the farm bill. This provision will spur broadband dee employment on rural agricultural lands to help farmers better utilize connected equipment. I was pleased to see the commission announced the creation of a task force as mandated by our legislation to offer advice and recommendations how to best achieve this very important goal. I look forward to continuing to work with the industry and the commission to further address the connectivity issues. On the mobile broadband side there is more work to be done as our nation competes with china and others for 5g leadership. It is vital that we continue the look for opportunities in mid band to extend the reach of 5g across the entire country, especially in Rural Communities. I hope to hear more about the commissions plan today for helping to speed build out and Prioritize Development in Rural America. I also welcome any ideas the commission haf on how congress can promote broadband deployment and competition if underserved areas. Again i thank you all for being here to testify. Before i yield back, mr. Chairman, i would also unanimous concept to submit four letters for the record from carriers regarding ending their contracts to Share Location information. Without objection. Thank you very much i yield back. He yoelds back. Chair now recognizes mr. Pallone chairman of the subcommittee for his Opening Statement. Thank you chairman doyle. Kong mandated the actions policies and rules should put consumers first. Unfortunately, this committee continues to turn its back on consumers. Time and time again the commission has ignored the voice of the people and taken the path laid out by billion dollar companies. An example is turning over the internet to large corporations by eliminating strong Net Neutrality safeguards that protected a free and open internet. That was just the gingham. As part of an effort to expedite the rollout of 5g service the fcc stripped away vital protections that protect religious and tribal sites. It was struck down. It didnt end there. The fcc continued to attempt to strip away just when you think this commission couldnt slip any further down, the fcc intentionally undermined the ruling of that court by approving more cole dags after the fact. More and more challenges just like this are coming. In catering to corporate interests the fcc has repeatedly stretched the law to the point of breaking. This has resulted in delays and unsuccessful initiatives that benefit no one. Beyond that this commission has stalled when it comes to holding those mega corporations accountable for violating the slim safeguards that remain. We are for example, still waiting for a conclusion of the fccs investigation into the widespread disclosure ever realtime location date by wirlless carriers. That veg investigation started over a year ago. Thats unacceptable. In other instanceness it is as if this commission that is has intentionally gone after vulnerable americans. The commission is proposing to cut off support to connect schools and libraries, rural health care, broadband deployment, and support for low income marns by capping the universal service fund. This is shameful and it preys on americans that need our help. If these failures werent bad enough the fccs actions or lack thereof have put the American People in danger. We are increasingly experiencing hurricanes and wildfires, but the commission is all talk and no action in the wake of these disasters. I repeatedly asked the fcc to take steps to improve the Wireless Network resiliency cooperate framework but nothing happens. Finally, the investigation into the fccs electronic common filing system is producing disturbing results. The information is marked for limited use but i implore the commission to address the issues the gao has found. I think it is time for the fcc to get back on track and put consumers first. With that, i yield back my time. Thank you to the commissioners for making themselves available today being this front of committee and all the staff. We all know this country continues to face a deep and persistent Digital Divide. Unfortunately i do not believe commissioner pai that this commission under your leadership has done enough to bridge that divide. And a concern that just occurred yesterday, despite bipartisan agreement that United States of america must fix or nations broadband map, we know that the mapping system that the fcc has to accurately capture whether there is connectivity and where there is not is broken. Its not accurately collecting that information. And then to find out that wireless carriers submitted false information, false mapping information, inaccurate information what that means is wireless carriers submitted misleading coverage information to the fcc. I am concerned that it is being swept under the rug. When consumers go buy their mobile phones they have a beautiful brochure thats put in front of them and it shows coverage areas of where they live. Those coverage areas are supposed to show where there is connectivity. Many people, especially in rural areas, buy their mobile phones based on those maps. Because they may need to make a phone call to save someones life. They have elderly parents that need connectivity. There is no other family around. Why in the world would they not be held accountable . Especially when there is bipartisan agreement from this congress. Democrats and republicans saying we need to fix this problem. I hope we hear more about in a and how that can be connected. On top of that chairman pai it was announce in addition the fcc was going to rush repackaged usf funding based on this flawed data. These dollars are precious. We need to make sure that we put those dollars where they matter most and where we can get connectivity, especially in Rural America. Thank you for the time and i yield back. I yield back, mr. Chairman. Gentleman yields back. Chair recognizes mr. Walton for his Opening Statement. Thank you mr. Chairman. Good morning. Good morning to the chairman and to the commissioners. Thanks for your service to america. I know we have agreements on some of the policy issues but we appreciate the meetings the discussions we have had the service you are providing. I have talked about the need for broadband in Rural America. As chairman pai so firsthand when he joined me too many oregonians lack access to Broadband Internet service. They are not alone. Millions of americans living in Rural America face the same sort of internet dead zones. Thes at policy makers our primary goal is to ensure that federal resources are allocated responsibly. In that vein we have to have accurate broadband maps properly identifying these places we express that in different terms with different emotion. I started during the obama administration. So here we are an administration or so later or two anyway, this committee reebl passed two bipartisan mapping bills aimed at improving Data Collection and mapping efforts. But there are some actions of the committee that have some concern for us. We learned from the press release yesterday that the fcc is establishing a new 9 billion fund with 1 billion specifically for precision agriculture. It sound good. And i support buildout for 5g in rural areas but i have no details on this plan. I have a lot of questions. I am also unclear as to where the 9 billion came from. While i am still waiting for maps to accurately be updated, as you all know, we are the committee of oversight for the federal communications committee. We take our job seriously. I know you know that. I know you take yours seriously but we expect to have more notice and more communication on some of these big announcements. That would be helpful and probably alleviate some of the questions that will come today. Since we obviously need to be Crystal Clear about our intentions for the fcc action for from committee i would like to note the importance of federal programs outside the jurisdiction remain consistent with the committees goal of committing private investment in broadband infrastructure deployment. Sometimes everybody is not all in sync. Last year we appropriated 600 million towards broadband funding programs. As this money makes its way out the door i would like an update how the fcc is consulting with other agencies as required by legislation last year. Switching gears i would like to switch to spectrum issues. The fcc announced they would announce a public spectrum in c band. Any proceeds from the auction would go to deficit reduction rather than facilitating the transition transition to next generation 911. I think it is important to legislate and i look to colleagues on the other side to work on this issue in the coming weeks. As we have the discussion we must work with current licens licensees, potential bidders and others. One of the issues i have been focus on is how to address certain challenges facing Public Safety officials in telecommunications as we continue moving into a Digital World including finding a solution to the t band auction. At the same time it is imperative that we put a stop to 911 fee diversion. So they stop using funds as slush funds for unrelated programs. At the last fcc hearing and a number of times i floated proposal how to delay or repeal the t band auction process. I have not been taken up on that offer. I must say that i find it interesting that loose week chairman pai called on congress the repeal the t band auction mandate which was not coordinated nor discussed with me or my staff zpit our efforts to find a solution w. The deadline fast approach i would like to repeat my call to affected parties to work with us and my colleagues to find a consensus solution on this issue. It is a real one, there are other issues. I led the effort to implement the 911 Commission Findings that set up first net and did the auction in 2012. I know these issues pretty well. We have got to take care of our First Responders. And we will. But there are other issues socialed with this set of issues that we also need to a