MARIA CANTWELL WASHINGTON COMMITIEES: COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION EVER En ilnitrd ~tatrs ~rnatr The Honorable Tom Wheeler Chairman WASH INGTON, DC 20510-4705 December 11 , 2014 Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, SW Washington, DC 20554 Dear Chairman Wheeler: ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES FINANCE INDIAN AFFAIRS SMALL BUSINESS Throughout the last century, Native Americans living on tribal lands struggled to get basic telephone service. History, unfortunately, appears to be repeating itself with regards to broadband. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) "estimates that the percentage of Americans in rural Tribal communities without access to fixed broadband is 8 times higher than the national average." At a National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) conference earlier this year, you stated that such a result is "simply unacceptable." I agree and we cannot let the gap in telephone service morph into a gap in broadband service because the stakes are too high. To ensure that FCC policy does not exacerbate the difficulties of promoting deployment on tribal lands, I write to urge you to heed the call of the attached NCAI resolution adopted at their 2014 Annual Convention. The resolution calls on the FCC to engage in formal tribal consultation to understand the importance of the high cost loop support (HCLS) mechanism in promoting deployment of broadband services on tribal lands. I agree with the NCAI resolution that, consistent with the federal government's and the FCC's commitments, formal tribal consultation occur before moving forward with further reforms in this area. Native Americans living on tribal lands, like all communities, need access to broadband technology in order to fully participate in today's economy and to enjoy the amazing benefits this technology can bring to communities. As you noted in your speech to NCAI, "lack of access to broadband means lack of access to job opportunities. Lack of access to broadband means lack of access to 21st century health care. Lack of access to broadband means lack of access to digital learning." A key driver for lack of access to broadband on tribal lands is the very high cost of deployment. To address this barrier, the universal service high cost fund has been used over the years to deliver communications service where it is otherwise prohibitively expensive to provide service. A component of that fund, the HCLS, is structured specifically for addressing areas where the costs are high by providing support for those areas where the cost to provide service to the consumer ("last mile") exceeds 11 5 percent of the national average. RICHLAND SEA TILE SPOKANE TACOMA WASHINGTON, DC 2930 WETMORE AVEPIUE SunE9B 825 JAOW"' AVEIIUE SUITE 204n04A AICHIJ\tt.STERN OKL~HOMA S. Joe Crituadm ChtroM~ GREAT PL~INS Leander McDonald J}'ttill.mTriht MID\l'EST Aaron Paymcnl Jtlllll Ste. A lam 1"t* ofOi;ptau/Rdiatu NORTHF.~ST Lance Gumbs J~lllliatiN.- NORTJIWEST FawaSbarp QKillaNII India• N~~~»• P~CII'IC RoscmaiY Morillo Slbcba B=iofMmi:M bWru ROCKY MOUNTAIN lnoPoacy Eutem SbMbooc T~ SOUTHEAST Ron Ric:bardaon H~S~lt:diatiTriht SouniERN Pt.AINS Saepbm Smilb Ki:l•u1i*rfOWcMa SOl'Til\l'P.ST MaaueiHcan I 'It .\t-t-1 'It 1"t* \'('F.STF.R)o; ArlanMelendcz Rtno Sptrit Indian~ E.'-1:CUTIVE DIRECTOR Jacqucliocjobnsoo Paaa Tltyjl NCAIHEADQUARTERS 1516 PStn:et.N.W. Washington, DC 20005 202466.7767 202466.7797 fax www.nca1.org NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICAN INDIANS The National Congress of American Indians Resolution #ATL-14-076 TITLE: Calling on the Federal Communications Commission to Engage in Tribal Consultation Regarding Proposed Reforms to the High Cost Loop Support Mechanism in the Universal Service Fund WHEREAS, we, the members of the National Congress of American Indians of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to preserve for ourselves and our descendants the inherent sovereign rights of our Indian nations, rights secured under Indian treaties and agreements with the United States, and all other rights and benefits to which we are entitled under the laws and Constitution of the United States, to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of the Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, and otherwise promote the health, safety and welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution; and WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was established in 1944 and is the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments; and WHEREAS, Section 254 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, ensures that all Americans, regardless of where they live, will have access to communications services at reasonable and affordable rates; and WHEREAS, this universal service principle is executed by providing explicit financial support through the Universal Service Fund (USF) to telecommunications companies providing service to rural and insular areas where the cost of providing service to consumers could not otherwise be achieved at affordable rates; and WHEREAS, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has since that time provided such support through a series of mechanisms designed to offset such high costs, including the High Cost Loop Support (HCLS) program, which has provided critical ongoing capital and operating support to price cap carriers and rate of return telecommunications companies; and WHEREAS, those carriers receiving HCLS provide service to tribal lands, Alaska Native villages, and Native Hawaiian Homelands, and rely on HCLS to offset the high costs of serving those communities; and WHEREAS, despite HCLS funding, tribal communities in the U.S. continue to have the lowest telephone and broadband deployment rates of any group of Americans; and WHEREAS, on June I 0, 2014, the FCC initiated a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on reforms to HCLS, which has been capped since 2001;and NCAI 2014 Annual Session Resolution A TL-14-076 WHEREAS, the proposed reforms, such as the current proposal to freeze the National Average Cost Per Loop Support, would substantially reduce this critical support for approximately half of all current recipients, many serving tribal areas; and WHEREAS, the Office of Native Affairs and Policy (ONAP) was established in 20 I 0, to promote formal consultation with tribal nations and native communities as they exercise their inherent sovereignty and self-determination; and WHEREAS, such consultation is intended to help the FCC understand the impact on tribal communities of potential changes to its various regulations early in its decision-making processes to ensure its policies take into account the unique challenges in providing communications services to tribal communities; and WHEREAS, Executive Order 13175 mandates federal agencies to consult with tribal governments when proposed rules or policies have tribal implications, and the FCC has adopted its 2000 Statement of Policy on Establishing a Government-to-Government Relationship with Indian Tribes; and WHEREAS, on this proposed rulemaking regarding HCLS there has been no formal consultation on this issue, and the Commission is considering implementing this capping mechanism annually as soon as January I, 2015. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that NCAI calls on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and its Office of Native Affairs and Policy to engage in formal consultation with tribal nations to fully understand the importance of the High Cost Loop Support (HCLS) program in promoting deployment of communications services on tribal lands; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the FCC immediately engage in formal government­ to-government consultation prior to taking any additional steps to limit support provided to carriers serving tribal lands under the HCLS mechanism; and BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that this resolution shall be the policy of NCAI until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution. CERTIFICATION The foregoing resolution was adopted by the General Assembly at the 2014 Annual Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, October 26-31, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia, with a quorum present. ATTEST: j{JprsL,IJ Recording Secretary Page 2 of2