DA 20-722
Released: July 13, 2020
FCC ANNOUNCES ANTICIPATED RENEWAL OF ITS DISABILITY ADVISORY
COMMITTEE AND SOLICITS APPLICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP ON THE COMMITTEE
By this Public Notice, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces the anticipated renewal of its Disability Advisory Committee (Committee) and solicits applications for membership on the Committee, subject to renewal of the Committee’s charter. Applications for membership are due by 11:59 P.M. EST on August 13, 2020. The mission of the Committee is to make recommendations to the Commission regarding disability issues specified by the Commission. Some of the issues the Committee has addressed in the past include telecommunications relay services, closed captioning, video description, access to emergency information on television, telephone emergency notifications, device accessibility, technology transitions, and the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program. For additional background about the Committee, please visit its website: www.fcc.gov/disability-advisory-committee.
The Commission seeks applications from interested persons with disabilities, consumer organizations, industry and trade associations, corporations, governmental entities, or other entities from both the public and private sectors that wish to be considered for membership on the Committee. Selections will be based on factors such as expertise and diversity of viewpoints necessary to effectively address the topics before the Committee.
The Commission will determine the appropriate Committee size necessary to effectively accomplish the Committee’s work. Applicants must be willing to commit to a two-year term of service, should be willing to attend at least three one-day meetings each calendar year, either in-person or, if appropriate, by teleconference, and should expect to participate in at least one working group or subcommittee. Working group deliberations are conducted primarily through email and teleconferences. Meetings and will be fully accessible to individuals with disabilities.
The Commission does not provide payment or honoraria to members, and generally does not reimburse members for travel expenses, although it may have very limited funds to partially reimburse travel expenses of members who demonstrate need.
All organizational or individual members of the Committee or its working groups are subject to an ethics review by the Commission’s Office of General Counsel. Some applicants possessing expertise or perspectives of interest to the Committee, and who have been appointed to serve on the Committee in an individual capacity (and not as the representative of a nonprofit organization, corporation, or other entity), are deemed to be Special Government Employees (SGEs). Such individuals are ineligible to serve if they are federally registered lobbyists. SGEs are subject to a variety of restrictions under the conflict of interest statutes, 18 U.S.C. § 203 et seq., and the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, 5 C.F.R. Part 2635. SGEs must file confidential employee financial disclosure forms prior to beginning their service and annually thereafter. SGEs will also be subject to ethics restrictions in section 4(b) of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. § 154(b), and in the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR Part 19 and 5 CFR Parts 3901 and 3902. All members will have an initial and continuing obligation to disclose any interests in, or connections to, persons or entities that are, or will be, regulated by or have interests before the Commission.
Applications should be submitted via an online application form at https://www.fcc.gov/disability-advisory-committee/membership-application (preferred), via email to [email protected], or via US Mail to the Federal Communications Commission, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Attn: Debra Patkin, 445 12th Street S.W., Room 3-C438, Washington, DC 20554. Starting March 19, 2020, and until further notice, the Commission no longer accepts any hand or messenger delivered filings at the Commission’s headquarters. This is a temporary measure taken to help protect the health and safety of individuals, and to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19. Because mail delivery may be delayed by security screening and precautionary measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, interested parties are strongly encouraged to submit applications online.
Organizational Applicants. Applications from nonprofit organizations, corporations, or other entities (“organizational applicants”) should include the following:
- The name of the organizational applicant applying for Committee membership (including whether the organizational applicant has previously served on the Committee);
- The name of the organizational applicant’s primary representative, including title, mailing address, email address, and telephone number;
The name of the organizational applicant’s alternate representative, including title, mailing address, email address, and telephone number; - A statement of the interests represented by the organizational applicant noting the constituency represented by the organizational applicant (e.g., persons with disabilities, government entity, industry, trade association, etc.), as well as the benefit of having the organization represented on the Committee;
- A statement summarizing the representatives’ qualifications and reasons why the representatives should be appointed to the Committee;
- A current resume of the organizational applicant’s primary and alternate representatives that describes their educational background and professional experience;
- A statement by the organizational applicant indicating a willingness to serve on the Committee for a two-year term, a commitment to attend at least three plenary one-day Committee meetings per year (to be conducted in-person or, if appropriate, by teleconference), a commitment to work on at least one working group or subcommittee, and an acknowledgement that the organizational applicant will serve without reimbursement of travel expenses or payment of honoraria, and;
- A narrative statement detailing the organizational applicant’s previous involvement concerning issues relevant to the Committee’s work and the applicant’s ability and willingness to contribute substantively to the Committee’s deliberations.
For applicants seeking to represent an organization or company, the applicant’s nomination to the Committee must be confirmed by an authorized person (e.g., organization or company official) that such organization or company supports the nominated person to represent it on the Committee. The nominating official must possess the executive authority or hold a sufficiently high-level position within the organization or company to select a representative whose actions will be legally binding on the organization or company. For example, this confirmation may be in the following format:
“I am [insert official’s name], the [insert official’s title] at the [insert name of organization – e.g., company, government entity, trade association, etc.], with responsibilities for [concise description of position]. My organization supports [insert proposed member’s name], who is currently [an employee of/consultant/attorney to the company], to serve as its representative on the Commission’s Disability Advisory Committee.”
Individual Applicants. Applications from individual applicants who would serve as SGEs should include the following:
- The individual applicant’s name;
- The individual applicant’s mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number;
- A statement summarizing the individual applicant’s qualifications, including specific knowledge or expertise that is relevant to the Committee, and reasons why the individual applicant should be appointed to the Committee;
- A statement that the individual applicant is not a registered federal lobbyist (as noted above, financial and other additional disclosures may also apply to individual applicants);
- A statement by the individual applicant indicating a willingness to serve on the Committee for a two-year term, a commitment to attend at least three plenary one-day meetings per year (to be conducted in-person or, if appropriate, by teleconference), a commitment to participate in at least one working group or subcommittee; and an acknowledgement that the individual applicant will serve without reimbursement of travel expenses or payment of honoraria;
- A statement as to whether the individual applicant has served on the Committee previously; and
- A current resume that describes the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
After the applications have been reviewed, and upon renewal of the Committee’s charter, the Commission will publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing the appointment of the Committee members and the first meeting date of the Committee. All applicants will be notified concerning the disposition of their applications.
For further information about the Committee, please contact Debra Patkin, Designated Federal Officer (DFO) for the Committee, Disability Rights Office, Federal Communications Commission, [email protected], (202) 870-5226; or Will Schell, Deputy DFO for the Committee, (202) 418-0767, [email protected].
ACCESSIBLE FORMATS
To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an email to [email protected] or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530.
– FCC –
SOURCE: https://www.fcc.gov/document/dac-anticipated-renewal-and-membership-solicitation-1
Download: DA-20-722A1 (DOCX format)
Download: DA-20-722A1 (PDF format)