Making Government Work

"It's clear the industry sees no problems with the status quo," said Getachew. "In a Senate where the Democratic majority is not high, they only need a couple of Democrats to tilt the balance in their favor." Lobbying campaigns against Sohn, Getachew noted, have included those from the Fraternal Order of Police, which has opposed Sohn on the grounds that she personally supports end-to-end encrypted messaging (over which the FCC has no jurisdiction). The FOP argues it can delay police efforts to access cell phone records. Everyone involved understands that "law enforcement access issues are not in the purview of the FCC," said Getachew. The FOP's opposition to Sohn, he suggested, is "driven by a larger industry."

Heather Ferguson, director of state operations for Common Cause, said the good-government group supports extending Hawaii’s ban on contractor donations to include at least the officers of a contracted entity. “It erodes public trust when contractors are allowed to contribute to campaigns because of the public perception of those donations due to many of the high-profile federal cases,” Ferguson said. “It would be helpful for the public to know that contractors can’t use campaign contributions as an additional way to bid for a job.”

“Without term limits, you run the risk of having leaders who must either be politically disposed, forced out under ethical clouds, or rarely, they might just lose interest and leave voluntarily. None of those scenarios are healthy,” said Geoff Foster, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts. “Term limits are really important to ensure stable transitions of power.”

"We urge the Senate to quickly confirm Ms. Sohn so the agency can fully advance the public interest and create a communications ecosystem that serves all of us.”

The U.S. Supreme Court heard our case, Moore v. Harper, on December 7. Their decision, expected next June, could change democracy forever, and not for the better.

Today marks the one year anniversary of Gigi Sohn’s nomination to serve as FCC commissioner. Ms. Sohn was first nominated on October 6, 2021 and has yet to receive a confirmation vote. The delay in her confirmation has kept the vacancy open and the FCC deadlocked in a 2-2 split. A deadlocked FCC is unable to adopt meaningful reforms that address communications needs of our communities.