FCC Lobbying Changing Amid Coronavirus, FCC HQ Closure
FCC interaction with constituents is changing in the face of the pandemic, with ex parte meetings down in recent weeks, according to our analysis of more than 400 electronic comment filing system filings. Agency officials said stakeholders presumably are reluctant to set up meetings on non-pressing matters, and commissioners' Tuesday meeting agenda lacks major items. That could change in April with the 6 GHz order expected (see 2003270032), one agency official said. The regulator said aides in Chairman Ajit Pai's office don't seem less busy.
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Over the first 15 workdays of March, parties made 114 filings about primarily calls or in-person meetings on particular proceedings. The first 15 workdays of March 2019 had 168.
How people are meeting with the FCC also has changed. In the 2019, in-person meetings were 86% of filings on lobbying gatherings. For this March, it was 32%, and by March 12, in-person ex parte meetings ground to a halt. Six filings posted on or after March 13 documented in-person meetings. Of the 58 phone call ex partes, 36, or 62%, came on or after the 13th.
Those who met remotely with the agency in recent days told us not being able to meet in person has some drawbacks, like not being able to get nonverbal feedback, which can help in understanding how receptive the agency might be to a position.
Spectrum policy lawyer Greg Guice of McGuireWoods said the only challenge in phone conferencing with the agency was technological, from getting an all-circuits busy message. He said staff might be somewhat more available remotely than for in-person meetings since it can be easier to fit in a call then to decamp to a meeting room.
The FCC is adept at remote work and telework. Some staff do it at least a couple of days a week, and ex parte meetings often take place on the phone, said CTA Vice President-Policy and Regulatory Affairs Jamie Susskind, formerly Commissioner Brendan Carr's chief of staff. Susskind said CTA hasn't had any more difficulty getting a remote ex parte scheduled than an in-person one. She doesn't expect to any additional ex parte meeting challenges as the pandemic evolves.
National Freedom of Information Coalition Executive Director Dan Bevarly said the hope is government bodies around the U.S. having to use communications tech to conduct meetings "could usher in a new era of transparency." There have been some missteps, like government bodies voting on items while a glitch has the video or audio feed down, he said. Government bodies also might consider options like postponing discussions and decisions on nonessential matters to ensure the public has adequate opportunity to participate, Bevarly said.
One FCC aide said remote meetings can have logistical challenges, which could make parties more hesitant to schedule one. He said the steps in setting up a call and getting everyone on the line from their homes can be a hurdle, and there have been hiccups with conference call providers being overwhelmed, resulting in callers getting the fast busy signal. He said the agency has added some conference call capacity in response. He said such group calls should get easier as people get used to it and as providers adjust their systems to compensate for demand.
The aide predicted current reliance on remote lobbying probably won't mark a permanent shift unless pandemic-related issues like the agency's work-from-home directive go on for months and the FCC and interested parties start investing serious money in remote conference technology. He said most people still prefer face-to-face meetings.