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Telecommunications: FCC Procedures Delay Release of Decision Documents

RCED-94-242 Published: Sep 28, 1994. Publicly Released: Oct 28, 1994.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) procedures for releasing its decision documents, focusing on: (1) the timeliness of public releases of FCC decisions; (2) whether FCC release procedures contribute to delays in these releases; (3) how FCC release procedures compare to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) procedures; and (4) FCC controls to ensure that revisions are not voted on without commissioner approval.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Federal Communications Commission To ensure that FCC maintains adequate records and to allay potential criticism that released documents may not accurately reflect what the commissioners decided, the Chairman, FCC, should direct the Managing Director to establish written procedures to maintain a record of the document on which commissioners vote, along with the decision publicly released.
Closed – Implemented
On December 13, 1994, FCC adopted written procedures requiring the Secretary to keep in FCC official files, a copy of the document on which the commissioners vote and the document publicly released. To ensure that all substantial post-adopted changes have been approved by each of the commissioners, FCC established a signoff procedure requiring each commissioner or his or her designee to approve all such changes.

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