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SEPARATE STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN MICHAEL K. POWELL


Re: Review of the Commission's Broadcast and Cable Equal Employment Opportunity Rules and 
Policies (MM Docket No. 98-204).

	
I am proud that we have adopted this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which 
looks for ways to revise the equal opportunity rules to be consistent with the holding of the D.C. 
Circuit in Association .  It is imperative that the Commission forge ahead to establish effective, 
legally sustainable rules.  Today we have taken an important step towards achieving that goal.  
 
The public benefits of individuals in our society having equal employment opportunities, 
based on merit rather than discriminatory factors, are so numerous they are impossible to list.  I 
believe few would disagree with this proposition.  Thus, it is only right and proper for this 
agency to expect its licensees to afford equal opportunities for everyone.  Indeed, I believe it is 
our obligation to attempt to widen the circle of those Americans that benefit from the fruits 
spawned by those licenses.  If the public interest benefit means anything at all it cannot possibly 
tolerate the use of a government license to discriminate against the citizens from whom the 
license ultimately is derived.  Thus, we will remain vigilant in our pursuit of establishing rules.   
While this has been a challenging endeavor, it is nonetheless a noble one well worth undertaking.   
I am confident that we are now heading in the right direction. 

In the NPRM we adopt today, we introduce a broad outreach program that is squarely 
race and gender neutral and, thus, not constitutionally suspect.  The proposed EEO rules focus on 
increasing the possibility that more minorities and women get the opportunity to compete fairly 
for employment.  No one is entitled to rewards they did not earn.  No one is entitled to jobs for 
which they are not qualified.  But, everyone is entitled to an equal opportunity to vie for those 
rewards and compete for those jobs.  The proposed outreach program provides for the simple 
opportunity to compete for employment vacancies.  All Americans, regardless of stripe, benefit 
when our workforce captures the rich talent of our great nation.   
  MD/DC/DE Broadcasters Association v FCC, 236 F.3d 13, reh'g den. 253 F. 3d 732 
(D.C. Cir. 2001) pet for cert. Filed, MMTC v MD/DC/DE Broadcasters Association. No. 01-639 
(October 17, 2001).