Thune Presses Wheeler on NG911 Coalition, Disclosure of Nonpublic Information

Thune cited “potential concern” about “the possible role of [Wheeler’s] office in the recent creation” of the NG911 NOW coalition. He cited Wheeler’s many statements of advocacy on next-generation 911 before and after the creation of the coalition and said such actions “create the appearance that the Office of the Chairman may have been involved in, or advocated for, the coalition’s creation.” The letter says that could be a violation of the Anti-Lobbying Act or prohibitions included in FY 2016 appropriations law.

The coalition was formed late last month and wants nationwide NG-911 service by 2020. Its members include the National Association of State 911 Administrators, Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies and National Emergency Number Association.

No outside party urged the coalition's creation, it told us. “The NG911 NOW Coalition was formed by three national organizations that share a common goal: completing the nation-wide transition to NG9-1-1 by the end of the decade," NENA Director-Government Affairs Trey Forgety emailed on behalf of the coalition when asked about the letter. "To help achieve that goal, we have engaged in a wide-ranging dialogue with other organizations whose work is directly relevant to our own. We welcome the support of any who agree that modernizing our nation’s 9-1-1 systems must be a top national priority. To be clear, the Coalition was formed only by its three charter members, and not at the urging of any outside party."

Thune pressed Wheeler on his office’s involvement: “Can you confirm that neither you nor any members of FCC staff played a role in the creation of the NG911 NOW Coalition? If you cannot, what role did you or any members of the FCC staff play? Please be as specific as possible.” Thune said he shared Wheeler’s goal of speeding NG-911 deployment.

Wheeler plans to again mention the coalition Tuesday during his testimony before the House Communications Subcommittee (see 1603210054). “Modernizing the nation’s 911 system will take work from many stakeholders and I am encouraged by the recent creation of a coalition to lead a national effort to successfully implement NG911 for all states and territories by the end of 2020,” Wheeler plans to say, according to his written testimony. That echoed what Wheeler told Thune during a March 2 Senate Commerce Committee oversight hearing, which Thune quoted in his letter.

Thune’s other concern involved the “potentially discriminatory application of the Commission’s rule governing the disclosure of nonpublic information,” citing testimony from Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. Thune cited O’Rielly’s concerns that FCC officials hold private briefings for members of the press and “favored” entities from outside the commission. “Indeed, Communications Daily has reported that, in the first half of 2015, the FCC held more off-the-record events for news media than any other federal entity related to communications,” Thune said, citing a December story (see 1511200019). That same account and concern were raised last week in the testimony of Commissioner Ajit Pai before House appropriators and was part of an exchange with one GOP appropriator, prompting a defense of such briefings from Wheeler at the time (see 1603150066). The agency also defended the use of such briefings last year.

“How many briefings that were not fully on the record did FCC staff conduct with the press or other outside parties between October 29, 2013, and the present?” Thune pressed Wheeler. “Did any FCC employee disclose, discuss or otherwise convey any nonpublic information at any of these briefings? If so, did you provide written authorization?” Thune asked if Wheeler had provided such written authorization to any FCC staff since Oct. 29, 2013, and requested copies if so. “According to FCC rules, the Chairman must provide a written authorization to release nonpublic information,” Thune said. He also asked for “all documents and communications relating to each request.”

Pai will again raise his concerns during Tuesday’s House oversight hearing. “Reflecting this shift away from collaboration, the Commission’s Office of Media Relations has been transformed from a shop of career staffers dedicated to representing the interests of the agency as a whole into a propaganda machine for the Chairman’s Office,” Pai will testify. “This trend is so pronounced that the press has taken note of it, along with the unprecedented nature of it all. … The agency’s media blitz often appears designed to exert pressure on other Commissioners, both Democrats and Republicans alike, to vote for the Chairman’s proposals.”

O’Rielly also plans to lament current rules and practices in this regard. “The timing of when Commissioners actually get documents is problematic as it has become standard procedure for the Chairman’s staff to provide off-the-record briefings to favored reporters days before an item is circulated to Commissioners,” O’Rielly will testify Tuesday. “The day of circulation, a major press rollout occurs complete with press releases, blogs and ‘fact’ sheets, but the actual document under consideration doesn’t hit my inbox until hours later, sometimes late at night. Meanwhile the press is reporting that the item has circulated and asking for comment.”