Jim, let me give you the benefit of Snowe's Legislative Assistant, Matthew Hussey's thinking on this, for what it is worth. Hussey, incidentally, is an EE himself, which I think explains a lot about where this Bill came from. Hussey believes that the success of this Bill is dependent in part on the FCC's support of it. The adding of a fourth FCC professional assistant per Commissioner, rather than requiring that one of the currently permitted three be a technical person, was intended to insure that nothing be perceived as taking something away from a Commissioner. The Bill as it reads, in essence, "gives" them something, rather than restricting their discretion in terms of the qualifications of the three presently permitted staff assistants, and Snowe's office's discussions with the Commissioners before the Bill was introduced apparently revealed that the structure was successful; they do apparently support it. This of course adds cost, but FCC is recouping a good deal of its operating expenses in regulatory fees already and has for some time. Good, bad or ugly, that was the theory in adding a technical assistant per Commissioner rather than converting one of the present three staff assistant qualifications to require technical competency. 73, Chris W3KD Christopher D. Imlay Booth, Freret, Imlay & Tepper. P.C. 14356 Cape May Road Silver Spring, Maryland 20904-6011 (301) 384-5525 telephone (301) 384-6384 facsimile W3KD@ARRL.ORG -----Original Message----- From: K8JE <k8je@arrl.org> To: arrl-odv <arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org> Sent: Wed, Dec 23, 2009 7:40 pm Subject: RE: Techies for the FCC (I attempted to send the following note regarding the Snowe-Warner bill at 4:37 PM today, but it didn’t get through.) My preference would be for the bill to dictate that one of the current three professional assistants authorized for each commissioner be an electronics technologist of some sort. Regardless, I can support the Snowe-Warner bill. Jim Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director ARRL Great Lakes Division 5065 Bethany Rd. Mason, OH 45040 E-mail: k8je@arrl.org, Tel.: 513-459-1661 ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio From: Joel Harrison [mailto:joelh@centurytel.net] Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2009 2:22 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: FW: Techies for the FCC I strongly suggest the board give serious consideration to formally supporting this. 73 Joel W5ZN FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Julia Wanzco (Snowe) December 8, 2009 202.224.1304 Kevin Hall (Warner) 202.224.2425 Snowe, Warner Announce Bill to Boost Technical Resources for FCC WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) today announced bipartisan legislation to bolster access to technical resources for the Commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The Snowe-Warner initiative will update current law to allow each Commissioner to hire an additional staff memberan electrical engineer or computer scientist to provide in-depth technical consultation. “Given the rapid advancement of technologies and innovation within the telecommunications industry, it is essential that Commissioners have in-house technical expertise to make well informed regulatory decisions,” said Senator Snowe , a senior member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee , which has jurisdiction over the legislation. “This legislation is a common-sense initiative that will guarantee each Commissioner has a technical expert on staff to provide detailed analysis on some of the most cutting-edge issues affecting the communications industry today.” “Easing restrictions on the number of experts a commissioner can hire will provide the FCC with more tools and information it needs to decisions,” said Senator Warner . “This will give commissioners access to the best information possible, from all relevant disciplines, and in a timely manner – which is critical in making well-informed decisions.” Under current law, each Commissioner is permitted to appoint only three professional assistants and a secretary. Historically, these professional assistants have been legal advisors covering the wireline, wireless, and cable/media sectors. The Snowe-Warner bill complements this structure by ensuring Commissioners have access to expertise involving the technical aspect of the issues, which is fundamental to developing sound regulatory policy related to the nation’s communications industry. ###