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FCC Management: Improvements Needed in Communication, Decision-Making Processes, and Workforce Planning

GAO-10-79 Published: Dec 17, 2009. Publicly Released: Jan 19, 2010.
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Highlights

Rapid changes in the telecommunications industry, such as the development of broadband technologies, present new regulatory challenges for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to determine (1) the extent to which FCC's bureau structure presents challenges for the agency in adapting to an evolving marketplace; (2) the extent to which FCC's decision-making processes present challenges for FCC, and what opportunities, if any, exist for improvement; and (3) the extent to which FCC's personnel management and workforce planning efforts face challenges in ensuring that FCC has the workforce needed to achieve its mission. GAO reviewed FCC documents and data and conducted literature searches to identify proposed reforms, criteria, and internal control standards and compared them with FCC's practices. GAO also interviewed current and former FCC chairmen and commissioners, industry stakeholders, academic experts, and consumer representatives.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Federal Communications Commission To ensure interbureau coordination on crosscutting issues, the FCC should develop written policies outlining how and when FCC will (1) identify issues under the jurisdiction of more than one bureau; (2) determine which bureau will serve as the lead on crosscutting issues and outline the responsibilities entailed regarding coordinating with other bureaus; and (3) ensure that staff from separate bureaus and offices can communicate on issues spanning more than one bureau.
Closed – Implemented
In December 2009, we reported that the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) lacked written procedures for facilitating the flow of information within the agency which led to ineffective interbureau coordination and allowed prior chairmen to limit internal communication among staff and to exclude staff, which can result in items being developed without relevant expertise and knowledge. We therefore recommended that FCC develop written policies outlining how and when FCC will identify issues under jurisdiction of more that one bureau, assign lead bureaus, and ensure coordination and communication among staff with relevant expertise. In response to our recommendations, the Chairman issued written consultation procedures that identify items that should be brought to the attention of the various offices and bureaus within FCC, a process for how offices and bureaus should initiate consultation, and points of contact for each office and bureau. These procedures are publicly available on FCC's Web site. According to an FCC official, weekly steering committee meetings have also been instituted to help identify cross-cutting issues, and internal task forces have been created on topics ranging from spectrum to consumer issues to diversity, in order to facilitate offices working together on these cross-cutting issues. These actions have helped to ensure that expertise across the agency has been consulted on complex and cross-cutting issues, improving FCC's ability to respond to an evolving telecommunications marketplace.
Federal Communications Commission To ensure interbureau coordination on crosscutting issues, the FCC should review whether it needs to redefine the roles and responsibilities of the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) and the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis (OSP) and make any needed revisions.
Closed – Implemented
After GAO issued this recommendation, FCC reviewed the need for coordination among all Bureaus and Offices on crosscutting issues. As a result, the Chairman issued a memorandum on "Consultation on Items Among the Bureaus and Offices" dated February 18, 2010. The memorandum requires the Bureau or Office originating an item for adoption by the Commission, or an item to be taken on delegated authority, to seek concurrence of the other relevant Bureaus and Offices. The memorandum specifies a process for such coordination. The memorandum lists conditions under which an item should be coordinated specifically with the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) and the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis (OSP), respectively. After issuing this memorandum to improve interbureau coordination, the FCC did not find it desirable to redefine the roles and responsibilities of OET or OSP.
Federal Communications Commission To clarify FCC's policies on providing commissioners access to information from bureaus and offices about agenda items, each FCC chairman, at the beginning of his or her term, should develop and make publicly available internal policies that outline the extent to which commissioners can access information from the bureaus and offices during the decision-making process, including how commissioners can request and receive information.
Closed – Not Implemented
Our 2009 report on FCC management of communication and workforce planning was completed almost 10 years ago and FCC has since informed us that it will not be taking any further action to address this recommendation. Since our report, FCC has established guidance for how offices and bureaus should consult one another and work together. However, this guidance does not address or clarify policies on commissioner access to information from bureaus and offices. Given FCC's position that there are no plans to take additional steps to address this recommendation, we are closing this recommendation as not implemented.
Federal Communications Commission To clarify FCC's policies on providing commissioners access to information from bureaus and offices about agenda items, the FCC should provide this policy to FCC's congressional oversight committees to aid their oversight efforts.
Closed – Not Implemented
Our 2009 report on FCC management of communication and workforce planning was completed almost 10 years ago and FCC has since informed us that it will not be taking any further action to address this recommendation. Since our report, FCC has established guidance for how offices and bureaus should consult one another and work together. However, this guidance does not address or clarify policies on commissioner access to information from bureaus and offices. Given FCC's position that there are no plans to take additional steps to address this recommendation, we are closing this recommendation as not implemented.
Federal Communications Commission To improve the transparency and effectiveness of the decision-making process, the FCC should, where appropriate, include the actual text of proposed rules or rule changes in either a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking or a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking before the commission votes on new or modified rules.
Closed – Implemented
In 2009, we found that weaknesses in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) processes for collecting public input on proposed rules may limit the effectiveness of the public comment process. Specifically, FCC typically did not include the text of a proposed rule in its notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRMs), which are used to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to submit their comments on proposals to create new rules or modify existing ones. Instead, FCC would ask for comments on wide-ranging issues. Several stakeholders stated that such broad NPRMs limit their ability to submit meaningful comments that address FCC's information needs. We therefore recommended that FCC, where appropriate, include the actual text of proposed rules or rule changes in either a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking or a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking before the commission votes on new or modified rules. In response, FCC's Chairman testified in May 2011 that FCC has significantly increased the number of NPRMs that contained the text of proposed rules from 38% to 85%, stating that this was a best practice FCC has been working to achieve. We reviewed a sample of NPRMs issued in 2011 and found that 20 of the 24 NPRMs we selected included proposed rule text. These actions will improve the transparency and effectiveness of FCC's decision-making process by allowing stakeholders to more easily determine what action FCC is considering and what information would be most helpful to FCC when developing a final rule.
Federal Communications Commission To improve the transparency and effectiveness of the decision-making process, the FCC should revise its ex parte policies to include (1) modifying its current guidance to further clarify FCC's criteria for determining what is a sufficient ex parte summary and address perceived discrepancies at the commission on this issue; (2) clarifying FCC officials' roles in ensuring the accuracy of ex parte summaries and establish a proactive review process of these summaries; and (3) creating a mechanism to ensure all commissioners are promptly notified of substantive filings made on items that are on the Sunshine Agenda.
Closed – Implemented
In December 2009, we found that weaknesses in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) process for documenting ex parte contacts between FCC officials and external parties--which, if oral, are made without advanced notice to other parties and without opportunity for them to be present--had negatively impacted stakeholder perceptions of transparency and public participation in FCC's decision-making process. Specifically, several stakeholders told us that FCC's process allowed vague ex parte summaries. In addition, stakeholders told us that in some cases, ex parte contacts occurred just before or during the Sunshine period, during which external contact with FCC officials is restricted, and thus, other groups are unable to respond to the information provided, or sometimes just before a commission vote, which limited stakeholders' ability to determine what information was provided and to rebut or discuss that information. We therefore recommended that FCC revise its ex parte policies to include: (1) modifying its current guidance to further clarify FCC's criteria for determining what is a sufficient ex parte summary; (2) clarifying FCC officials' roles in ensuring the accuracy of ex parte summaries and establish a review process of these summaries; and (3) creating a mechanism to ensure all commissioners are promptly notified of substantive filings made on items that are on the Sunshine Agenda. FCC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to gather public comment on reforming its ex parte process, citing our report when discussing concerns with the ex parte process. FCC then issued a report and order amending the Commission's ex parte rules. In the report and order, FCC provided guidance to clarify what constituted a sufficient ex parte summary, noting that if the presentation is limited to material already in the written record, then the ex parte filing must contain either a brief summary of the matters discussed or a citation to the page or paragraph number in the party's written submission(s) where the matters discussed can be found. FCC also stated that parties should summarize any new information provided during an oral ex parte, and that summaries must be sufficiently detailed that they would inform a person who did not attend the presentation of the facts that were discussed, the arguments made, and the support offered for those arguments. In addition, FCC clarified the roles of FCC officials by modifying its rules to require that parties send electronic copies of all electronically filed ex parte notices to all staff and Commissioners present at the ex parte meeting, so as to enable them to review the notices for accuracy and completeness. FCC noted that filers may be asked to submit corrections or further information as necessary for compliance with the rules, and explained that when FCC staff believes there are instances of substantial or repeated violations of the ex parte rules, they should report such to the General Counsel. To facilitate stricter enforcement of the ex parte rules, FCC also authorized the Enforcement Bureau to levy fines for ex parte rule violations. Finally, to ensure that commissioners are notified of substantive filings during the Sunshine period, FCC required that parties making ex parte presentations on items that are on the Sunshine Agenda file their ex parte summaries in the record by the end of the same day on which the presentation was made. These actions will improve the transparency and effectiveness of FCC's decision-making process by enabling stakeholders to more easily determine and, if necessary, rebut the information provided during ex parte meetings.
Federal Communications Commission To improve FCC's workforce planning efforts, the FCC should, in revising its current Strategic Human Capital Plan, include targets that identify the type of workforce expertise needed, strategies for meeting these targets--including methods to more flexibly augment the workforce--and measures for tracking progress toward these targets.
Closed – Not Implemented
Our 2009 report on FCC management of communication and workforce planning was completed almost 10 years ago and FCC has since informed us that it will not be taking any further action to address this recommendation. Since our report, FCC took actions to work with OPM to develop a strategic workforce plan; however the plan has yet to be completed. Given FCC's position that there are no plans to take additional steps to address this recommendation, we are closing this recommendation as not implemented.

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