1!:lnitcd ~tatcs ~cnatc 
WASHINGTON, DC 20510 
The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
Chairman 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 12th Street, SW 
Washington, DC 20554 
Dear Chairman Wheeler: 
June 5, 2014 
We write to express our deep concern with your comments at the 2014 National Cable 
and Telecommunications Association cable show several weeks ago. You stated, " If municipal 
governments- the same ones that granted cable franchises - want to pursue it [taxpayer funded 
broadband], they shouldn't be inhibited by state laws. I have said before, that I believe the FCC 
has the power - and I intend to exercise that power- to preempt state laws that ban competition 
from community broadband." 
The insinuation that the Federal Communications Commission will force taxpayer funded 
competition against private broadband providers - against the wishes of the states - is deeply 
troubling. Inserting the Commission into the states' economic and fiscal affairs in such a 
cavalier fashion shows a lack of respect for states' rights. 
State governments across the country offer a stark contrast to the heavy hand of the 
federal government, especially in terms of the states' superior capability to protect the taxpayers 
from unnecessary debt, spending, and waste. States are much closer to their citizens and can 
meet their needs better than an unelected bureaucracy in Washington, D.C. The federal 
government has already saddled our states with enough unfunded liabilities. Your proposed 
community broadband experiment presents an unnecessary and risky government liability. 
The last thing the Commission should do in these trying fiscal times, with so many other 
important priorities, is usurp state policy with respect to municipal broadband. State political 
leaders are accountable to the voters who elect them, and the Commission would be well-advised 
to respect state sovereignty. We look forward to your timely response, and we hope you will 
think critically about the Commission's role and how it can more appropriately interact with our 
state authorities. 
Sincerely, 
Deb Fischer RonJohns n 
United States Senator United States Senator 
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Ted Cruz 
United States Senator 
Tim Scott 
United States Senator 
nited States Senator 
Lamar Alexan er 
United States Senator 
Tom Coburn 
United States Senator 
United States Senator 
Mike Enzi 
United States Senator 
United States Senator 
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