STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER MICHAEL J. COPPS
ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE FORMATION OF THE
FCC CONSUMER TASK FORCE
January 20, 2010
This is a big day for consumers and for the Commission.  What the Chairman has 
just announced brings the FCC back to where it was always supposed to be—a proactive 
consumer protection agency.  The decisions this body makes affect consumers in so many 
ways.  Whether it's wireless devices, landline telephones, public safety or the media—
there’s always a consumer impact.  That's why every item we process, every decision we 
make, needs to be examined and judged for its impact on consumers.
Too often in recent years we have lost sight of this—and it has cost consumers.  
It's cost them a lot.  Our lack of competitive focus in telecommunications is one example 
and it raised consumer bills, I believe, by billions of dollars.  Our blissful blessing of 
evermore media industry consolidation was another costly assault on consumer well-
being—not to mention citizen well-being.  The list goes on.  Today we put in place a 
mechanism to discourage that kind of decision-making.
By improving coordination between and among our bureaus and offices, and by 
ensuring that a consumer perspective is brought to bear across the whole gamut of FCC 
issues, we take a huge step to ensure that our policies and rules are better attuned to the 
real-world needs of Americans.  Considering the consumer impacts of our decisions, no 
matter what bureau or office they come from, will be standard operating procedure going 
forward.  You could say it always should have been that way—but it wasn't.  Now it will 
be.
I am pleased that our new Government and Consumer Affairs Bureau Chief, Joel 
Gurin, will manage this task force.  He has experience, judgment and consumer 
commitment made-to-order for this assignment, and he will be assisted by outstanding 
team members from all our bureaus and offices.  
So it is only fitting that he brings forward today a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
that kicks off another consumer-focused proceeding in which we expand our goal—taken 
up in 2003 when we implemented the Do-Not-Call registry and again in 2008 when we 
eliminated the expiration of the registry—of returning a measure of privacy and control 
to citizens, allowing each of us to choose limits on the telemarketing calls we receive.
The Notice specifically addresses pre-recorded telemarketing calls. It tentatively 
concludes that harmonizing the Commission’s rules, adopted pursuant to the Telephone 
Consumer Protection Act, with the Federal Trade Commission’s recently-amended 
Telemarketing Sales Rule, would reduce the potential for consumer and industry 
confusion. I am pleased to support the item and look forward to an expeditious 
conclusion to the entire proceeding as quickly as we can do it. And I express my 
gratitude to the Bureau for its work in teeing this up for us.
The well-being of consumers needs to be front-and-center not only in the issues 
we address, but also in how we address them.  So I heartily applaud the improvements 
this Commission has made over the past year in transparency and consumer engagement 
while we consider the issues.  The Commission is humming with activity: hearings, 
workshops, blogs, Facebook and myspace—you name it, the new FCC is on it!  And 
more is coming.  It's wonderful, isn't it?
So I think you can tell I'm pleased, Mr. Chairman, and I look forward to working 
closely with you to realize the huge potential of what you today put in place.