Ajit
Pai, the recently-approved Republican FCC commissioner, says he is ready to
maximize competition and innovation.
"I am honored that the United States
Senate has voted to confirm me to the Federal Communications Commission,"
new Republican FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai told B&C/Multi in an e-mail
Monday.
"I want to thank President Obama for
nominating me and Senator McConnell for his support throughout this process. I
am grateful to [Senate Commerce] Chairman [Jay] Rockefeller, ranking Member
[Kay Bailey] Hutchison, and the other members of the Commerce Committee for the
many courtesies they extended to me in recent months. I also wish to thank my
home state senators, Senator Roberts and Senator Moran, for their efforts on my
behalf.
"I congratulate my fellow nominee Jessica
Rosenworcel on her confirmation and am eager to work with her, Chairman
[Julius] Genachowski, Commissioner [Robert] McDowell, and Commissioner [Mignon]
Clyburn on the critical work ahead of us. Finally, I know from firsthand
experience the skills and talents of the staff at the FCC. It will be a
privilege to work with them once again to maximize the benefits of competition
and innovation for American consumers and to create a regulatory environment
that will allow the communications industry to play a leading role in promoting
economic growth and job creation."
"Competition," "innovation" and "consumer are
all important words in the current FCC lexicon, though Republicans and
Democrats often have quite different views on how to achieve them.
Pai and Rosenworcel were approved Monday bythe Senate to assume two vacant FCC commissioner seats.
