DEREK KILMER 
6TH DISTRICT, WASHINGTON 
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 
COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, 
AND RELATED AGENCIES SUBCOMMITIEE 
INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, 
AND RELATED AGENCIES SUBCOMMITIEE 
May 27, 2016 
C!Congre~~ of tbe llntteb ~tate~ 
1!}ousc of l\cprcscntattbcs 
Da~bington, mcte 20515-4706 
The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
Chairman, Federal Communications Commission 
445 12th Street, SW 
Washington, DC 20554 
Dear Chairman Wheeler, 
OFFICES 
1520 LONGWORTH OFFICE BUILDING 
WASHINGTON, DC 20515 
(202) 225-5916 
950 PACIFIC AVENUE 
SUITE 1230 
TACOMA, WA 98402 
(253) 272-3515 
345 6TH STREET 
SUITE 500 
BREMERTON, WA 98337 
(360) 373-9725 
www.kilmer.house.gov 
I would like to thank you and your colleagues at the Federal Communications Commission for your 
dedication to protecting consumers and promoting innovation in the communications and 
entertainment industries. I appreciate your efforts to expand consumer choice and encourage 
innovation with the recently released proposed rule concerning Competitive Availability of Navigation 
Devices. In an effort to more fully understand the benefits of the proposed policy prior to its 
implementation, I would like relay to you some questions that have been brought to my attention . 
As the Representative of an area that includes many rural communities, I was interested to learn that 
concerns have been raised by smaller providers that they may not have the resources to meet the 
requirements contained in the proposed rule. What assurances can you provide that small providers will 
be able to meet the standards of the new rule, and that their customers will realize the benefits of 
increased choice and new technologies? 
As you know, the technology innovation in recent years has brought about a great number of benefits 
for consumers and industry. However, it has also brought increased consumer attention to issues 
surrounding privacy, and created new challenges in enforcing intellectual property laws. How does the 
proposed rule take into account privacy concerns and intellectual property rights, and how would any 
protections in these areas be enforced? 
Finally, I have seen some public commentary on the proposed rule which points out that access to a 
wide variety of programs is already available and seems to be expanding naturally through the market 
due to consumer demand, and that industry is already deploying new and innovative systems for 
distributing that content. Given the pace of recent innovation in this field, can you describe why you 
believe now is an appropriate time for federal action on this issue? 
Thank you again for your effort in this regard and for your consideration of my request. 
Sincerely, 
~~ 
Member of Congress 
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER 
430