News Update - January 2023
USAC Files Estimated Second Quarter 2023 Universal Service Funding Requirements
January 31, 2023 – The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) has filed the Federal Universal Service Support Mechanisms Fund Size Projections for the second quarter of 2023. The filing details the universal service fund’s (USF) total projected funding requirements for 2Q 2023, which includes costs that can be directly attributed to the High Cost, Low Income, Rural Health Care, and Schools and Libraries Support Mechanisms, as well as Connected Care Pilot Program costs, and projected administrative expenditures of each mechanism. USAC’s data shows the following total projected 2Q 2023 funding requirements for each USF support mechanism:
High Cost Support Mechanism – $972.91 million (the 1Q 2023 projected funding requirement was $1.152 billion). USAC initially calculated the funding requirement as $1.024 billion, but the amount was decreased by prior period adjustments of $68.97 million and increased by administrative costs of $18.26 million.
Low Income Support Mechanism – $202.05 million (the 1Q 2023 projected funding requirement was $201.21 million). USAC initially estimated funding requirements of $295.31 million for Lifeline and $0.06 million for Link-Up, resulting in a total of $295.37 million. This amount was decreased by prior period adjustment of $116.97 million and increased by $23.65 million in administrative costs.
Rural Health Care Support Mechanism – $159.36 million (the 1Q 2023 projected funding requirement was $70.79 million).
Connected Care Pilot Program – $8.43 million (the 1Q 2023 projected funding requirement was $8.5 million).
E-Rate Schools and Libraries Support Mechanism – $609.15 million (the 1Q 2023 projected funding requirement was $697.13 million).
USAC projects a consolidated budget of $71.91 million for 2Q 2023. This breaks out to $38.01 million in direct costs for all four support mechanisms, and $33.90 million in joint and common costs which include costs associated with billing, collection, and disbursement of universal service funds. The 2Q 2023 consolidated budget of $71.91 is $4.62 million more than USAC’s projected budget last quarter ($67.28 million for 1Q 2023).
The FCC will use the of the quarterly funding requirements for the four USF Support Mechanisms, the projected administrative expenses, and the USF contribution base amount to calculate the quarterly USF contribution factor. Copies of USAC’s historical USF filings are available on its website.
FCC Releases Tentative Agenda For February 16 Open Meeting
January 26, 2023 – Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced the following tentative agenda for the FCC’s next open meeting scheduled for Thursday, February 16, 2023:
Helping Domestic Violence Survivors Access Safe and Affordable Connectivity – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which would begin the Commission’s required implementation of the Safe Connections Act of 2022. The proposal seeks to help survivors of domestic violence and similar crimes separate lines from shared mobile accounts that include their abusers, protect the privacy of calls made by survivors to domestic abuse hotlines, and support survivors who face financial hardship through the Commission’s affordability programs. (WC Docket Nos. 22-238, 11-42, 21-450)
Connecting Tribal Communities to Broadband – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which would seek comments on improvements to the E-Rate program that would increase access for Tribal applicants generally as well as within the Tribal Libraries E-Rate Pilot Program. (CC Docket Nos. 02-6, 96-45, 97-21)
Restricted Adjudicatory Matter – The Commission will consider a restricted adjudicatory matter.
FCC Releases Best Practice Information For Submitting Challenges To Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric
January 25, 2023 – The FCC’s Broadband Data Task Force has released information on recommended best practices for submitting bulk challenges to the most recent version of the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric data. Serving as the underlying foundation of the FCC’s new broadband availability map, the Fabric is a common dataset of all locations in the U.S. where the FCC has determined fixed broadband internet access service can be installed. In December 2022, the FCC announced that Version 2 of the Fabric will be used for the next Broadband Data Collection (BDC) filing – broadband availability as of December 31, 2022. The Fabric Version 2 contains data from additional data sources, other improvements by the FCC and CostQuest, and the results of bulk Fabric challenges submitted by state and local governments and broadband providers on or before November 10, 2022. Among other things, the Task Force’s Public Notice provides the following guidance:
As of January 3, 2023, the BDC system only accepts bulk Fabric challenges based upon the data in version two of the Fabric.
Any bulk challenges to version one of the Fabric that were filed between November 11, 2022, and January 2, 2023, are being “carried over” and reviewed and adjudicated against version two, and therefore do not need to be refiled; bulk challenges submitted on or after January 3, 2023 however, must be submitted against version two of the Fabric.
Bulk Fabric challengers should submit their challenges to version two of the Fabric as soon as possible and, in any case, no later than March 15, 2023, to have the best opportunity to be considered in time for preparation of the next version of the Fabric (version three).
Bulk Fabric challenges submitted after March 15, 2023, are unlikely to be considered for version three of the Fabric and will instead be reviewed and adjudicated as part of a future iteration of the Fabric.
Comment Deadlines Set For FCC Data Breach Notification NPRM: February 22, 2023 & March 24, 2023
January 23, 2023 – The FCC has announced comment deadlines for its Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) which recommends revising the existing customer proprietary network information (CPNI) data breach notification rules. Comments are due on or before February 22, 2023. Reply comments are due on or before March 24, 2023.
In the NPRM, the FCC requests comment on the following revisions to its CPNI data breach notification rules:
Expansion the FCC’s definition of “breach” to include inadvertent disclosures of customer information and adoption of a harm-based trigger for breach notifications;
Requiring carriers to notify the FCC, in addition to the Secret Service and FBI, as soon as practicable after discovery of a breach;
Elimination of the mandatory waiting period before notifying customers and instead requiring carriers to notify customers of CPNI breaches without unreasonable delay after discovery of a breach unless requested differently by law enforcement;
Whether the FCC should adopt minimum requirements for the content of customer breach notices;
The impact of the Congressional disapproval of the 2016 Privacy Order on the FCC’s legal authority to issue the rules proposed in the NPRM for telecommunications carriers; and
Revisions to the FCC TRS data breach reporting rule consistent with those proposed for the CPNI breach reporting rule.
NIST Begins Considering Updates To Cybersecurity Framework
January 19, 2023 – The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a concept paper outlining potential changes to its Cybersecurity Framework. Published in 2014 and updated in 2018, NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework helps organizations to better understand and improve their management of cybersecurity risk. The concept paper, NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 Concept Paper: Potential Significant Updates to the Cybersecurity Framework, outlines significant potential changes that NIST is considering in developing the Cybersecurity Framework version 2.0. NIST has invited public comment on the proposals in the paper. Comments must be submitted by March 3, 2023 to cyberframework@nist.gov. NIST will make all relevant comments and material publicly available on the NIST CSF 2.0 website.
Final Agenda For FCC January 2023 Open Meeting
January 19, 2023 – The Federal Communications Commission has released the final agenda for its open meeting on Thursday, January 26, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. The meeting will be webcast at www.fcc.gov/live. The final agenda contains the following items:
Ensuring 988 Reliability and Resiliency – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would consider establishing reporting and notice requirements for service outages potentially affecting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. (PS Docket Nos. 23-5, 15-80; WC Docket No. 18-336)
Rural Health Care Program – The Commission will consider an Order on Reconsideration, Second Report and Order, Order, and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which would rescind rules requiring support for the Rural Health Care Telecommunications Program to be calculated using a database, improve processes for invoicing and program caps, and propose additional enhancements to calculations of support and a mechanism to allow the participation of newly-eligible health care providers. (WC Docket 17-310)
Restricted Adjudicatory Matter – The Commission will consider a restricted adjudicatory matter.
Enforcement Bureau Action – The Commission will consider an enforcement action.
FCC Announces Conclusion Of CAF Phase II Auction Long-Form Application Review
January 19, 2023 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) has announced that it has concluded the Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II auction long-form application review process. All CAF II auction (Auction 903) winning bids have been authorized or defaulted. The long-form applications submitted by CAF II auction winners are now publicly available from the Auction 903 website. However, certain information in the long-form applications for which confidential treatment was granted, such as detailed technology and system design descriptions, project funding descriptions, and other financial information will remain confidential. Bidding in the CAF II auction concluded on August 21, 2018, and winners were required to submit a long-form application no later than October 15, 2018. In total, there were 195 authorized applicant state combinations, totaling $1.48 billion authorized in 10-year support, covering 708,494 locations in 45 states.
T-Mobile Discloses Massive Data Breach Impacting 37 Million Customers
January 19, 2023 – T-Mobile USA, Inc. has publicly disclosed that it has experienced a massive data breach exposing data for approximately 37 million current postpaid and prepaid customer accounts. In its Form 8-K filing with the Securities And Exchange Commission, T-Mobile provided the following explanation of what happened:
On January 5, 2023, T-Mobile US, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” or “our”) identified that a bad actor was obtaining data through a single Application Programming Interface (“API”) without authorization. We promptly commenced an investigation with external cybersecurity experts and within a day of learning of the malicious activity, we were able to trace the source of the malicious activity and stop it. Our investigation is still ongoing, but the malicious activity appears to be fully contained at this time, and there is currently no evidence that the bad actor was able to breach or compromise our systems or our network.
Our systems and policies prevented the most sensitive types of customer information from being accessed, and as a result, based on our investigation to date, customer accounts and finances were not put at risk directly by this event. The API abused by the bad actor does not provide access to any customer payment card information (PCI), social security numbers/tax IDs, driver’s license or other government ID numbers, passwords/PINs or other financial account information, so none of this information was exposed. Rather, the impacted API is only able to provide a limited set of customer account data, including name, billing address, email, phone number, date of birth, T-Mobile account number and information such as the number of lines on the account and plan features. The preliminary result from our investigation indicates that the bad actor(s) obtained data from this API for approximately 37 million current postpaid and prepaid customer accounts, though many of these accounts did not include the full data set.
We currently believe that the bad actor first retrieved data through the impacted API starting on or around November 25, 2022. We are continuing to diligently investigate the unauthorized activity. In addition, we have notified certain federal agencies about the incident, and we are concurrently working with law enforcement. Additionally, we have begun notifying customers whose information may have been obtained by the bad actor in accordance with applicable state and federal requirements.
Kansas Awards Nearly $45 Million In Broadband Grants
January 18, 2023 – Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has announced that $44.5 million will be awarded to nine service providers to extend high-speed broadband internet service to 18,468 locations in 15 underserved counties across Kansas. The awards are being made under the third and final round of the $83.5 million Kansas Capital Project Funds (CPF) Broadband Infrastructure Program.
In total, the $83.5 million CPF awards, combined with roughly $42 million in matching funds, will result in more than 24,500 homes, businesses, schools, health care facilities, and other public institutions being connected to fast, reliable broadband internet access services for the first time. The third-round CPF awards are being made to the following:
AT&T (Sedgwick County) – $2,206,491 – The proposed service area is 99% unserved on the fringes of the Wichita metro area, targeting multi-dwelling unit properties. The project will offer a subsidy to assist with discounted broadband services.
Butler Rural Electric Cooperative Association (Butler, Cowley, Sedgwick, and Sumner counties) – $9,815,894 – The multi-county region targeted is 83% unserved, and 50% of the area is located in an economically disadvantaged county. This significant investment will bring connectivity to south-central Kansas.
Cox Communications (Jackson, Shawnee, and Wabaunsee counties) – $6,373,948 – This multi-county project is 100% unserved. To connect these rural areas northwest of Topeka, Cox will use an affordable, scalable solution already deployed in the KC metro region.
Cunningham Communications (Mitchell County) – $1,192,735 – Hundreds of residences and businesses in this 98% unserved area will be positively impacted by the Fiber To The Home network that will be provided by Cunningham Communications.
GBT Rural (Pawnee and Stafford counties) – $6,782,694 – More than 365 square miles of an economically distressed area with a 92% unserved population will be covered by GBT Rural.
Iowa Tribe (Doniphan County) – $1,424,945 – This very rural, remote, and economically disadvantaged area in the northeast corner of Kansas is 91% unserved. The project will be based on a partnership between the Iowa Tribe, Doniphan County, Rainbow Telecommunications, and the City of White Cloud.
Mokan Dial (Miami County) – $5,590,145 – The 65-square-mile project area is 97% unserved. Mokan Dial will ensure symmetrical speeds up to 1G will be available and affordable to everyone in the targeted region.
Nex-Tech (Decatur and Saline counties) – $10,764,700 – Two separate project areas servicing a 99% unserved area of Saline County and a 93% unserved area of Decatur County. These awards will allow Nex-Tech to build the necessary infrastructure required to reach these rural areas.
WANRack (Johnson County) – $400,000 – This award will target a 100% unserved area of Johnson County. WANRack’s project will enable Kansans to participate in telehealth, remote work, educational opportunities, and the digital economy.
ISP Trade Associations Ask FCC To Clarify Two Aspects Of New Broadband Label Rules
January 17, 2023 – Internet service provider trade associations ACA Connects, CTIA, NCTA, NTCA, and USTelecom have filed a petition asking the Federal Communications Commission to clarify or reconsider to elements of its new broadband label rules. In November 2022, the FCC approved a Report And Order that requires “ISPs to display, at the point of sale, labels that disclose certain information about broadband prices, introductory rates, data allowances, and broadband speeds, and to include links to information about their network management practices, privacy policies, and the Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).”
The trade associations’ Joint Petition For Clarification Or, In The Alternative, Reconsideration focuses on the requirements to: (1) display certain fees imposed by state and local governments; and (2) document consumer interactions regarding labels that occur through alternative sales channels.
With respect to displaying certain state and local fees, “the Associations propose that providers be deemed in compliance with the requirement if they include a statement similar to what they provide regarding tax disclosures: that these fees may change from time-to-time in response to state and local government actions. In the alternative, the Associations ask for clarification that that they be deemed in compliance if they identify generally the maximum dollar figure that will be passed through per month.”
With respect to alternative sales channel documentation, “the Associations urge the Commission to clarify that the requirement is satisfied if providers establish the business practices and processes they will follow in distributing the label through alternative sales channels, retain training materials and related business practice documentation for two years, and provide such information to the Commission upon request.”
NTIA Will Not Delay BEAD Program Timeline
January 13, 2023 – In a blog post, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has announced it will not delay the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program timeline. This means it will not extend the time period for challenging the FCC’s National Broadband Map. NTIA is still targeting June 30, 2023 as the deadline for allocating each U.S. state and territory’s BEAD Program broadband funding. It explained that it has heard concerns about the broadband map challenge process, and received numerous requests for delaying the timeline, but declined the requests because “a delay in the timeline would mean a delay in providing funding to communities who desperately need it, and it will not address many of the process concerns we have heard.” NTIA also noted that “[t]he FCC already has received over 1 million challenges to provider reported availability data and has updated the map’s underlying Fabric to add more than one million additional locations.”
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Authorizes RDOF Support For 1,764 Winning Bids (17th RDOF Authorization) (Hughes Network Systems, LLC & Resound Networks, LLC)
January 13, 2023 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has authorized Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction support for 1,764 winning bids. This is the seventeenth Public Notice authorizing RDOF support. Attachment A to the Bureau’s Public Notice contains a list of the authorized winning bids, which belong to Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Rhode Island) and Resound Networks, LLC (Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas).
The 1,764 winning bid authorizations were granted after the Bureau reviewed long-form application information for each authorized winning bidder, including letters of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letters, and concluded the submissions were acceptable. Consequently, the Bureau has directed and authorized the Universal Service Administrative Company to obligate and disburse Universal Service Fund support to each winning bidder. Support will be disbursed in 120 monthly payments, beginning at the end of January 2023. The first service obligation that must be met by the RDOF support recipients authorized by the Public Notice is the deployment of broadband service to 40% of locations in a state by December 31, 2025. The broadband service must meet the standards for which support was received (i.e., speed levels and latency). After that, these RDOF support recipients must achieve the following broadband service deployment obligations: 60% of locations in a state by December 31, 2026; 80% of locations in a state by December 31, 2027; and 100% of locations in a state by December 31, 2028.
SEC Files Subpoena Enforcement Action Against Covington & Burling LLP To Obtain List Of Clients Impacted By Firm’s Cyberattack
January12, 2023 – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed an application seeking an order directing the law firm Covington & Burling LLP to comply with an investigative subpoena for documents. Specifically, the SEC is attempting to force Covington & Burling to disclose a list of its clients who were impacted by a cyberattack experienced by the law firm. The action was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
In November 2020, “threat actors associated with the Microsoft Hafnium cyberattack maliciously and unlawfully obtained access to Covington’s computer network and certain individual devices, including access to non-public files of nearly 300 Covington clients that are regulated by the SEC.”
After learning of the incident in early 2022, the SEC subpoenaed Covington for the names of clients whose files were viewed, copied, modified or exfiltrated by the threat actors. The SEC wants the information in order to identify any suspicious trading by the threat actors or others in the Covington clients’ securities, and determine whether such trading was illegal based on material non-public information that the threat actors viewed or exfiltrated as part of the cyberattack. Also, the SEC will use the information to determine “whether the impacted clients made all required disclosures to the investing public about any material cybersecurity events in connection with the cyberattack.” Covington has refused to provide the SEC with the names of all but two of its clients. Covington has objected to the SEC’s request by asserting privilege and client confidentiality.
The SEC’s Application For An Order To Show Cause And For An Order Requiring Compliance With Subpoena seeks a District Court order directing Covington to show cause as to why the court should not compel it to produce the documents as required by the subpoena.
Sixth Circuit Court Of Appeals Sets Oral Argument For Consumers’ Research Challenge To USF Contribution Factor
January 10, 2023 – The U.S. Court Of Appeals For The Sixth Circuit has set the date for oral arguments in Consumers' Research v. FCC (Case No. 21-3886). It will be held on March 17, 2023 at 9:00 am Eastern before a three-judge panel in Cincinnati, Ohio.
In September 2021, nonprofit organization Consumers’ Research, communications provider Cause Based Commerce, Inc., and five individual consumers filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit challenging the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) approval of the proposed fourth quarter 2021 universal service contribution factor. The Petitioners claim the FCC’s approval of the 4Q 2021 contribution factor (and the proposed contribution factor itself) “exceeds the FCC’s statutory authority and violates the Constitution and other federal laws.”
The group has filed two other petitions in different U.S. Courts of Appeals challenging other FCC approvals of the USF contribution factor: in the 5th Circuit challenging the USF contribution factor for the 1Q 2022, Case Number 22-60008 (filed January 5, 2022); and in the 11th Circuit challenging the USF contribution factor for the 4Q 2022, Case Number 22-13315 (filed October 3, 2022).
FCC Releases NPRM Proposing Changes To CPNI Data Breach Rules
January 6, 2023 – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released a Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing revisions to its customer proprietary network information (CPNI) breach notification rules. Comments are due on or before 30 days after the NPRM is published in the Federal Register. Reply comments are due 60 days after publication. Under existing FCC CPNI rules, adopted in 2007, telecommunications carriers and interconnected VoIP providers are required to notify customers and federal law enforcement of breaches of CPNI in their possession. In the NPRM, the FCC proposes the following revisions to its rules and requests comment on the following issues:
Expansion the FCC’s definition of “breach” to include inadvertent disclosures of customer information and adoption of a harm-based trigger for breach notifications.
Requiring carriers to notify the FCC, in addition to the Secret Service and FBI, as soon as practicable after discovery of a breach.
Elimination of the mandatory waiting period before notifying customers and instead requiring carriers to notify customers of CPNI breaches without unreasonable delay after discovery of a breach unless requested differently by law enforcement.
Whether the FCC should adopt minimum requirements for the content of customer breach notices.
The impact of the Congressional disapproval of the 2016 Privacy Order on the FCC’s legal authority to issue the rules proposed in the NPRM for telecommunications carriers.
Revisions to the FCC TRS data breach reporting rule consistent with those proposed for the CPNI breach reporting rule.
Comment On Use Of E-Rate Funding For Next-Generation Firewalls & Services Due February 13, 2023
January 6, 2023 – Deadlines have been announced for the Federal Communications Commission’s request for comment on “the use of E-Rate program funds to support advanced or next-generation firewalls and services, as well as other network security services.” Comments are due on or before February 13, 2023, and reply comments are due March 30, 2023.
In a December 2022 Public Notice, the FCC sought comment on using E-Rate funds to support next-generation firewalls and services, as well as the following related issues:
Definition of Advanced or Next-Generation Firewalls and Services. The E-Rate program currently defines firewall as “a hardware and software combination that sits at the boundary between an organization’s network and the outside world, and protects the network against unauthorized access or intrusions.” Comment is requested on this definition and whether any modifications may be appropriate.
Eligible Equipment and Services and their Costs. Comment is requested on the specific equipment and services that E-Rate should support to fund as advanced or next-generation firewalls and services, as well as the costs associated with funding these services.
Categorization of Firewall Services and Components. Under current E-Rate rules, basic firewall service provided as part of a vendor’s Internet access service is eligible as a Category One service. Separately priced basic firewall services and components are eligible as a Category Two service. Comment is sought on whether advanced or next-generation firewall services and components should be eligible as a Category One and/or Category Two service.
Cost-Effective Purchases. If the FCC makes advanced or next-generation firewall services eligible as only Category Two service, comment is sought on whether this would be an effective way to ensure applicants are making cost-effective choices when requesting these services and equipment.
Legal Authority Issues. Comment is sought on the FCC’s legal authority to add advanced or next-generation firewalls and services as an eligible service for the E-Rate program.
FCC Announces Tentative Agenda For January 2023 Open Meeting
January 5, 2023 – Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced the following tentative agenda for the FCC’s next open meeting on January 26, 2023:
Ensuring 988 Reliability and Resiliency – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would consider establishing reporting and notice requirements for service outages potentially affecting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. (PS Docket Nos. 23-5, 15-80; WC Docket No. 18-336)
Rural Health Care Program – The Commission will consider an Order on Reconsideration, Second Report and Order, Order, and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which would rescind rules requiring support for the Rural Health Care Telecommunications Program to be calculated using a database, improve processes for invoicing and program caps, and propose additional enhancements to calculations of support and a mechanism to allow the participation of newly-eligible health care providers. (WC Docket 17-310)
Restricted Adjudicatory Matter – The Commission will consider a restricted adjudicatory matter.
Enforcement Bureau Action – The Commission will consider an enforcement action.
Comment Deadlines For Broadband Label Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Extended By 30 Days
January 4, 2023 – The FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau has extended the comment deadlines for the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the FCC’s broadband label requirements. Comments are now due on or before February 16, 2023. Reply comments are now due March 16, 2023.
In November 2022 the FCC approved a Report And Order requiring ISPs to display labels that disclose terms and conditions of their broadband services. In the accompanying Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the FCC is seeking comment on further steps to ensure that consumers have the information they need to make informed broadband service purchasing decisions. More specifically, further comment is requested on general issues related to the following: accessibility and languages; performance characteristics; service reliability; cybersecurity; network management and privacy; formatting; and whether ISPs should submit label information to the FCC.
Biden Renominates Gigi Sohn To The Federal Communications Commission
January 3, 2023 – President Joe Biden has once again nominated Gigi B. Sohn to be a member of the Federal Communications Commission for a term of five years. Ms. Sohn, if confirmed by the Senate, would serve a term of five years from July 1, 2021. President Biden previously nominated Ms. Sohn to the FCC in January 2022. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing on her nomination in February 2022, but thereafter, the full Senate failed to hold a vote on her nomination. As a result, the FCC has continued to operate with four Commissioners, rather than the full five throughout Biden’s presidency.