ROBERT MENENDEZ NEWJE~S£Y COMMl1Tt:E' BANKING. HOUSING. ANDU~8AN AFFAJ~S EN£RGY AND NATURAL RESOUACES F,"l!'.N'CE FORElG"l RElAT1()NS llnitcd~tatcs~cngtc WASHINGTON. DC 20510-3005 August 18,20 I0 528 SEN""'; H""t OFFIC1! Bl,Io..DtNG W..SHI....-roN. DC 20510 12(2)22_14<1 ONr G..rrw..Vca,N'~" 1"" Ft.000I NEW""'" NJ 07102 1973l &l5-:IO]() 2Ol!I w..n: HOooS> ,.." S1JITI18-19 B..-T(lN. NJ 08007 185617S7-.53S3 The Honorable Julius Genachowski Chairman Fcderal Communications Commission 445 It b Street, SW Washington, DC 20554 Re: MB Docket No. 10-56 Dear Chairman Genachowski: As the only Hispanic serving in the United States Senate, I write to encourage a timely review, within the applicable laws, rules, and regulations, ofComcast and General Electric's (GE) proposed NBC Universal (NBCU) joint venture. Although a thorough review is necessary, I believe that the potential opportunities for minority media ownership through this transaction could be beneficial to the public, including Hispanic Americans in this country. It is my understanding that Comcast and NBCU made substantial commitments to the Hispanic community in the form ofa Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU), which was negotiated after much hard work with leading Hispanic civic and community leaders. This unprecedented MOU includes commitments in the areas of Board governance, employment, procurement, philanthropy, and programming that will create opportunities in all areas ofthe business. Specifically, their commitment to increasing media ownership and expanding business opportunities for minority programmers is to be commended. In particular, I laud the announcement that Comcast will add indepcndently·owned and operated cable networks with substantial Latino ownership interests, expand carriage ofexisting Latino owned channels and establish an external Hispanic Advisory Council, as well as diversity councils representing other communities, to advise on these initiatives moving forward. Moreover, Comcast, General Electric, and NBCU have a strong presence in New Jersey and invest significantly in my state's economic grO\vth. Collectively, these companies contribute more than 7,500 good-paying jobs and over $750 million in annual payroll and benefits to the state. Comcast alone reports more than 4,700 employees, and 186 facilities, offices and call centers in New Jersey. Sinee 1996, Comcast has invested more than $3.6 billion in the state's technological and infrastructure development. GE's energy and healthcare businesses have sites in ten major cities throughout the state, and NBCU has over 800 employees among four sites in New Jersey. The collaborative nature ofthe Memorandum of Understanding represents the potential positive impact the ComcastINBCU joint venture could have on all communities, both in New Jersey and across the country, ifthe transaction is approved. The FCC has the obligation to review the proposed venture and determine whether the public interest benefits outweigh any potential hann. Accordingly, I welcome the FCC's commitment to conduct its review ofthis transaction expeditiously. ROBERT MENENDEZ United States Senator 1356