New FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington was sworn in at 9 a.m. Monday by Chairman Ajit Pai via videoconference (see 2012140021), an agency spokesperson confirmed. Simingon’s oath of office officially ends the term of his predecessor, Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, who noted the change on his Twitter account Monday: “Excitingly, I am a private citizen and not an FCC Commissioner.” The commission tweeted a photo with a split screen of Pai and Simington side by side, apparently in the midst of the ceremony. Simington’s name and photo also replaced O’Rielly's in the FCC’s online list of commissioners. He has a brief biography page on the FCC’s website, along with a link to his new email address. He didn’t respond to a request for comment directed there. The bio page also lists Simington’s new official FCC Twitter account, which doesn’t appear to have ever tweeted and by Monday afternoon was following only other official FCC accounts. Simington’s bio describes him as having "private and public-sector experience” with the NTIA and Brightstar and as an attorney in private practice. Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., Commissioner Brendan Carr and others tweeted congratulations to Simington Monday. “I know Nathan will follow in [O’Rielly’s] footsteps to champion rural broadband and support America in the race to 5G,” said Thune. The Senate confirmed Simington last week (see 2012080067).
The National Sheriffs’ Association, International Association of Fire Chiefs and other public safety groups asked President-elect Joe Biden to name Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel as permanent FCC chair. The National Education Association and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., also back Rosenworcel (see 2012090063). There are several possible contenders to be Biden’s pick to lead the FCC (see 2011160048). Rosenworcel “has distinguished herself as someone who clearly understands the needs of public safety and has worked effectively with us for many years, while at the same time has balanced the needs of other stakeholders,” said the IAFC, NSA and other groups in a letter to Biden that we obtained. “First responder communications are critical for all successful emergency operations,” which means “the person chosen to become the FCC Chairperson is very consequential to the public safety community.” The Major County Sheriffs of America, the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association and the National Association of State EMS Officials also signed the letter.
America’s Public Television Stations, NAB and PBS joined 11 news media organizations Tuesday to urge the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to include front-line journalists in the COVID-19 vaccine's early deployment phases, right behind essential workers, healthcare workers and first responders. “Journalists have taken on an even more essential role, serving as the connective fabric for Americans who are isolated and physically separated from each other, and informing them of the constantly evolving risks in their individual communities,” the groups said in a letter to a CDC advisory committee. “Journalists cannot simply work from home, but must interact with government officials and the public to report on the stories that matter, regardless of the risks they must assume.” Members of the media “are necessarily exposed to the COVID-19 virus while doing their jobs and serving as ‘first informers’ in local communities across the country,” they said. CDC officials didn't respond to questions.
President Donald Trump signed a bill Friday requiring U.S. government devices to follow minimum security requirements (see 1906190070). The IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act (S-734/HR-1668) was introduced by Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va.; Cory Gardner, R-Colo.; Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; and Steve Daines, R-Mont., along with Reps. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., and Will Hurd, R-Texas. “With potential security threats to networks always looming, maintaining stringent cybersecurity standards is a must to protect many business and government operations,” NCTA said Monday.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursdayproviding principles for design and development of government’s use of artificial intelligence. The principles were created “to foster public trust and confidence in the use of AI, and ensure that the use of AI protects privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties,” the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy said. The EO's nine principles emphasize that AI must be “lawful; purposeful and performance-driven; accurate, reliable, and effective; safe, secure, and resilient; understandable; responsible and traceable; regularly monitored; transparent; and accountable,” OSTP said.
President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration can support advanced manufacturing in the U.S. by “immediately lifting” the Section 301 tariffs on a “targeted list” of information and communications technology components and inputs sourced from China, blogged Alan Kohlscheen, IBM director-import compliance and supply chain security, and Michael DiPaula-Coyle, director-international trade policy. “Limited, early removal” of the most “counterproductive” China tariffs could provide relief for U.S. manufacturing, while leaving the new administration space “to negotiate further tariff changes based on Chinese market access commitments,” said the authors Wednesday. The tariffs have raised IBM’s sourcing costs by “tens of millions of dollars,” they said. “These imports do not represent high-value technology products -- rather, they are necessary inputs into U.S.-made systems and include such items as printed circuit board assemblies, mechanical parts, fans, power distribution units, power supplies, and cables -- largely available only from Chinese sources.” The incoming administration “can give a direct boost to U.S. manufacturing through targeted tariff relief on these sorts of component parts and inputs,” said Kohlscheen and DiPaula-Coyle. “Such a step would provide immediate benefits to U.S. manufacturing while also redirecting U.S. policy toward more international, and coordinated, action to address Chinese market access issues.” The Biden transition team didn’t respond to questions. Biden toldNew York Times columnist Thomas Friedman Tuesday evening that he won’t make “any immediate moves” on China policy after taking office. “And the same applies to the tariffs,” he said. “I’m not going to prejudice my options.” A “major priority” in the opening weeks of the new administration will be to “try to get us back on the same page with our allies” and develop a “coherent strategy” toward China, he said.
President-elect Joe Biden should appoint people who “understand the creative community and intellectual property issues,” wrote ASCAP, BMI, Nashville Songwriters Association International, National Music Publishers' Association, RIAA, SoundExchange and dozens of others Monday: It’s “imperative” transition team participants “appropriately represent not just the tech platforms and services that profit from the use of our creative works, but the creators and owners of the works.”
House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney of New York, Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone of New Jersey and 22 other Democratic leaders pressed the FCC, FTC and other agencies Wednesday to provide “information on conversions of political appointees to civil service positions” during President Donald Trump’s administration. The request follows Trump’s executive order creating a new classification of “policy-making” employees. Critics believe the EO could mean many in the federal workforce lose civil service protection, while others with political ties are given their jobs (see 2010300048). “Protecting the nonpartisan expertise of the career civil service is essential to the safety and security of the American people,” the lawmakers said in letters to the agencies’ heads, including FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, FTC Chairman Joe Simons and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. “The merit system principles of the federal workforce put in place guardrails to ensure that competitive service requirements are not bypassed to inappropriately place political appointees in permanent career service positions.” The lawmakers asked the agencies and departments to provide initial information by Dec. 9 and biweekly updates through Jan. 20, when Joe Biden will be sworn in as president.
The FCC and FTC have begun working with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition review teams, the agencies confirmed. The moves, weeks after news agencies declared that Biden defeated President Donald Trump, follow General Services Administration head Emily Murphy’s Monday decision to allow federal agencies to begin the transition process. The FCC and Biden’s review team for the commission “have made contact,” and the commission “will fully cooperate in the transition process,” a spokesperson emailed. Michael Carowitz, special counsel to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, is “running point on the transition for the Chairman’s Office." Carowitz was previously acting Enforcement Bureau chief and Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau deputy chief. Biden’s FCC team members are House Judiciary Committee Senior Counselor John Williams; former Commissioner Mignon Clyburn; DLA Piper’s Smitty Smith, a former FCC and NTIA staffer; and Paul de Sa, former FCC official and analyst (see 2011160020). FTC Chairman Joe Simons also “instructed Commissioners and staff that the transition is underway,” a spokesperson emailed. It “provides us an opportunity to show both the great work the FTC has done in the past, as well as the FTC’s commitment to continuing that work in the future.” FTC Executive Director David Robbins and Deputy Monique Fortenberry are the commission’s point people working with the Biden team. Biden’s FTC team members are former commission Deputy General Counsel Heather Hippsley, Brookings Institution’s Bill Baer and Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology Associate Director Laura Moy (see 2011100061).
The Senate Commerce Committee plans to vote Dec. 2 on advancing confirmation of FCC nominee Nathan Simington to the full chamber, as expected (see 2011180064). The committee’s meeting, which will also consider Assistant Secretary of Commerce nominee Daniel Huff and NASA Chief Financial Officer nominee Greg Autry, begins at 10 a.m. in 325 Russell. Simington’s responses to senators’ written questions to follow up on his confirmation hearing earlier this month are supposed to be due Dec. 8 (see 2011100070), nearly a week after the scheduled vote. Also Tuesday, Senate Commerce member Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., tweeted that Simington “must explain himself immediately” after media reports about emails that indicate he played a far larger role than claimed in shaping NTIA’s petition to the commission seeking a rulemaking on its interpretation of Communications Decency Act Section 230 (see 2007270070). Simington in June sought to pitch Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on pushing the FCC to grant NTIA’s petition. Now-acting NTIA Administrator Adam Candeub described Simington and Carolyn Roddy, both NTIA senior advisers, as being “instrumental in drafting” the petition. President Donald Trump’s administration at one point considered naming Roddy to the FCC seat currently held by Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, before naming Simington (see 2008130056). The emails show Simington was “an active and eager soldier in” Trump’s “attempted assault on the First Amendment” via the bid for FCC intervention on Section 230, Blumenthal said. Simington “was willing to bully the very agency he’s been nominated to join in order to do the electoral bidding of the Republican party on the taxpayer dime.” Blumenthal, who already threatened to place a hold on Simington if Senate Commerce advances his confirmation, wants the nominee to “explain himself" in his responses to follow-up questions. “I certainly hope” Simington “will be more forthcoming in his written responses than he was during” that hearing, Blumenthal said. Simington said during that panel that he played a “minor role” in work on NTIA’s Section 230 petition and wouldn’t commit to recusing himself from the FCC proceeding. Simington, NTIA and the White House didn’t comment now. Concerns about FCC independence amid the nomination “are real and important,” Electronic Frontier Foundation Senior Legislative Counsel Ernesto Falcon said Monday: The Senate “should not confirm” Simington “without asking some crucial questions about whether and how he will help ensure that the FCC does the public interest job.”