~.#. fffd-. g-~~~ £~ April 16; 2012 The Honorable Julius Cenachowski; Chairman Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street; S.W. Washington; D.C. 20554 Dear Chairman Cenachowski; l write to express my support for the Commission;s proposed rulemaking to bring the broadcaster1s public file; of which the ((political filell is an important component; onto the internet. Requiring disclosure of political advertising sales and the terms of their sale is not novel: Congress and the FCC have done so for decades under longstanding provisions of the Communications Act. [ support your proposed rulemaking because it merely brings this disclosure online and into the 21st century. Where technical limitations might have made widespread availability of the public file infeasible in 1950; the failure to do so in 2012 - using the [nternet - is inexcusable. The public file plays a critical role in promoting transparency both in elections and in the·use of our public airwaves. Those who argue that digitizing this information creates anticompetitive concerns are overlookjng the fact that this information is already available for public inspection; albeit in antiquated form. There is also no substitute for the information the file holds since the Federal Election Commission (FEC) co[[ects only limited data on ad expenditures; and only as they relate to Federal issues. Today; despite its importance; the public filets information is largely inaccessible to most members of the public; buried in the basement filing cabinets of local broadcasters. To the extent the requirement to upload information already co[[ected by stations presents an administrative burden; [ have no doubt the Commission can craft rules to ease the process for small broadcasters and minimize staff time devoted to the task. Creating an FCC-hosted website for the disclosures; rather than requiring broadcasters to host the information themselves; is an encouraging start; and [ support future action to bring the public files of cable and satellite providers online as well. 0487 Thank you for your work to improve transparency for the American people.. Sincerely/ ~;) ~~.. b~-~"c__jh- ... - ,/ . ./ At:lna G. Eshoo/. ~RankingMember/ Subcommittee on Communications and Technology