The Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, chaired by Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, June 11, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled, “Oversight of FCC Field Offices."
Members will review FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal to close 16 of 24 FCC field offices. The field offices, which were established to help guard against spectrum interference and ensure public safety, act as the FCC’s local agents in fulfilling its mission. Members have previously requested documents that were used to make this decision from the commission.
“The FCC’s field offices serve a vital role- they are on the front lines enforcing the commission’s rules protecting public safety communications from interference and acting as the local face of an otherwise centralized Washington bureaucracy. We remain skeptical of the chairman’s pursuit to close these offices and question whether the economic benefits outweigh the public safety value of the field agents," said Walden.as they are posted.
