WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders today wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler regarding the commission’s work to relocate over 200 servers from Washington, D.C., to an offsite location in West Virginia. FCC Managing Director Jon Wilkins explained during testimony before the Communications and Technology Subcommittee on March 4 that the commission intends to move forward with these plans within “a couple of weeks."
Full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA), and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) today requested information about the process for making this decision and documents related to the move so the committee may better understand the commission’s thinking.
“As you are aware, we have longstanding concerns with the fairness, openness, and transparency of the commission’s administrative and rulemaking processes, including issues related to its document management practices. We recently wrote to you seeking additional information concerning whether the commission is fulfilling its statutory responsibilities regarding transparent and open public processes," wrote the leaders.
They continued, “Given the committee’s strong interest in the manner in which the commission is managing its own information technologies, we are writing to seek information to better understand the facts and circumstances surrounding the planned relocation of these servers and the impact, if any, such relocation may have on the FCC’s document management practices."
The leaders requested a response from the commission by April 10, 2015.
