Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski is refusing to explain why he granted a rare waiver to Philip Falcone for his company LightSquared, while he's under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for possible market manipulation and violations of the "short sale rule."
What happened to the Obama administration's promise of transparency?
Falcone says that his firm, LightSquared, could provide faster and better wireless Internet access than well-established cell phone companies. "There's just one hitch," The Washington Times reports, "LightSquared's technology can cause devices that use the global-positioning system (GPS) to go haywire."
"Expanding wireless broadband options is important, but not so important as to risk cutting off satellite navigation. ... Agricultural, construction and mining firms rely upon high-precision versions of GPS to perform at maximum efficiency. Various trade associations representing boaters, airlines, railroads and firefighters also have joined together in raising objections. The deputy secretaries at the Departments of Defense and Transportation fired off a joint letter complaining that they were excluded from the approval process despite the importance of GPS to national security and transportation safety."
According to The New York Times, Falcone rose to prominence in 2007 when his hedge fund placed a major bet against the subprime mortgage market that made him an instant billionaire." And that Falcone caught the ire of regulators after he borrowed $113 million from one of his funds to pay a tax bill.
CLICK HERE to SEND FAXES to every member of Congress to DEMAND that they investigate FCC Chairman Genachowski's unusual waiver granted to LightSquared when its owners are under investigation by the SEC!
"Falcone [also] caught the attention of Washington lawmakers, who raised questions about why LightSquared was given a rare waiver by the FCC on the company's operations. Sen. Grassley (R-Iowa), sent a letter to the FCC requesting copies of all communications between the agency and Falcone and his companies."
Sen. Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is taking the FCC to task for ignoring his questions on the agency's decision to grant LightSquared a conditional waiver to deploy land-based LTE service in a spectrum formerly reserved for satellite communications. Especially since the SEC is investigating the finances of LightSquared's owners, which includes Falcone.
Sen. Grassley said in a letter sent to FCC Chairman Genachowski that the agency had "intentionally ignored" his request for documents about the waiver and LightSquared's controversial plan to build a nationwide wireless network.
Genachowski, an Obama appointee and long-time friend of Obama from Harvard, has also been pushing the five-member board of the FCC to enforce net neutrality that would give the government the power to control and regulate the Internet.
CLICK HERE to SEND FAXES to every member of Congress to DEMAND that they hold the Obama administration to account on their promise of transparency! Members of Congress MUST also investigate the FCC's waiver that was granted to LightSquared, as its owners are under investigation by the SEC!
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The National Journal reports that in his letter to Genachowski, Sen. Grassley said: "... you responded with a letter that did not respond to any of my questions and offered a general defense of the FCC's expedited procedure regarding LightSquared. When my staff followed up with your legislative affairs office to seek an explanation for your failure to be responsive, my staff was told that the FCC chose to intentionally ignore the document requests in my letter."
The FCC responded to Sen. Grassley saying that if a FOIA request was made for the same information, the process could be drawn out over a couple of years and the eventual documents would be "heavily redacted."
According to Business Insider, Grassley asked the FCC "... how it can approve a venture that's being spearheaded by someone who has been targeted by multiple investigations. ... is the FCC concerned regarding these multiple investigations of Mr. Falcone? And Does the FCC have any safeguards to ensure that valuable spectrum [airwave] allocations are not made to serial violators of our nation's securities laws?"
"The FCC is supposed to serve as a traffic cop to ensure that the needs of various spectrum users don't conflict.In this case, Genachowski appears to be ramming a dangerous scheme through administrative channels at lightning speed," The Washington Times reports.
FAX Congress to DEMAND that they investigate FCC Chairman Genachowski's unusual waiver that was granted to LightSquared when its owners are under investigation by the SEC!
Members of Congress need to hear from you today!
Sincerely,
Tony Adkins
Conservative Action Alerts
P.S. President Obama's appointees are not above reproach, and should be held to account when members of Congress request vital information from them. FCC Chairman Genachowski cannot be allowed to continue to ignore Sen. Grassley's requests for answers regarding the waiver the FCC has given to Philip Falcone, who is being investigated by the SEC.
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