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<DIV
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0.6em; PADDING-LEFT: 0.6em; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0.6em; PADDING-TOP: 0.6em"><FONT
face=Verdana>Agora que essa figura impar da politica dos EUA e do Mundo,
George W. Bush, se despede podem levar com uns sapatos iraquianos pelo
meio, eis que começam a ser conhecidas algumas das mais inqualificáveis
actuações de pessoas nomeadas por ele para cargos dentro da administração
publica. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0.6em; PADDING-LEFT: 0.6em; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0.6em; PADDING-TOP: 0.6em"><FONT
face=Verdana>Neste caso falamos do relatório do Congresso: "Decepção e
desconfiança: A Comissão Federal das Comunicações sob o mandato do presidente
Kevin J. Martin" uma investigação que alerta de que maneira o Sr.
Kevin abusou de procedimentos dentro da FCC; manipulando ou suprimindo
relatórios, dados e informações, em especial as apresentadas pela ARRL, sobre os
efeitos nefastos da tecnologia BPL/PCL no espectro radioeléctrico, entre
outras acusações. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0.6em; PADDING-LEFT: 0.6em; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0.6em; PADDING-TOP: 0.6em"><A
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face=Verdana></FONT></FONT></DIV></H1>
<H1> </H1>
<H1>Congressional committee members release report lambasting FCC Chairman Kevin
Martin</H1>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>On Tuesday, December 9, the House Committee on Energy and
Commerce - the congressional committee that oversees the Federal Communications
Commission - released its majority staff report "on the bipartisan investigation
of the FCC's regulatory processes and management practices." </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>The report - </FONT><STRONG><EM><FONT
face=Verdana>"Deception and Distrust: The Federal Communications Commission
under Chairman Kevin J. Martin"</FONT></EM></STRONG><FONT face=Verdana> - stated
that the investigation was prompted "by allegations to the effect that [FCC]
Chairman Kevin J. Martin has abused FCC procedures by manipulating or
suppressing </FONT><A
href="http://www.arrl.org/news/files/FCC_Report120908.pdf"><FONT
face=Verdana>reports, data and information</FONT></A><FONT face=Verdana>".
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>"Our investigation confirmed a number of troubling
allegations raised by individuals in and outside the FCC," said Representative
Bart Stupak (D-MI), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and
Investigations.<BR>"The Committee staff report details some of the most
egregious abuses of power, suppression of information and manipulation of data
under Chairman Martin's leadership. It is my hope that this report will serve as
a roadmap for a fair, open and efficient FCC under new leadership in the next
administration."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>Representative John D. Dingell (D-MI), Chairman of the
Committee on Energy and Commerce echoed Stupak's concerns: "Any of these
findings, individually, are cause for concern. Together, the findings suggest
that, in recent years, the FCC has operated in a dysfunctional manner and
Commission business has suffered as a result. It is my hope that the new FCC
Chairman will find this report instructive and that it will prove useful in
helping the Commission avoid making the same mistakes."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>The report said that "in an investigation of this nature,"
the Committee would usually hold hearings "to receive testimony from witnesses
and to further examine the issues." But due to what the Committee called "the
climate of fear that currently pervades the FCC," the report said the Committee
found that key witnesses "were unwilling to testify or even have their names
become known." For that reason, they issued a report in place of a hearing "to
protect the many honest people who came forward under a promise of protection or
anonymity." Chairman Martin was invited to meet with the Committee to discuss
matters addressed by the investigation, but the report said he "ignored [the
Committee's] invitation," as did his Chief of Staff Daniel Gonzalez and Chief of
Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Derek Poarch.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>In its 110-page report, the Committee described 12
allegations, ranging from retaliation against FCC employees who differed with
the Chairman's policies to enhanced 911 wireless services to broadband over
power lines (BPL). To go along with the 12 allegations, 22 exhibits were
attached to<BR>the report, such as internal e-mails, e-mails from FCC
commissioners to their staff, statements made by FCC commissioners and letters
to and from commissioners (including Chairman Martin). Not all 12 allegations
were substantiated by the Committee.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>* <STRONG>Broadband over Power Lines</STRONG></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>Concerning BPL, the report alleges that FCC officials
"ignored complaints of radio frequency interference caused by BPL high-speed
Internet technology, delayed an enforcement investigation for two years and
improperly withheld engineering data regarding BPL from the public."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>The report found that in October 2004, as then-Chairman
Michael Powell issued his final rule "defining BPL access and setting technical
and administrative requirements to protect licensed radio operators from harmful
interference," the FCC "withheld from the public certain engineering reports on
which it relied in promulgating the rule" from the final rule and
order.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>Even though the BPL rules were adopted during Powell's
tenure, the report found that "it was under Chairman Martin that the Enforcement
Bureau and the General Counsel continued to withhold the redacted engineering
reports and insisted on doing so in the course of the ensuing litigation
[</FONT><A href="http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/04/25/10064/"
target=_blank><FONT face=Verdana>with the ARRL</FONT></A><FONT face=Verdana>]".
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>The report goes on to say that on April 25, 2008, the US
Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit found that the FCC, in the case filed by the
ARRL, "violated the Administrative Procedure Act when it played 'hide and seek'
with engineering data used in its support of the order and 'cherry-picked' a
</FONT><A
href="http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/common/opinions/200804/06-1343-1112979.pdf"><FONT
face=Verdana>study</FONT></A><FONT face=Verdana> on which it had relied".
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>"The fact that the FCC withheld the required engineering
reports in this matter," the report concluded, "indicates poor judgment and an
attempt to hide critical weaknesses in its decision. Ironically, the FCC's
attempts to hide this information only served to provoke suspicion and its
handmaiden, litigation. This case [filed by the ARRL] illustrates the extent to
which a culture of secrecy has developed at the FCC that is as counterproductive
as it is unnecessary." The report states that this "particular situation" has
been corrected by the courts and technological issues arising from BPL have been
"rendered largely moot over time due to improvements" in BPL
technology.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>"It is distressing, but unfortunately not surprising,"
said ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, "to read that the FCC's
mishandling of the BPL issue was simply a part of a broad pattern of dysfunction
at the Commission. This is a relatively recent development and is unprecedented
in the ARRL's long experience with the FCC -- an association that dates back to
the very creation of the agency, 20 years<BR>after the founding of the ARRL.
While the marketplace failure of BPL and the steps taken voluntarily by the few
companies that have deployed BPL systems have combined to minimize interference,
the regulatory issue is by no means moot. The rules remain
inadequate."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>Sumner continued: "More than seven months after the Court
remand, the FCC has done nothing to correct its errors, nor has it complied with
the very specific instructions from the United States Court of Appeals. These
instructions included the disclosure of the studies that it intentionally
withheld from the public, but upon which it relied in adopting its rules.
Indeed, the only step the Commission has taken since the Court's remand order is
to mount an unsuccessful effort to oppose our claim for reimbursement of the
printing costs for the briefs in the case -- a small fraction of the expenses
incurred by the </FONT><A href="http://www.arrl.org/?artid=8338"
target=_blank><FONT face=Verdana>ARRL in our appeal</FONT></A><FONT
face=Verdana> -- expenses that would not have been necessary had the
Commission<BR>followed the law in the first place". </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>* <STRONG>Other Findings by the
Committee</STRONG></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>The report also showed instances of where Chairman Martin
"manipulated, withheld or suppressed data, reports and information," and said
Martin's "manipulation [of another report] may have damaged the credibility of
the Commission, and certainly undermined the integrity of the staff. Moreover,
it was done with the purpose of affecting the congressional decision-making, in
that it was issued as a report to Congress."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>Saying that FCC matters have not been handled in an "open
or transparent manner," the report said the FCC "rais[ed] suspicions both inside
and outside the Commission that some parties and issues are not being treated
fairly." The report stated that the Committee's impressions were "confirmed"
when it discovered that Chairman Martin made a "preemptory reversal" of [a
report's] conclusions and that Martin did not seek "further public comment or
conduct further studies" thus giving the impression "that the issue was not
handled fairly or openly."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>The report also found that Chairman Martin's
"heavy-handed, opaque and non-collegial management style has created distrust,
suspicion and turmoil among the five current Commissioners." The report states
that Martin does not afford his fellow Commissioners "direct and unfettered
access to the Commission staff and their expert advice, thereby hindering the
ability of other Commissioners to carry out the duties of their offices and the
work of the Commission."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>The report also found that Commission staff have not been
"effectively managed." When Martin first became Chairman, he "imposed a major
reshuffling of FCC staff throughout the agency." While the report said that a
"certain amount of reorganization is not unprecedented" when a new Chairman
begins his term, the reorganization "was highly unusual in<BR>both its breadth
(nearly every senior position at the agency changed hands) and its depth (even a
number on non-management line staffers found themselves inexplicably
reassigned)." Calling it a "waste of resources, the report pointed out that
senior employees with "extensive experience and expertise" were reassigned to
junior-level positions; as a result, "it appears that some important Commission
proceedings were delayed."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>* <STRONG>Committee Methodology</STRONG></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>Over the course of its investigation, the Committee staff
reviewed "several hundred thousand documents, including 95 boxes of paper
documents; conducted 73 interviews of current and former FCC employees and
individuals associated with the telecommunications industry; solicited and
received e-mails from FCC employees and contractors at a secure e-mail address
established for this purpose, and reviewed dozens of allegations." The report
pointed out that since the investigation, Chairman Martin has taken "some small
steps" to address some of the problems outlined in the report.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>The Committee also emphasized that not everything they
found is included in its report: "A few allegations were received so recently
that they have not been investigated and are not included [in the report]. We
have also excluded matters that seemed trivial per se. Still, other allegations
have not been adequately investigated because the FCC has<BR>not yet produced
all of the records requested by the Committee."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>Fonte: </FONT><A href="http://www.arrl.org/"
target=_blank><FONT face=Verdana>The American Radio Relay
League</FONT></A></P></BODY></HTML>