WIA CEO Supports Renomination of FCC Commissioner O’Rielly

Statement from WIA President and CEO Jonathan Adelstein in support of the renomination of Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Michael O’Rielly: 

“I have known Commissioner Michael O’Rielly for over 20 years. We both served as legislative staff in the United States Senate, and we were both nominated and confirmed twice to the Federal Communications Commission. 

There is very good reason that the Senate has approved him unanimously on two occasions. As a former Senate staffer, he is well-known and well-respected. With an extensive record now at the Federal Communications Commission, he is highly regarded for his knowledge, acumen, diligence, and respect for the laws he was entrusted to implement. In the great tradition of the Senate in general, and notably in the history of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, the advice and consent power has worked best when the standard is not ideology nor policy preferences, but character and qualifications.  Commissioner O’Rielly is unquestionably of the very highest caliber in terms of his character and qualifications. It is beyond question that he arrives at his decisions with integrity, respect for the laws, and deference to the role of Congress in establishing the statutory framework and oversight of those laws.  

If ever there was a nominee for whom the bipartisan tradition of the Senate Commerce Committee suggests unanimous approval despite any policy differences, it is Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. He has justified each of the decisions he has made with a clear and explicit grounding in the law. He is eminently deserving of unanimous support of the Senate Commerce Committee.  He has earned bipartisan support through long and faithful service to Congress, the Federal Communication Commission, and the United States which they serve.”  

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Contact: Amy-Gabrielle Bartolac | Public Affairs Manager
703-621-0527 | Amy-Gabrielle.Bartolac@wia.org