PAT ROBERTS COMMITIEE S: KANSAS AGRICULTURE 109 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING FINANCE WASHI NGTON, DC 20510-1605 202-224-4774 tinitrd ~terrs ~rnetr HEALTH, EDUCATION, WASHINGTON, DC 20510- 160 5 LABOR, AND PENSIONS http ://ro be rts. se n ate.gov July17, 2019 ETHI CS RULES The Honorable Ajit Pai, Chairman 483 Federal Communications Commission 445 12 111 Street S.W. Washington, DC 20554 Dear Chairman Pai: As you begin to review nominations for membership to the Federal Communications Commission' s Task Force for Reviewing Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States, I ask that you please give full consideration to the nomination of Catherine Moyer, CEO and General Manager of Pioneer Communications, a company with a long history of meeting the communications needs of consumers in Southwestern Kansas since 1950. Catherine is a tested public policy leader and widely recognized voice for addressing the critical telecommunication issues facing rural communities in Kansas. In fact, I was grateful for her testimony before the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry at a Farm Bill field hearing titled, "From the Heartland: Perspectives on the 2018 Farm Bill," in Manhattan, KS. She serves on the CoBank board of directors in addition to serving as the chairman of the board of directors of Telecom Insurance Group. She is also the immediate past chairman of the Kansas Rural Independent Telecommunications Association of Kansas, is a past board member ofNTCA- The Rural Broadband Association, and past chairman of the board of directors of OPASTCO, a telecommunications trade association that was joined with NTCA. As the CEO of a rural broadband company that services a territory, which, on average, has just over two subscribers per square mile, Catherine offers valuable insight into the challenges of deploying broadband infrastructure to meet the precision agriculture needs of producers who depend on connectivity to fuel their businesses. She also has a close connection to the agriculture production sector through her work on the CoBank board, giving her a unique insight into how producers are utilizing their broadband connections to drive efficiency in their operations. I fully support Catherine's work in Kansas and thank you for your consideration of her nomination to the Precision Ag Connectivity Task Force. War~egar , ~rts United States Senator