March 23, 2021

Ms. Marlene H. Dortch

Secretary

Federal Communications Commission

45 L Street, N.E.

Washington, D.C.  20554

Re:  Ex Parte Meeting:  911 Fee Diversion (FCC-20-134) (RM Docket No. 20-291, 09-14); Use of the 5.850-5.925 GHz Band (ET Docket No. 19-138); Unlicensed Use of the 6 GHz Band; Expanding Flexible Use in Mid-Band Spectrum Between 3.7 and 24 GHz (FCC-20-51) (RM Docket No. 18-295, 17-183); Spectrum Horizons (ET Docket No. 18-21); James Edwin Whedbee Petition for Rulemaking to Allow Unlicensed Operation in the 95-1,000 GHz Band (RM-11795 – Proceeding terminated)

Dear Ms. Dortch,

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to educating the American public about waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement, and inefficiency in government.  On behalf of the more than one million members and supporters of CAGW, I am providing this letter as notification of an introductory ex partemeeting between CAGW’s President Tom Schatz and Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs Deborah Collier with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Nathan Simington on Monday, March 22, 2021, where the following issues were discussed:

1. CAGW requested continued oversight by the FCC regarding state and local government use of emergency 911 fees collected on consumer communications bills.  This continued oversight will ensure that collected 911 fees are used for their intended purpose, rather than redirected by states and localities to pay down budget shortfalls, unfunded pension liabilities, or other budgetary items that are unrelated to emergency services.
2. The importance of maintaining the existing division of the 5.9 GHz spectrum band between unlicensed use in the lower portion of the band and maintaining the upper 30 GHz of the band to keep a portion available for the potential deployment of certain automotive public safety applications.  CAGW expressed its concern that there may be efforts to thwart the progress the FCC has made on opening up portions of the 5.9 GHz band for unlicensed use.
3. The balance of licensed and unlicensed spectrum necessary for deploying next generation (5G) networks.  CAGW reiterated its longstanding position that both licensed and unlicensed spectrum are critical to building these new networks and to the technologies and new equipment that will connect to the networks using Wi-Fi. 

CAGW appreciates the time Commissioner Simington took to discuss these issues and looks forward to future interactions on matters of importance to consumers, taxpayers, and the FCC.

Sincerely,

Thomas A. Schatz

President, Citizens Against Government Waste