Consumer, whats your view of the cable industry today . Guest so, you know, i was listening to pat, and he was talking about roots 40 years ago. And i was saying, golly, 40 years ago i was working at ncta, and so my relationship with the cable industry goes back a long, long time. And it was always a great privilege, i thoughting, to be associated with this industry at that particular point in historiment history. And, you know, Michael Powell was kind enough after i balm chairman to ask me to come and meet with the ncta board. And i sat down and i said, you know, folks, everything that i believe about the relationship between government and industry were, was a philosophy that was developed while i was at ncta. Because that was a period in time when the cable industry was the voice of competition and innovation. And those who did not want things to change in those days it was the broadcasters and hollywood and the Telephone Company all working together to try and hold back the cable industry those who did not want things to change used government to maintain the status quo to the detriment of consumers. And so the philosophy that i developed coming out of that kind of experience is that the job of government is to promote competition and to let consumers enjoy the benefits of that with the full understanding that those who are the incumbents never like change. But the thing thats impressive to me here is that the cable industry has said, wait a minute, were not the cable industry. Were intx. Were the broadband business. Were the next generation of products. And if that kind of innovative its that kind of innovative thinking that drives consumer welfare, consumer benefit, creates competition. And so as we look at the policy issues that result from that and the consumer issues as you appropriately say looking at things from a consumer point of view, the evolution from yesterdays cable industry to tomorrows broadband industry is requiring of everybody how to rethink the relationship of the consumer, how to rethink the relationship with government. And i think it takes you back to those basic concepts that i developed at ncta that it should be all about government promoting competition and stepping out of the way when there is competition. So let me give you an example. The decision that there was effective competition in the video business was a 32 decision at the fcc. And as you know, the effect of that was to deregulate rate regulation for local franchising authorities across the country. It was a 32 vote of the commission. Now, i know youve reported and a lot of folks have reported, hey, every since weve been there, its been 32 votes. That was me voting with the two republicans, thats the thing that was interesting. Because i believe that, yes, there is competition in the delivery of Video Services that no longer warranted the kind of regulation that had historically been imposed on cable companies. And were now defending that position in court, because the cities took us to court, and were defending that position. Thats the same kind of thought process i wanted to bring to all the other issues dealing with. Again, whether theyre settop boxes or open internet or special access or all the other issues. How do we make sure that were focusing on competition and the governments role to insure, encourage competition so that government can then step out . Host mr. Chairman, as you know, your successor, Michael Powell, in his speech on monday used the term, used this phrase the fcc is launching a relentless government assault on cable. Now, youve got an audience out here that probably disagrees with your position on net neutrality, settop boxes. Whats your message to them . How do you what do you tell them . Guest well, its really interesting, you know . Michael and i having switched jobs as we did with a few years in between, i might point out you know, if anybody understands the reality of a job like michaels, i do. And, you know, i can think back to when i was lobbying chairman powell. And i think that the way in which lobbying campaigns tend to work these days is, first, you set up a scenario of, well, you know, theres too much being done. Were being persecuted. And then you talk about, about what i call imaginary horribles. The awful conceptual things that could happen if they do this or or do that. And i look at im now on the other side receiving this, and you say, okay, wheeler, turn abouts fair play, isnt it . But you also understand whats going on. But there is an important step that has to follow that, peter. And that is that its not enough just to say were against this, this is awful. S it is incumbent on both the regulator and the regulated to deal with finding solutions, not just slogans. And i think, again, from my experience i can think of one specific incident with michael when he was chairman. When i wished i had been presenting more solutions. I think the opportunity that exists now is whether you go down the list with settop boxes or access, special access or any of the other issues of which there theres some tension, were at a make or break point where theres a choice. Are you going to say no and do Everything Possible, or are you going to say how do we make this work for consumers first in a way we can live with . And in the course of a rulemaking, thats what rule makings are designed to elicit. How do you get from a point where we put out an idea, people react to the idea . Neither one of those is going to be the finished product, but there is going to be a finished product. And how do we focus on the real needs, the real challenges and Work Together to get there for the benefit of consumers . Host chairman wheeler, one of your mantras is competition, competition, competition. When you look ahead to 2017, to the rest of this year and beyond, how do you view what that competition is going to look like in light of a couple of big mergers that the fcc has approved, etc. , and some of the disrupters and some of the new technology thats out there . Guest well, i think this is the point about why i think, you know, intx is a great theme, why the disruption is a great theme for this particular meeting. Because there are going to be multiple new alternatives for consumers. And in the you know, im amture historian. Amateur historian. Host and the author of a couple of books. Guest ive been trying to study recently the history of networks, the evolution of networks over time. And ive reached one absolute truth, and that is that those who tried to stop the change always failed. And i dont mean most of the time, i mean always failed. Those who said here is a new opportunity, how do i seize it, how do i see things less in terms of protecting myself and more in terms of expand markets, thats expanding markets, thats what was so exciting about this industry back in the 70s and 80s when i had the privilege of being here at ncta. We were saying heres a new opportunity, how do we change the way consumers get information . And, by golly, we sure did. Host so given your history here at ncta, the fcc, the wireless industry, where do you see the future of pay tv going . Guest so i think there is going to always be a future for pay tv. I think that its going to be and let me just, let me back up a second, peter. What i think is irrelevant because im just an observer in all of this. But it seems to me as though as you look at things, you see the evolution of the nature of television, the explosioning of video explosion of video alternatives. You see increased talk about smaller bundles and how that changes the relationship with the consumer. You see alternative pathways to the consumer over ning n 1 type of devices and that we have the potential to be entering the best era ever for consumers, for programmers and for those who deliver. And, again, in that environment the regulatory challenge becomes how do you make sure that those alternatives come to pass . And, you know, lets leave this industry out of it, you know . The Telephone Company didnt do a great job of delivering new alternatives until there were competitors to them. And so i think that there will be, i think the future is exciting both as a consumer and as a person looking at it from a historical point of view. Host conversely, as these video Delivery Systems mature, do you see that they will fall under fcc regulation and scrutiny . Guest i think that that is very much in the hands of the industry. Remember i said that the job of government is to encourage competition because competition is a lot better than regulation, particularly in a fast moving industry like this. But if you cant have competition, you know, i was really excited to see last year on this stage i talked about the potential for Cable Operators competing with each other. Tom rutledge is now going to be doing some of that. At t, as a result of the directv merger, is going to be doing some significant overbuilding. You know, theres a lot of talk in settop boxes about how its not boxes anymore, its apps. Totally agree. You combine apps and an open internet, and all of a sudden you dont have to exist just in your franchise area. You rework the contracts with your programmers, you could be delivering that kind of service in new and innovative bundles across the country. Competition will create an environment that discourages and makes it unnecessary for government to get involved. But government has a role saying, excuse me, first we have to get to competition. So i think the answer to your question is that. Are we going to evolve into a competitive marketplace . And i think our job at the commission is to say how can we help that happen. Host chairman wheeler, youve referenced the fact youve been here the last couple years, given a speech to these folks. Did you come here with a specific message that you wanted to make sure that they heard from you . Guest golly, peter, i hope youve heard it. [laughter] you know, yes. Let me go back to what i said at the outset. You know, pat and i were talking backstage, and i was congratulating him for being in the hall of fame and being selected for the hall of fame. I know it was a privilege when i was inducted into the hall of fame, and it was an emotional moment. And pat was talking about how it was an emotional moment for him because there were so many powerful things that were happening when i was for chew nate enough fortunate enough to be at ncta. And, again, the core of them was, the core of what was happening was how do we bring a Competitive Service that drives innovation at a time when those who didnt like the idea of competition were doing Everything Possible to shut it down . And so my only thing is i havent, i havent changed. Thats the same belief that i have when i cast votes at the fcc today. Host one of the things we talked to your colleagues about yesterday were, was the way the fcc operates. The fact that all four were sitting up here on this stage guest was probably a violation of the sunshine act. Host and the fact that they could not do that at your offices in washington. Guest right. Host should there be a change in how the fcc is mandated to meet and some of those rules, only of the sun some of the sunshine laws . Guest you know, the interesting thing, peter, is i think my thoughts on that have evolved, and i have become a traditionalist. There are a lot of good reasons why the procedures of the commission are as they are and have been in this way for decades. And for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction is the kind of thing that makes you think, wait a minute now, is this really something we ought to be challenging at this point in time . So i think that it is always worthwhile to explore, to ask the questions, to have the dialogues, to talk among our colleagues, to talk with those on capitol hill who write the rules. The question is, is there a necessity to change that which for the last multiple decades has been operating pretty successfully. Host chairman wheeler, how do you get your video . Whats your experience as a consumer . Guest i get it every way possible. Lets see. I get it on multiple devices. I am a happy Comcast Subscriber in washington d. C. I am a happy Atlantic Broadband subscriber in oxford, maryland, where we have another house. And i use both broadband and cable to deliver the content to me. Host experience good . Satisfied with the service . Guest i said im a happy subscriber. [laughter] host okay. One of the complaints that you hear often from people who have cable is the cost of sports. Are you a sports fan . Is there, is there something you would like to see done with that . Guest am i a sports fan. You know, when i was running ncta, i went to a small school in the midwest called the ohio state university, and every fall we play a sport there with a funnyshaped ball. And the networks never were delivering the content i wanted to see. And so gus hauser and the folks at cube in columbus who were cable casting ohio state Football Games every saturday would send me overnight a videotape of the game. And on monday i would have a party for all the congressional folks from the ohio delegation saying who all care a lot about ohio state football saying heres the football game, we can all watch it. And by the way, if we had choices in television rather than just the three networks, you could see a lot more of it. I think we have reached that point. We have seen, we have seen the plethora of sports that has resulted, and i think thats a great thing. And i never miss an ohio state game because im either in the stands or im on cable. Host final question. Is there too much focus on the chairman of the fcc . Michael pauls fcc Michael Powells fcc, tom wheelers fcc. Guest first of all, this is a collegial body of five votes. It takes three votes to get anything done. And i think that what has happened is it becomes easy to youve got to hang a name on it. And so rather than the 201320 whenever it is chairman was, you know, they hang a name with it. But the other thing is that it is a strong chairman structure. And so it creates an opportunity to put ideas before your colleagues for their reactions. But i go back to the fact that youve got to get three votes, and thats very much a cooperative process that happens every single day. Host ladies and gentlemen, tom wheeler, the chairman of the fcc. Guest thank you, peter. [applause] next week the communicators talks with the four other fcc commissioners. Youve been watching the communicators on cspan. If youd like to see some of our previous programs, go to cspan. Org. Today the center for study of responsive law begins a fourday conference on civic mobilization. Speakers look at ideas to make civic groups more effective. Among those scheduled to speak, consumer advocate and former president ial candidate ralph nader. Live coverage begins at 9 a. M. Eastern here on cspan2. Vice President Joe Biden and former speaker of the house john boehner recently received the university of notre dames latarre medal at the 2016 commencement ceremony. They were honored in recognition of their leadership, civility and dedication to our nation. Its the latin word for rejoice. This is 25 minutes. [applause] father jenkins, Vice President biden, graduates, its truly an honor and a privilege for me to be here with all of you today. Just a regular guy who used to have a big job. [laughter] you know, its been six months since i left public service, and its given me a little time to reflect. Something that occurred to me a few months ago about the difficult task of what we call governing. Governing, in my view s the art of the possible. Politicians these days are constantly being pushed to promise the impossible. And this being a president ial election year, youve been hearing a lot of impossible promises. [laughter] but governing isnt about promising the impossible. Governing in its essence is the art of the possible. Governing requires us to look for Common Ground where it can be found without compromising our principles. And as speaker, i always drew a distinction between compromise and Common Ground because i truly do believe theyre different things. And fact of the matter is you can find Common Ground with the other side without compromising your core beliefs. Ladies and gentlemen, vice President Joe Biden is one of those people. Joe and i had many disagreements on many different issues. [laughter] i can imagine what hes doing back here. [laughter] but, you know, i learned the art of being able to disagree without being disagreeable growing up at my dads bar. But even as we disagreed, we both always understood the need to keep looking for things that we could agree on. Because while im a republican and joes a democrat, the fact is at first were both americans. So, mr. President , it is an honor to share the stage with you today. Thinking about what i was going to say [applause] applaud for joe. [applause] come on. [applause] i was thinking about what i was going to say this morning and decided that, you know, the speech that i have is not really the speech i want to give. When i was sitting in these seats out here like you over 40 years ago, i could never have imagined a that i would have spent some 34 years in public service. Never could have imagined what the path in life i would take. And so i began to think about whats really important. And i know a lot of you are thinking about what am i going to do, what am i going to do. Let me tell you something, you can think about that tomorrow, you can think about it next week and, frankly, you can think about it next year. But what you cant think about right here, right now is who do you want to be. You know, i played football in high school for a guy named jerry faust at muller high school who came up here and didnt win as many games as hed like to have won as your head coach [laughter] but i learned a lot of things from jerry faust. Yes, i learned a lot of things about playing football, but i said more hail marys in high school than ill say the rest of my life. [laughter] and i say some every day. But when i look back on my life, jerry faust. You know, im a high school guy. He taught us how to be men, taught us how to be leaders, taught us what was required of us. Another good friend, lou holtz. He won a lot of games here, including a national championship. Youve never met a man that was more optimistic, more hardcharging but always having a smile on his face. There was another person impacted my life, pope francis. I tried for 20 years to get a pope and address a joint session of congress. I never quit trying. And thank goodness, pope francis decid