Senate Confirms Jessica Rosenworcel to Five-Year Term at FCC

The Senate has voted 68 to 31 to confirm Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to a five-year term as a commissioner at the agency.

Rosenworcel previously served as an FCC commissioner during the Obama administration from 2012 to 2015.

Before she joined the agency, Rosenworcel served as senior communications counsel for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

She practiced communications law prior to entering public service. Rosenworcel is a graduate of Wesleyan University and New York University School of Law, CNBC reported Tuesday.

In a statement released October, the White House credited Rosenworcel with promoting affordable access to communications services.

The White House added that she is a champion of closing the “homework gap,” which refers to the lack of affordable broadband access for students in some households.

She previously called for a reinterpretation of E-Rate rules to allow students in distance learning during the pandemic to access funding used by schools and libraries to pay for their internet.

During a Senate confirmation hearing in November, Rosenworcel said she wants to reinstate the net neutrality protections that were repealed in 2017, CNET reported.

Net neutrality advocates believe that such protections are necessary to prevent internet service providers from blocking or throttling web traffic, CNBC reported.

Under Rosenworcel’s leadership, the FCC is also expected to play a large role in building out 5G network technologies.