WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission is facing a budget crisis that FCC Commission Jonathan Adelstein said Thursday would be “a major hit.”
Because Congress has yet to pass an appropriations bill for the FCC for fiscal-year 2004, which began Oct. 1, it is operating under the levels approved for FY 2003.
This budget situation will result in some priorities being put on the back burner, said Andrew Fishel, the FCC’s managing director. FCC Chairman Michael Powell moved to quickly reassure agency employees that their jobs are secure.
The FCC Thursday held its third-annual strategic planning meeting in lieu of a public meeting where commissioners consider rule changes.
Adelstein praised the work of the FCC’s Enforcement and Consumer and Government Affairs bureaus but noted that the budget situation makes it difficult to do the things Congress desires.
One of the Enforcement/Consumer Affairs bureau issues that has strained FCC resources is wireless local number portability. Due in part to the implementation of WLNP Nov 24, the FCC’s call center saw its volume nearly double in the fourth quarter of 2003, leading to a backlog that CGB Chief K. Dane Snowden said it hopes to eliminate before the first quarter of 2003.
