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 NEWS  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322  FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT: 
 February  3,  2005  Jessica  Rosenworcel:(  202)  418-  2000  Scott  Bergmann:  (202)  418-  2300 
 PRESS  STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONERS  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS  AND  JONATHAN  S.  ADELSTEIN 
 ON  THE  FEDERAL-  STATE  JOINT  BOARD  ON  UNIVERSAL  SERVICE 
 Washington,  D.  C.—  Commissioners  Michael  J.  Copps  and  Jonathan  S.  Adelstein  announced  today  that  Commissioner  Copps  plans  to  rejoin  the  Federal-  State  Joint  Board 


 on  Universal  Service.  Commissioner  Adelstein,  who  joined  the  Joint  Board  in  2003,  plans  to  step  down  at  this  time. 


 The  Commissioners  stated:  “We  share  the  belief  that  universal  service  is  critically  important  to  this  agency’s  mission.  As  minority  members  at  the  Commission 
 we  traditionally  are  allotted  only  one  of  the  three  statutory  slots  on  the  Joint  Board.  This  is  why  we  established  a  rotation  plan  for  our  membership  on  the  Joint  Board.  As  in  the 
 past,  we  intend  to  coordinate  closely  on  these  issues  to  ensure  that  the  decisions  of  the  Commission  and  Joint  Board  adhere  to  the  clear  Congressional  directive  to  preserve  and 
 advance  universal  service.  It  is  our  duty  to  ensure  that  all  Americans,  no  matter  who  they  are  or  where  they  live,  have  access  to  quality  services  at  affordable  rates.” 


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